Nigella Lawson and Jay Raynor, no less, have awarded a Cheltenham restauranteur with a 2019 Observer Food Monthly Award.

It is a long way from when the former human rights lawyer first opened 288 Bar & Wok in 2005, with no experience running a restaurant and a simple aim of establishing a respected family business.

But Pak Wai Hung and his family's determination has paid off, with the High Street eatery winning the OFM award for 'Best Cheap Eats' (guests can buy a main course and drink for less than £15 per head) at a ceremony hosted at the Freemasons Hall in Covent Garden, London.

"To be honest with you, I had no idea what I was doing," he said, looking back at those early days of 2005.

"I had no experience of working in a restaurant, let alone owning one. Thus, zero expectations because I didn't know what to expect.

"Having no prior experience of restaurants may have been an advantage because I was able to build the restaurant without any preconceptions and instead be customer led. My aim was to build a family local restaurant.

"We were in (what was) an unfashionable part of Cheltenham and that added to our local charm."

An early promise to repay those customers who nominated the family business might now appear a little rash.

"We originally said that if we even got shortlisted, we would celebrate with a small group of customers who voted for us. Now that we've won that small group has now grown to a party of over 100 guests."

Now in their 16th year, the Observer Food Monthly Awards aim to celebrate the best in British

food and drink.

Of the 16 OFM award categories, ten are reader nominated whilst the other

six are decided by a panel of judges from all over the UK.

Supported by M&S Food, the OFM awards afford Observer readers the chance to

recognise their local food hero, favourite restaurant, best Instagram feed, amongst others.

The OFMs are also billed as an opportunity for smaller restaurants and bars to share a

national platform with celebrated chefs and personalities.

It does not look like the recognition will affect what appears to be a winning formula at the Gloucestershire business.

"Nothing will change at B&W. We'll keep plugging away at doing what we do. We may have a few new customers following the national publicity but in general we will continue to focus on our local and loyal customers," said Pak Wai Hung.

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