About 600 Indian restaurants were selected for entry (out of the 4,000 that existed then) and it carried little critical information.
The results were duly published in the 1991 Guide and to launch it Chapman decided to hold an Awards Ceremony for the winners.
Chapman modelled it on the Academy Award, by commencing with a formal presentation of a certificate to each winner in turn before a group of their peers and media, and following with a luncheon to emphasise the event's social side.
On that first ceremony, there were eight winners, including Chutney Mary Indian restaurant London, SW10 as Best in UK, where the event was held.
Between 18 and 20 Awards are given before an audience of restaurant personnel and their guests, sponsors, media, press and others, totalling some 800.
The event is widely reported in the UK and in the subcontinent, and it is televised by Sony Entertainment Television Asia[3] and is screened and repeated in Australia, Canada, Europe, Pakistan, India, Mauritius, the Middle East, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States to millions of viewers.