Broad Street kebab van Hassan’s has been shortlisted in the 2018 British Kebab Awards.
The student favourite is one of six establishments nominated in the ‘Best Kebab Van’ category.
Hassan’s is the only Oxford- based eatery to have been short-listed. This is the sixth year that the British Kebab Awards have run.
The awards ceremony will be held on 12 March at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel.
There are 16 categories in this year’s awards, including regional awards for best kebab restaurant and best takeaway.
Hassan’s will go up against last year’s winner, Atalay’s in Thame, as well as Diamond Kebab (Cambridge), Billericay Kebab Van (Essex), Ozzy Kebab (Norfolk), and George’s Bodrum Kebab (Gloucester).
Hassan told Cherwell: “At first we were not even aware we were nominated until we actually got a call from the British Kebab Awards.
“We were completely happy and shocked. We do our best to provide good customer service and food with a smile.”
According to the competition’s website, over 1200 guests, including more than 300 MPs, lords, baronesses and councillors, and 800 businesses and community representatives attended last year’s ceremony.
The awards were founded in 2013 by the Centre for Turkey Studies, and celebrate an industry which brings £2.2 billion to the British economy annually.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were both guests at the awards in 2016.
Tickets for the ceremony are still on sale, with prices starting at £216 including dinner and drinks.
The van’s owner, Hassan Elouhabi, has been trading on Broad Street since 1995. Before this he worked in a French bakery.
In a 2016 interview with Cherwell he revealed that his favourite item on the menu was a “chicken wrap, with cheese and chips, chilli sauce and garlic mayonnaise… just a little bit of chicken and just a lit- tle bit of chips and I’m done for the whole night.
“The most ordered item has got to be chips and cheese, and then chips and cheese and meat – chicken or lamb,” he added.
Jolyon Scriven, a first-year Brasenose student, said: “It’s bizarre to think that someone could become a legend for a task as simple as running a kebab van.
“But Hassan, he goes above and beyond. He has kept Oxford students happy almost single-handedly for over a decade.”
Conor Magee, a third-year Exeter student, said: “No night out is complete without a trip to Hassan’s on the way back to college.
“The staff have a real charm which sets Hassan’s out above the competition, and it’s great to hear that it’s been nominated for such a prestigious award.”
Students from around the university have been supporting Hassan in the awards.
A recent Oxfess said: “Hassan’s is the only Oxford Kebab Van to have made it to the shortlist for the Best Kebab Van at the British Kebab Awards – let’s club together and take on Cambridge and ensure Oxford is home to officially the Best Kebab Van…”
Last year, Cherwell reported that drunk students had been buying from Hassan’s, and using the Cashew app to mistakenly pay rival van Hussein’s instead.
Hassan told Cherwell: “mistakes happen”.
Voting for the awards is open now at http://voting.britishkebabawards.
