The Quilon restaurant in London

London, Jan. 24: The cuisine of Kerala, which has been steadily gaining popularity in Britain along with holidays in the state, received international recognition today when Quilon, a restaurant a short walk from Buckingham Palace, was awarded a prestigious Michelin star.

Its chief executive, Aylur V. Sriram, was in Zurich on his way to the World Economic Forum in Davis, where he is thinking of serving his special prawns to global business leaders, when he heard of the accolade from The Michelin guide to Great Britain & Ireland 2008.

“I am very, very happy,” Sriram, probably the most cerebral Indian chef in Britain, told The Telegraph.

He said of the Taj-owned restaurant named after the town of Quilon in Kerala (famed for its pepper, cardamom and other spices): “The Taj lets me do what I like — I run as if I own it.”

The tennis champion Roger Federer, who enjoys dining at Quilon, certainly appears to like what Sriram does.

“We made crabs for him last time,” disclosed Sriram. “Amitabh Bachchan likes to come here, as do Abhishek and Aishwarya.”

The restaurant is certainly convenient for Bollywood stars and Indian politicians (dining off the Indian state) for it is at the front of the Crown Plaza Hotel, previously known as the St James’s Court.

As Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee stayed at the hotel, turned down lunch at Chequers with Tony Blair and instead ordered an 18-course room service from Quilon. “It’s a good job he wasn’t too hungry,” a prime ministerial aide noted at the time.

Sriram, who has broadened his Kerala cuisine to include the food of coastal India, said: “People do like my rasam very much. We don’t try to fool around with the Kerala recipes except perhaps turn down the heat. However, like everything else in life, food progresses. I call my cooking ‘progressive cooking’ — I like to take food further.”

Other Indian restaurants, which already have a Michelin star, are Amaya in Belgravia, Tamarind in Mayfair and Vineet Bhatia’s Rasoi (where it is possible to have a £100 curry).

A website which carries restaurant reviews, Toptable (www.totable.co.uk), had this to say about Quilon: “Among the new generation of Indian restaurants specialising in lighter sauces and a more eclectic menu, Quilon is the sister restaurant of the famous Bombay Brasserie.