We’ve doner it! Burwell Kebab Van wins at British Kebab Awards 2025

Burwell Kebab Van has emerged victorious from the British Kebab Awards during what is shaping up to be a special year for owner Sezgin Idriz.

It won Kebab Van of the Year at the awards, held on 26 February in London.

The annual ceremony, which is now in its 13th year, also includes categories such as Best Takeaway in London, Best Value Restaurant, Best Vegan Kebab, and Chef of the Year.

Sezgin described the win as “unbelievable”, adding: “Hard work pays off, right?”

He notes that the business, which he launched in 2016 and can be found at 21 The Causeway, Burwell, has finished in second place for the past two years.

“Finally this year we got the crown,” says Sezgin, who is helped by his father Nedzhmi and his wife, Emma.

His father had been fighting lung cancer and has just been given the all-clear from Royal Papworth Hospital, while his wife is pregnant with the couple’s second baby.

Sezgin said the main focus for Burwell Kebab Van is on customer service.

“We’ve got lots of people from everywhere, like Downham Market, Ely, Royston, the other side of Cambridge, the other side of Newmarket,” he said.

“We ask them if they have far to go and we wrap the food in aluminium foil. We also wrap the salad separately, to keep it fresh.”

Sezgin, who was born in Bulgaria and grew up in Turkey, revealed that some people have visited the van from as far away as Birmingham and Nottingham, having found out about it online.

He adds that their meat is fresh every day, as are the vegetables, and believes that he was one of the first people in the Cambridge area to sell halloumi.