SCOTLAND’S best kebabs are made at Alla-Turca in Glasgow, British Kebab Awards judges revealed last night.

The kebab shop in Pitt St beat stiff competition from nine other shortlisted businesses to claim the Best Kebab House in Scotland gong.

Other finalists were Dino’s in Forfar, Marmaris in Perth, Tony’s Kebab Shop in Kirkcaldy, as well as Edinburgh’s Ali Baba, Hanedan Turkish Restaurant, Best Kebab House, Samsun’s Speciality Kebab and Pizza, Yeni Restaurant and Nawroz Restaurant.

This year’s shortlisted kofte kings were competing for prizes in 15 categories from Best Kebab Van to Best Newcomer and Best Fine Dining ahead of the fifth annual awards ceremony.

Members of the public were invited to nominate their favourite kebab shops. These were whittled down to a shortlist based on the number of public votes received with bonus points for nominations from MPs.

The winners were crowned after a final round of judging by the British Kebab Awards judges including Shadow Economic Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and fellow MP Nadhim Zahawi. The number of #BritishKebabAwards tweets of support that a contender got was also taken into account.

The British Kebab Awards was established by the Centre for Turkey Studies (CEFTUS) and its founder Ibrahim Dogus in 2013. CEFTUS is a non-profit organisation which works to build bridges between Turkey and the UK, and between Turkish, Kurdish and Cypriot communities.

Over 1,200 guests including more than 50 MPs and Lords attended last night’s VIP-studded ceremony in the ballroom of the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel where they were treated to a cocktail reception, three-course Anatolian-style meal and Bira, the first beer in the world to be brewed especially for kebabs.

Among MPs handing out and attending the awards were MPs David Amess, Dawn Butler, Justin Madders, Andrew Percy, Vicky Foxcroft, Wayne David, Jo Stevens, Wes Streeting, Nigel Adams, Simon Danczuk, Ruth Smeeth, Ben Howlett, Paul Scully, Roger Mullin, Barry Gardiner, William Wragg and Natalie McGarry.

Awards sponsors include headline sponsor Just Eat, the UK’s largest takeaway website, plus Galliard Homes, Cobra Beer, Big K, Alton & Co, Bira London, Harlequin and Crucials.

British Kebab Awards and Bira creator Ibrahim Dogus said: “Every year we see the competition get tougher so I congratulate every kebab business that won a British Kebab Award.

“MPs got behind their kebab shops and restaurants by the dozen with more than 40 nominating businesses in their constituencies and that’s great to see. I look forward to seeing what the contenders serve up in 2018.”

Graham Corfield, UK managing director of Just Eat, said: “On behalf of Just Eat, I would like to congratulate all of the winners on receiving a British Kebab Award in 2017.

“It is a phenomenal achievement in what are well established and highly competitive fields. The kebab businesses that have succeeded this year serve as shining examples within their local communities and, at the same time, support the thriving UK kebab industry. The award for every winner is hugely deserved.”

The annual event is the only one to recognise the contribution made by the kebab industry to the British economy - worth more than £2.8billion a year, supporting around 200,000 jobs across restaurants, suppliers and the food industry. This year’s awards raised money for veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress.

Every day 1.3m kebabs are sold across Britain. The UK’s first kebab shop, Istanbul Restaurant in Soho, opened during the Second World War and you will find pictures of it in the Imperial War Museum. However it was not until 1966 that the famous doner kebab - cooked on a vertical spit - first appeared with the opening of the Hodja Nasreddin Kebab House by Çetin Bukey and Kojay Hüsey in in North London’s Newington Green.

There are now over 20,000 kebab outlets in the UK selling around 2,500 tonnes of lamb and chicken doner a week. There are also around 200 doner kebab manufacturers in the UK, with a turnover in excess of £750m.