‘Daana,’ run by Indian-Australian couple chefs Sanjay and Sunita Kumar, has won the 2022 Hostplus Restaurant and Catering Awards for Best Indian Restaurant in Australia.
South Australia’s ‘Laxmi’s Indian Restaurant’ and New South Wales’ ‘Delhi ‘O’ Delhi’ won the Silver and Bronze awards respectively in the Indian Restaurant category.
Chef Sanjay and Chef Sunita said they are thrilled to receive the award.
“This award, winning Gold has been 7 years in the making. Daana receiving national recognition as the Best Indian restaurant in Australia, is the result of our whole team delivering consistency in creating the Daana experience.”
Chefs Sunita and Sanjay moved to Canberra in 2012 with their two young children to start a new life. From 2012-15, both worked in the corporate and hospitality sectors with the aim to start their own business one day.
In 2015, they launched ‘Daana’ which offered Indian street food from a shipping container in west Acton before moving to commercial premises in Curtin. The couple advanced from street food to a new dining experience, showcasing India’s food diversity, rich hospitality, and unique ancient heritage.
Tara Cheyne, MLA, in a post, congratulated the multi-award-winning restaurant and chefs Sanjay and Sunita. She observed:
“Given the restaurant is already multi-award winning and has a large and loyal following, I expect this news will come as no surprise to many who visit.”
Chefs Sanjay and Sunita believe their commitment to supporting aspiring people will create enthusiasm in similar private-sector employment and more business will become open-minded and willing to take this journey in offering meaningful employment and becoming more inclusive.
This was reflected as Daana won Inclusion in Employment at the the 2022 ACT Chief Minister’s Inclusion Awards in the category Excellence and Innovation in Community Access and Inclusion.
‘Daana’ was selected amongst businesses, organisations and individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to encouraging, welcoming and supporting people with disability are being celebrated.
