The owner and CEO of Liverpool -founded Indian restaurant chain Mowgli Street Food is to be awarded an honorary doctorate by Edge Hill University.
Nisha Katona MBE, now also a broadcaster and food writer, will be given the accolade by the university in Ormskirk - the town where she grew up - for her contributions to society, which the institution said "resonated with [its] values, teaching and research".
Ms Katona's Mowgli brand now has 10 restaurants across the UK including two in Liverpool - with plans to open another in Bristol this winter.
Elsewhere, the chain has two branches in Manchester, as well as others in Sheffield, Cardiff, Leicester, Nottingham, Birmingham, and Oxford.
A former barrister of 20 years, Ms Katona was born in Ormskirk, and opened contemporary Indian restaurant chain, Mowgli Street Food in 2014.
In 2018, Mowgli was listed in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 Businesses, with Ms Katona being recognised with an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours list for services to the food industry.
She will be made Honorary Doctor of Business Administration at the University’s winter graduation ceremony on December 7.
As well as Ms Katona being honoured, Judge Professor Paulo Pinto de Alberquerque, European Court of Human Rights judge, will be given the title Honorary Doctor of Laws.
Judge Pinto de Albuquerque has been Judge of the European Court of Human Rights since 2011.
As an international judge, he has authored more than 150 opinions and has significantly contributed to the development of international human rights law.
The university said Judge Pinto de Albuquerque has also significantly contributed to strengthening its research profile in human rights law, and is enabling it to establish institutional links with courts at a national and international level.
Dr John Cater, Vice-Chancellor of Edge Hill University, said: “The University is privileged to be awarding Nisha and Paulo with honorary doctorates alongside our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
“This is a wonderful occasion for everyone involved, made all the more special thanks to a visit from two such leaders in their fields; I hope our graduands will feel inspired by sharing this moment with them.”
