A steakhouse which opened less than a year ago has won the title of Best New Restaurant in the country.

Bleú Steakhouse in Staplehurst was announced the winner in the British Restaurant Awards alongside Gordon Ramsay who was crowned Best Chef.

The event took place on Tuesday night at Porchester Hall in London.

Television presenter Cait King was among the hosts as well as guest presenters Paris Smith from Made in Chelsea and Olympic champion, Dwain Chambers.

Bleú Steakhouse, located in Staplehurst High Street, went up against 10 culinary restaurants for the award.

Other nominations included Archway Battersea in London, Restaurant 8 by Andrew Sheridan in Liverpool, Coco Canary Wharf in London, and Orelle in Birmingham.

Owner, Tariq Ahmed, also runs Jumeria Indian takeaways in Staplehurst and Wadhurst.

His brother, Jamil Trofder, is manager of the steakhouse and says his team are still celebrating the win.

“It went really well and was much better than expected,” he said.

“As soon as we sat down and met a few people, we looked at each other and thought ‘what are we doing here?’

“There were quite a few celebrity chefs around, including Andrew Sheridan from the Great British Menu, who had a restaurant in our category.”

He added: “When they said our name, everyone literally jumped off their seats.

“They brought out Dwain Chambers, who gave us our award.

“I think we were all quite nervous and overwhelmed.”

Last month, it was revealed that the steakhouse was the only Kent restaurant to be nominated.

The news came as the team celebrated their first anniversary, which was on August 16.

It is the fifth year of the culinary awards, which has 29 categories.

Other winners included UberEats for Best Food Ordering Company, Gaucho for Best Restaurant Chain and Bocconcino for Best Luxury Restaurant.

“We got chatting and exchanged business cards with a few people,” Jamil explained.

“It was a good networking event as well – we were able to meet some of the best in the industry.

“Everyone is just over the moon.

“We’ve had customers coming into the restaurant to say well done and congratulations.”

Jamil and his team will be holding celebratory drinks this evening at the steakhouse.

They have invited a number of local residents along who have supported the restaurant from the start.

He said: “It went to a public vote, so we want to say thank you to everyone that has stood by us.

“Without them we wouldn’t be where we are now.

“We will let this one sink in – we aim to do better and better each year. Maybe there will be another Bleú Steakhouse in the future.”