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CONTENTS Covid-19 Vaccine: The Key to The UK Curry Industry's Recovery

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Curry Life exclusive TIKKa WeeK - NoT a day!

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new restaurants

Immigration matters: New year new points based system

CONTENTS

takeaway alongside his mum

Madhus opened two more

Please scan to read magazine online

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Chef Sat Bains opens vegan

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HoW To addReSS CHaLLeNGeS aHead

BRITISH CURRy LeGeNd We have launched a new section called British Curry Legends, a series of features profiling the most inspirational entrepreneurs in the curry industry.

We are tremendously lucky to have so many absolute gems in the curry industry. It is incredible to be able to bring their story to our readers. In this issue we share the story of a remarkable entrepreneur and living Curry Legend Muquim Ahmed who founded Cafe Naz group. Our cover story looks at how he has risen from the ashes of a brutal bomb attack and how he has maintained his place on the Asian Rich List league.

It is truly an inspirational story of a Hard Slog Millionaire who has worked hard on his way up to the top.

As we are approaching the fifth year anniversary of the death of Peter Grove, another Curry Legend, we have dedicated an article in support

The pandemic has had a significant impact on the hospitality industry's management and marketing activities across the globe. There are several challenges that the industry will face in the year 2021.

How do we address them? We should start with the very basics, the ideas, initiatives, and activities that help make a business better.

However, please do remember that despite the difficulties of the pandemic, there is still space for growth within our industry. We should explore every opportunity to improve our food and services and utilise all marketing opportunities to achieve growth.

Uses of technology are important, but making business changes by bringing new ideas is paramount for any growth.

It is not rocket science. Look at the latest trends in the business.

Review your menu and costs. Most importantly, staff training is crucial. These are basics you need to look into, and very often we ignore the very basics of business.

Those who have taken government grants and loan support must utilise this wisely to survive and grow their business. It is possible to be creative and take professional advice from those who have more experience in crisis management.

Often we ignore online reviews and social media. This cannot be

realistic anymore. Reviews and comments can destroy or market a business's reputation. Mostly, good restaurants used to engage and respond to the concerns. It is essential now, with competition rife in the food industry.

For instance, if you do not have the time to put out small fires, such as responding to bad reviews online, we recommend getting a professional agency to manage your social media and online platforms. Nowadays, you can do this for a small cost, and it is worth it.

CoVId CURRy HeRoeS HoNoURed An unusual yet exceptional year, the global pandemic has had a severe impact on the livelihoods of those at home and across the world.

Due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic, we at Curry Life had to cancel our annual flagship events, such as the Culinary Workshop and the Curry Life Annual Awards.

However, we were able to recognise some of the Covid Curry Heroes across the country who kept business doors open to serve and deliver takeaways, often risking their own lives to help our NHS, the elderly and the vulnerable during this pandemic.

We have been totally overwhelmed by seeing how businesses and individuals have gone above and beyond in their response to the Covid-19 crisis, and their effort deserves to be honoured. We are happy to share their response by offering this unique recognition from Curry Life Media Group.

As we aim to see the light at the end of the tunnel with the Covid-19 vaccine being rolled out to protect lives, we hope that our members of the curry industry, who are on the frontline of this pandemic, will be given priority to be immunised as soon as possible.

EDITORIAL

of National Curry Week, which was founded by him in 1998.

Coincidentally, Curry Life Awards will be taking place on Sunday, 10 October 2021. Just at the start of the National Curry week and we will do everything possible to celebrate this in a bigger and better way. We urge others in the Curry Industry to make the best use of the week for our recovery this year.

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Curry Life ReCoGNISeS CoVId CURRy HeRoeS FoR THeIR WoRK dURING PaNdeMIC

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The Curry houses from across the nation hve been given special recognition by the Curry Life magazine. It has named them as Covid Curry Heroes for their unprecedented offer of help and support to NHS, care workers and vulnerable people during the Covid 19 pandemic and lockdown.

The Curry Life Magazine is known as the most authoritative voice of the Curry Industry in Great Britain. A total of eighteen businesses from across the country were given the Local Covid Curry honour for their courageous work during the pandemic, and for helping those who were most in need of assistance during this difficult period.

Explaining the thinking behind the LOCAL COVID CURRY HERO initiative, Editor in Chief, Syed Nahas Pasha, said: “Despite the unprecedented problems posed by the present pandemic, these curry houses have gone out of their way to be almost a fourth emergency service to vulnerable people.

“Their businesses and livelihoods have been severely impacted, but this has not stopped them offering a helping hand to the most needy in our society at a time of crisis.”

He added: “During Covid 19, many Curry Houses have just managed to keep their heads above the water – absorbing the costs of closures, reduced capacity and Covid-19 compliance – many often putting their own lives at risk, as they themselves come largely from vulnerable BAME communities.

“Their efforts really deserve to be recognised as truly heroic-and we are delighted to be able to mark their magnificent contributions in this way.”

Syed Belal Ahmed, Editor of Curry Life Media Group, said: We have from the start decided this

recognition will go to a business that has demonstrated determination and resilience throughout the pandemic and tackled challenges head-on.

"We have been totally overwhelmed to see the businesses and individuals who have gone above and beyond in their response to the Covid-19 crisis and their effort deserves to be recognised.

"Curry Life have sent a bespoke Covid Curry Hero Plaque and a letter of appreciation directly to those businesses that have been recognised as no formal ceremony can be held due to covid restrictions," he added.

After giving this special recognition Curry Life editorial team reached out to those businesses to get their feedback and most of them have said they were remarkably humbled to have received this industry recognition from Curry Life. This is what they had to say about this.

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By Sam Smith

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Manik Miah - Haweli Indian Restaurant, Ealing Manik told us, “I feel great, and I’m so impressed to have been given this award by Curry Life. I really wasn’t expecting it.

We’ll be sure to frame the certificate and feature it prominently. Our thanks goes to Curry Life!”

Speaking about helping those in need during the pandemic, Manik said, “I wasn’t aware how vulnerable so many people were. Once COVID is gone, I think there’s so much more help needed to rebuild our lives.”

Since being given this recognition, Manik Miah said: "we had fantastic support from our customers and of course, local media was very supportive, promoting our charitable work and contribution during the pandemic."

Shaz Rahman - Blue Tiffin, Stoke-on-Trent We spoke to Curry Hero Shaz Rahman of the Blue Tiffin in Stoke who told us, “It’s so exciting to be given this recognition. But much more work needs to be done. We should do more for our local community and those who are in need of help.”

He went on to say, “I just want to say a massive thank you to our local and loyal customers. They have supported us when the pandemic began, and we’ve been privileged to support vulnerable people during this difficult time.

Speaking about 2020, Shaz said, “We’ve lost a year of trade, but we look forward to a better year ahead.”

Ruhel Hoque - The Indian Ocean, Cambridge “We are all so very happy to have been included in this unique national recognition. We will proudly display this special plaque and certificate at the restaurant for customers to see.

Ruhel told us his thoughts about the future. “We are lucky to have been supported by our community, sourcing ingredients during the pandemic has been challenging and there is worry that Brexit may make it harder and expensive.”

“Let’s hope things have improved by next year. But for now, following the guidelines is the most important thing. I’d like to stress this to everyone, please follow the rules.”

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Habibur Khan - The Radhuni, Edinburgh

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Habibibur Khan from The Radhuni in Edinburgh told us, “We’ve not done this for recognition. But it still feels amazing to be given this accolade. We’ve had help, so it’s our duty to give back and look after one another. But right now, we need to protect the NHS.” We asked him why the Curry Industry has been so willing to help others during the pandemic, “A lot of people in the curry industry recognise struggle, not our generation but our parents and grandparents. This pandemic reminds us of that, and I think this explains why we’ve been so keen to get involved and support others.”

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Chef Abul Monsur - Taj Cuisine, Chatham, Kent “We’re very excited about this special honour, we want to say a big thanks to Curry Life and our regular customers.”

Abul told us, “It’s nice to be recognised. Although my reason for providing help during pandemic wasn’t to gain recognition. It was because I see the value of charity and helping others.”

He went on to tell us that both his children are front line NHS workers, so Abul has seen the dangers of COVID-19 firsthand. “It’s been so hard for them (his children and the NHS), but the vaccine news brings me peace of mind.”

Oliul Khan - The Magna Tandoori Berwick-Upon-Tweed Oliul Khan was so happy to receive this honour from Curry Life; he told us how it had made a “major difference” to his business. “So many customers and friends are reaching out, I honestly consider this a huge lifetime achievement. I wasn’t expecting it either, we just wanted to help our community.”

“The award from Curry Life will be proudly displayed on the bar, where everyone can see it. We’re also going to have a big banner made for outside the restaurant as well as ‘COVID Hero’ badges for our staff.”

Oliul also told us that a local taxi company wants to advertise for them, free of charge.

Abu Moijd - Chandini Restaurant, Sawbridgeworth In regards to being given the recognition, Abu Mojid told us, “It’s lovely to be appreciated for what we did by Curry Life Magazine. If I’m being honest, it’s been a tough time keeping the business going. “No one week has been comparable to another but giving back in the way that we did helped keep us, and many other people going. For that to be recognised and for Curry Life to see what we were doing is so uplifting.

We asked Abu about his desire to give back to the community.

“It’s something ingrained in our industry, our culture too. If others are suffering, we have an instinct to help.”

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“We feel very proud and appreciated. Many people in our industry put their lives on the line to help the needy. But we had to find ways to give back and help in any way we could.”

We asked Abdul about the UK Curry Industry’s commitment to helping others during the pandemic and why they felt compelled to help. “I think lots of us were open because we changed to takeaway, we were in a position to help – and we had to do something.”

“I want to thank Curry Life for this honour. Since getting it I’ve had 1500 positive comments on Facebook! Curry Life made us a local legend!”

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Abdul Hay - iNaga Restaurant, West Wickham

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Zakir Khan - Zyka Restaurant, Reading “I feel amazing to be selected for this special recognition. We didn’t expect or do it for recognition, but for a small restaurant this is huge achievement for us and our gratitude goes to Curry Life.”Zak went on to tell us: “The recognition is really going to help us as we head into the New Year and this virus dissipates.

The response has been incredible. It’s getting pride of place with the other awards we’re lucky enough to have.”

“Curry restaurants are often in small communities and I think this is what’s caused many of us to help. We know these people and hate to see them struggle. We’ll continue to help where we can.”

Gyash Uddin - Fusion Foods, Markyate, St Albans Gyash Uddin told Curry Life, “I’m delighted to get this special honour from Curry Life. But it’s all thanks to our customers that we are still here and keeping us going strength to strength.”

“It’s amazing to know we’re appreciated so much by our local customers. It’s a tough time for the Curry Industry and we are grateful Curry Life supported us. It was only right that we do what we can for those in need.”

It’s so sad we’ve lost so many lives, I’ve lost friends, even friends in this industry. I hope next year, thanks to our vaccine, we won’t need to worry anymore this year. Until then, we’re proud to step up and help where we can. And we will continue to do so.”

Askor Ali - Mahaan Restaurant, Worthing

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“Great achievement to be given this Covid Curry Award by Curry Life, a wonderful privilege to receive it.”

We asked Askor why he feels like the UK Curry Industry has been so kind during the pandemic. He said, “The Curry Industry is a much bigger industry and it is right that we do offer our help the needy and vulnerable. We are proud as a British Bangladeshi Restaurant Business that we were able to offer the help. He went on to tell business about how he thinks life will change, “We think this pandemic will only bring out the good in people. The world has changed; social distancing may actually bring us closer. It’s made people see what’s important. Those who can’t see their families this year will appreciate it all the more next year.”

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Syed Zohorul Islam – The Capital, Durham Syed Islam from The Capital restaurant in Durham told Curry Life, “I’m so grateful to be acknowledged this way by Curry Life. Thank you for recognising us, we also thank our customers for helping us do what we did.”

He went on to say, “Things were really hard at first, we changed to serving takeaway only but soon realised we wanted to support the NHS. My GP has known me for forty years; it was nice to finally do something for him. I think the vaccine will definitely help us all to get back to normal in a few months.”

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Jalal Uddin Ahmed -Shozna Restaurant, Rochester, Kent Jalal from Shozna Restaurant told Curry Life, “We feel great to be given this recognition from the Curry Life Magazine.

Even now we are still helping the NHS and care workers.

“Our local community has kept us going and made us successful over the years, so now it’s time to give back to them and show them we appreciate them.”

We asked Jalal about his plans now that he’s been given the Covid Curry Hero Award. He said, “I want people to know about the Covid Curry Hero recognition, because we’re very proud of it. Many of our customers have congratulated us."

Razaul Karim - Spice Club, Bridgewater Razaul Karim, on behalf of Spice Club told Curry Life, “Community is so important. This is why we felt compelled to help others during the pandemic. We saw NHS staff having no days off and working flat out, so we decided to get into our kitchen and help them get through it in any way we could.”

We asked Razaul if the recognition from Curry Life will help business when the pandemic is over. He said, “You never know, people appreciate what we have been doing during the pandemic. But we didn’t do it for recognition, community is what matters most, community is what helps businesses and we need to stand by the community”

Matin Khan - Itihaas Restaurant, Dalkeith Speaking about the Covid Curry Heroes Award, Matin Khan told us, “We’re very honoured. It raised our morale very high. We really appreciate the recognition and honestly didn’t think anyone had noticed until Curry Life contacted us.”

We asked Matin how he got involved, he said, “So many people who were confused when things started happening. I realised that we had food and they needed help getting it. I’d see doctors and nurses stopping by for food, tired after their shifts. I’m glad we made a difference to them.”

Lal Hussain - Anoka Restaurant,

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Mashukar told us, “The Covid Curry Heroes Recognition was a great idea. It was amazing to be one of the restaurants included in this special honour”.

He went on to tell us about how positive the response from his customers has been. “We’ve got it prominently displayed at the restaurant so customers can see it and ask about it.”

We’ll take time to celebrate our achievement in the New Year when things calm down. But for now, I just want to thank Curry Life for recognising us.

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Mashukur Rahman Jhaal Contemporary Indian Cuisine, Colchester

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Bognor Regis, West Sussex Mr Hussain told Curry Life: "We were delighted to be recognised by Curry Life. I think there are some misconceptions about Curry Industry in general. We are very committed, kind hearted and resilient people. We have displayed and shown our kindness to support our NHS, care workers, vulnerable people during this global pandemic. No pandemic can change them doing what is right and appropriate. That is what we have done during this difficult time.

"We are grateful to those who have considered us to be worthy of this unique and special recognition and this is an achievement for the whole of the hard working team at the Anoka Restaurant," Mr Hussain added.

Surman Ali - Deshi Spice Restaurant, Bedford

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"We as a family battled to cope during the coronavirus. We are very grateful to Curry Life for this special recognition during this turbulent time for business."

We dedicate this Special Recognition to all our team members at the Deshi Spice Bedford for their hard work during the challenging time of the pandemic.

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aWaRdS 2021 CURRYLIFE AWARDS Sunday, 10 October 2021 Experience the most inspiring night of the Curry Calendar. Curry Life Awards and Gala dinner is most important annual event of the Curry Industry. Excellence deserves recognition. Don't forget to send nomination for your restaurant, chef or takeaway to get recognitions they deserve at the Curry Life Awards 2021. Winning Curry Life Award will put your business or individual in the national spotlight. Join us for the spectacular show at the Curry Life Awards unlike any you have seen before.

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Sikh Community in Gravesend Rallies

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to Help Stranded Lorry drivers in Kent

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During the height of the Calais border closure, many members of the local Sikh community came to the aid of lorry drivers who were stuck there – and unlikely to make it home in time for Christmas.

Members of the Gravesend Gurdwara and the charity Khalsa, delivered hundreds of curries and treats to grateful drivers who were stranded with nowhere to go. In one afternoon over 800 meals were cooked and delivered on a bitterly cold December afternoon.

The volunteers rallied at Gurdwara’s Langar kitchen and worked

alongside the charity Khalsa Aid to ensure the drivers all received a hot meal. The drivers were trapped due to the border closure at Dover after fears of a new strain of COVID and complications over Brexit.

Temple leaders in the local area rushed to gather volunteers to aid the drivers. They also recruited the local council and members of the police force to help facilitate the operation.

Spokesperson Guru Nanak Darbar Jagdev Singh Virdee said, “Khalsa Aid got in touch this morning about 12 o'clock and by 2.30pm they came to collect the food. We made some

phone calls to get volunteers together because we are already doing Langar, where we deliver to vulnerable people."

The team managed to make over 500 chickpea curries and 300 mushroom and pasta meals for the hungry lorry drivers. Ravi Singh, the founder of Khalsa Aid, said, “Everyone’s working together to feed the drivers.

It’s been an amazing day and we are immensely proud.

(We did this) two days away from Christmas and these drivers don’t know if they’re going to be home or not.”

Mr. Singh went on to say, “It’s horrible for them, there’s nothing here – no food, no shops – it’s like a prison for them. We can’t sit back and do nothing. We’ve all had a very tough year, but people haven’t stopped giving or sharing.”

The nearby Ramsgate Football Club also took part in the efforts to look after the stranded lorry drivers. They provided over 200 pizzas to go alongside the curry and pasta that was already on route.

The club’s chairman, James Lawson, told a local newspaper, “We are a community club, and we want anyone in the community or who passes through to know we will always look after them. It’s a very difficult situation.”

“Everyone wants to be home at Christmas with their families, many seemed young, so we wanted to spread what cheer we could.”

Curry Life would like to send our thanks and congratulations to everyone who supported the stranded lorry drivers. We consider every one of you Curry Heroes in your own right – even if you delivered pizza!

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a New Report Reveals the UK Wealth Gap Between ethnic Groups ‘Unlikely to Change’

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According to a report published this winter, certain members of BAME communities have lower than average wealth when compared to their white British counterparts. This is particularly true for those of Black African heritage.

The report also reveals that these significant wealth gaps are unlikely to change unless there is targeted support for people who are disproportionally affected.This includes help to purchase their first home or support with/through tax.

However, the report reveals that the gap has narrowed slightly over the

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past decade. But not enough to be considered meaningful or represent true equality between ethnicities when it comes to wealth.

An organisation called the Resolution Foundation – who commissioned the report - found that families of a black or African ethnicity generally earn the least, with adults earning less per year and owning fewer assets. This information was provided in greater detail in their recent report titled, “A Gap Which Won’t Close.”

Curry Life can report that British Bangladeshis are also impacted by

the wealth gap. A family made up exclusively from those of Bangladeshi descent also shows a significant disparity when it comes to wealth, earning and owning significantly less than those from Caucasian heritage.

George Bangham, an economist representing the Resolution Foundation, said, “There are stark gaps in the amount of wealth held by different ethnic groups in Britain.

These wealth gaps are having a serious impact on the resilience of different households in the face of income shocks during the Covid-19

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crisis, and on the life choices of current and future generations.

“Despite significant progress in closing education and employment gaps between different ethnic groups, these wealth gaps are likely to persist. Even high earners will struggle to save their way to being high wealth, while white British people are much more likely to inherit significant sums than those of other ethnic groups.”

He continued, “Policy makers need to recognise that wealth gaps may be much harder to close than other differences between ethnic groups, particularly as they are often hardly discussed. There is no silver bullet to tackling persistent wealth inequalities but wealth tax reform and better targeting of support for people to access home ownership or save for a pension would help.”

The Resolution Foundation also discovered that many Black, Bangladeshi or mixed ethnicity families hold less than £1000 in savings, meaning they are more at risk of homelessness or other crises caused by poverty. They could findthemselves without a safety net should they suddenly suffer a loss of earnings.

The Foundation and other voices have suggested that schemes such as Help to Buy were welcome, but only really supported those already in a privileged position.

The scheme was helpful to those who had enough disposable income to save a portion of their house deposit. But for those who reach the breadline at the end of the month, the scheme was pointless.

Instead, they have called on the Government to offer support that works, such as targeted tax relief or total tax reform, which supports those on low incomes. This could allow those affected to have more capital leftover once they have paid their priority bills. This could then be saved and put towards something meaningful – like a house deposit.

The COVID-19 pandemic is thought to have only made the situation worse, with small business owners forced to close or furlough their staff, many of which will be on low incomes. They will now have found themselves without any earning potential or less than they normally receive. And for many, this was already far from enough.

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Michelin Star Chef SaT BaINS

oPeNS VeGaN TaKeaWay

aLoNGSIde HIS MUM

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Sat Bains has two Michelin stars under his belt, but his new venture will see him go back to basics – and look to his childhood for inspiration. The traditional Punjabi food that Sat grew up on will form the basis of his new enterprise.

But this time Sat and his mum will be cooking together rather than her cooking for him.

Sat and his mum, the 72-year-old Tarsem will be focusing on vegan curry and savoury snacks like samosas. He learnt how to cook from his mum and other women in his local community at their town’s local Sikh temple as a child. In an interview with his local newspaper, Sat said, "This is the genuine home-style food my mum makes. It's exciting times.”

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He went on to tell them about his mum’s reaction to the idea that they should open a takeaway together. "She is so proud, it's incredible. These are dishes I grew up with. This is my Punjabi heritage. I've had 50 years of mum's food; it comes from her."

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began Sat has needed to close his restaurant in Nottingham twice. But he hopes this new venture will be able to remain open and cater for those in need of healthy, home cooked takeaway food. He reached the decision to open a new takeaway after deciding this wouldn’t be the right direction for his restaurant.

"I wouldn't even consider it (turning the restaurant into a takeaway). We can't translate what we do in a box. But homely Punjabi food that you'd have at weddings and celebrations is the most perfect thing. It's real comfort food.

This climate is terrible, but you've got to think outside the box. You have got to diversify. This is the one thing the pandemic has taught us, you've got to roll the dice and I do know it's delicious."

Sat believes that while operating a takeaway service from his restaurant wouldn’t work, his and his mum’s new business is perfect for it. He went on to talk about how he (and his mum’s) classic recipes could be adapted for takeaway.

"Instead of curry sauce I like to put the chickpeas over the chips and you can put it over fish which is incredible. The tamarind chutney is quite tart. It goes really well with samosas. I don't like my samosas too hot, so my mum used to put mine in the fridge and then I'd have them cold."

Sat also hopes that his home cooking philosophy will translate well to cooking takeaway meals. “When you're at home with your family you don't measure anything, it's all by the eye and smell so we've had to systemise mum's recipes so now we've made two batches, 200kg and 100kg, and it's incredible. It's so consistent and that's what we're after so we know we're getting the product right each time."

"As a chef you systemise everything. With the same pride and same mentality as if it was a beautiful, pressed chicken terrine with sweetbreads, or ravioli of lobster, we're using the same skills set we run the restaurant at two-star level, no difference". It's been really hectic as we've been working on this.”

Sat hopes that he and his mum’s new business will help support his restaurant while it’s closed due to lockdown.

His mum’s recipes were also featured on an episode of James Martin’s Saturday Morning earlier this year.

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FEATURE

CoVId-19 VaCCINe

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The Key to The UK Curry Industry's Recovery Curry Life report Like many other people across Britain, Curry Life celebrated when we heard the news that the UK had become the first country in the world to approve a vaccine for COVID-19. But we

recognise that a lot more work still needs to be done. It's clear that there's a long road ahead, for the country and the curry industry.

The UK has seen two separate COVID spikes since March and without the vaccine, a third looks probable. It seems clear to us that this virus

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the government has considered rolling out the vaccine on a sociogeographic basis, i.e., prioritising those who live in areas most at risk of COVID infection.

LBC presenter David Lammy pointed out on his radio show that Matt Hancock and the government have acknowledged the additional risk COVID poses to people from BAME communities. So why has this not been referenced in any way on the priority list?

FEATURE

RCGP has raised significant concerns about the extent to which GPs, their practice staff, and patients from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are disproportionately affected by Covid-19."

"As you are aware, data shows that death rates from Covid-19 are among the highest in patients from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, yet we note that they are not included on the initial JCVI prioritisation list ahead of the rollout of the vaccines."

The Professor went on to highlight the statistics and explained his reasoning behind the question; doctors all over the UK will need to explain the government's thinking to their BAME patients. Letters from other experts have also questioned if

CURRY LIFE

isn't going away until the vaccine is educating those we care about on its widely distributed. Once it is, then importance. The curry industry restaurants will be able to open wants an end to this pandemic, not again, hopefully returning to normal just to save lives, but to save our at some point during 2021. businesses. The longer it goes on, the There's no getting away from how more risk there is to both. destructive the pandemic has been to British Bangladeshis have also been the Curry Industry and the wider confirmed to be the people most at hospitality sector that it's part of. But risk of dying from COVID-19. As the vaccine finally offers some hope many restaurant and curry house for all of us in the restaurant trade. owners are of Bangladeshi origin, While it may be too late to save this makes vaccination so much some businesses, the vaccine will be more important. Especially for those the difference between recovery and of us who are over sixty or who have closing forever for many others. pre-existing health conditions.

This is why we celebrate its creation Ensuring our families are vaccinated and look forward to a speedy against the virus and encouraging distribution. Like most people, Curry our employees to make sure they are Life trusts science and supports our too, ultimately reduces the risk of medical community. We have full infection. confidence in the Pfizer vaccine In fact, people from all minority despite the misgivings of some ethnic backgrounds are statistically conspiracy theorists.

We trust experts, medical science and "Tailored local implementation doctors completely; therefore, we pay no to promote good vaccine attention to vaccine coverage in Black, Asian and sceptics. We'd also encourage others to minority ethnic groups will be take the same approach.

However, it's more than the most important factor just our respect for within a vaccine programme in medicine and those who practice it that reducing health inequalities in make us support the these groups." vaccine; we also think it will be vital to repairing our industry.

The restaurants and restaurant owners have an interest in more at risk of dying from COVID. the vaccine's widespread use. The This has led some to ask if this needs more people who take it, the safer to be factored into the rollout of the the country will be from COVID, vaccine. If certain ethnic groups are meaning our customers can return more at risk than others, should they with minimal risk of infection, be given the vaccine sooner? allowing us to open our doors and The Royal College of General welcome them back.

Practitioners even wrote to the For this reason, the curry industry Health Minister Matt Hancock to needs to get behind the vaccine and inquire why this wasn't the case. The recognise it as the beacon of hope letter was written by Professor that it is. This also means opposing Marshall of the RCGP saying, efforts to discredit the vaccine and "Throughout the pandemic, the

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CURRY LIFE

FEATURE

Dr. Kamrun Hossain is taking the vaccine.

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This is especially worrying when a report by the Guardian revealed that people from BAME backgrounds are less likely to seek out the vaccine. This could make life harder for the curry industry if accurate, so Curry Life hopes this does not turn out to be the case.

Curry Life approached the government's Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation for comment, particularly to find out why people from BAME backgrounds have not been added to the priority list. Their first response was: "The JCVI's advice on COVID-19 vaccine prioritisation was developed with the aim of preventing as many deaths as possible. As the single greatest risk of death from COVID19 is older age, prioritisation is primarily based on age. It is estimated that vaccinating everyone in the priority groups would prevent around 99% of deaths from COVID19."

They then referred us to comments made by Professor Wei Shen Lim, the COVID-19 Chair for JCVI, who said: "There is clear evidence that certain Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups have higher rates of infection, and higher rates of serious disease, morbidity and mortality.

The reasons are multiple and complex."

"Tailored local implementation to promote good vaccine coverage in Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups will be the most important factor within a vaccine programme in reducing health inequalities in these groups."

Curry Life continued to press the JCVI for specifics on why BAME people had not been prioritised, despite data from the ONS and their own Professor Lim supporting the fact that people from BAME backgrounds are most at risk from COVID-19.

We also asked the JCVI to elaborate on how they were planning to

facilitate the "tailored local implementation". As well as how this would be enabled – and by whom. We were told, "The 'tailored local implementation', as the term implies, would be different in different places. The NHS is responsible for the deployment of the vaccine." We were then encouraged to speak to the NHS on how this would be carried out in each region.

The JCVI then provided us with the following information about the government's position on vaccination priority when it comes to people from BAME backgrounds, saying: "There is no strong evidence that ethnicity by itself (or genetics) is the sole explanation for observed differences in rates of severe illness and deaths. What is clear is that certain health conditions are associated with increased risk of serious disease, and these health conditions are often overrepresented

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groups during the vaccination programme."

The good news is that anyone from a BAME background who is of advanced age or who suffers from a health condition that could make COVID more dangerous to them, are indeed first in line when it comes to getting a COVID vaccine.

However, no additional priority is being afforded to people from BAME backgrounds simply based on their heritage. The government acknowledges the additional risk but believes this will be factored into their vaccine rollout in its current form – and at a local level.

We sincerely hope this is the case.

Curry Life would like to encourage all our readers to seek out the COVID-19 vaccination when the time comes. Hopefully, this will help protect our industry from the virus once and for all.

FEATURE

will also provide for greater vaccination of BAME communities who are disproportionately affected by such health conditions."

"The committee's advice is for NHS England and Improvement, the Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England and the devolved administrations to work together to ensure that inequalities are identified and addressed in implementation."

"This could be through culturally competent and tailored communications and flexible models of delivery, aimed at ensuring everything possible is done to promote good uptake in BAME groups and in groups who may experience inequalities in access to, or engagement with, healthcare services. These tailored implementation measures should be applied across all priority

CURRY LIFE

in certain BAME groups."

"It is also clear that societal factors, such as occupation, household size, deprivation, and access to healthcare can increase susceptibility to COVID-19 and worsen outcomes following infection. These factors are playing a large role in the inequalities being seen with COVID-19."

They went on to say that BAME people are being prioritised but based on geographical location and individual circumstances.

However, we were quick to point out that this applies to everyone in the UK, not just those from BAME backgrounds.

"Good vaccine coverage in BAME groups will be the most important factor within a vaccine programme in reducing inequalities for this group. Prioritisation of persons with underlying health conditions

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MUQUIM aHMed

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HARD-SLOG

! e r i a n o i l Mil Securities is also in recognition of his vision of the long-term. As he puts it, ‘the service industry, trading and jobs have a limited shelf life, but assets, property and shares will always have a greater continued growth value for generations.

Ahmed is also an avid gardener, which presumably helps him to unwind from his business interests. He is a proud owner of a stately garden. Yet he is perhaps best known for being dubbed ‘the first Bangladeshi millionaire’ and the ‘unofficial king of Brick Lane’, credited with helping to transform the area in London’s East End into a vibrant hub in the 1990s.

Various press reports documenting his rise have referenced his ‘fierce determination to succeed’, his ‘boy wonder’ personality and his hunger for business. He has appeared in the Estates Gazette and Asian Rich list which highlighted his achievements as a self-made millionaire and how he has raised the profile of the Bangladeshi community.

He appeared in the Sunday Times Rich List, the definitive list of the richest people in the country. Presently, research shows in the Companies House that his fixed assets supersede by millions within his peer group.

CURRY LIFE

“I

am a restless person, I need to be doing something all of the time,” Muquim Ahmed tells me, not five minutes into our meeting. We’re gathered (socially-distanced style) at Ahmed’s offices at Canary Wharf in east London on a dreary, rainy day.

Pre-Covid, the area would be buzzing but the offices are eerily silent and empty.

Reassuringly though, the biggest presence is from the cleaning crew. Such an atmosphere, however, does little to dampen Ahmed’s enthusiasm; he is clearly a person who is constantly on the go, no matter the situation.

In the last 40 years, he has built a business empire spanning a myriad of industries from electronics, to hospitality, from travel to finance, from wholesale distribution to catering, among others. He is currently chairman of Quantum Securities, a substantial property portfolio business, worth millions, established decades ago consisting of both residential and commercial properties.

Ahmed attributes his success to tenacity and endurance and the belief that when setting up your goal in life, you need to aim high. His current position at Quantum

PROFILE

Muquim Ahmed has spent the past 40 years building a burgeoning business empire - which has seen the millionaire businessman dubbed as the King of Brick Lane. Here he tells Curry Life how he has risen through the ranks – putting his success down to tenacity and being in the ‘right place at the right time’.

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At Cafe Naz in Brick Lane

From entrepreneur to restauranteur

CURRY LIFE

PROFILE

Even with 40-plus years of business under his belt, Ahmed is still as passionate about business now as he was then, with the firm mantra that you have to believe in yourself if you want to achieve something.

Like many before him, Ahmed arrived in the UK from Bangladesh in 1974 to finish his engineering studies. As he explains, there was - and still is - a belief in his home country that if you don’t go abroad and study, it can become difficult to get a good job back home.

Harper, his own brand of watches

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“The high earning, doctors, the lawyers [in Bangladesh], they were all educated abroad; my parents wanted me to be someone important in the community so they sent me to England to complete my studies,” says Ahmed.

His studies, however, were soon abandoned in favour of several business opportunities, such as exporting electrical goods from the UK to his native Bangladesh, and acquiring the lease first and later the freehold of Naz Cinema in Brick Lane. Ahmed admits being in the right place at the right time. He imported movies from Bangladesh and showed them on the big screen at the cinema, gaining a loyal following among the Brick Lane locals.

Ahmed was also quick to spot how to make a thriving business better, reflecting his determination to go further. Noting that there was a huge demand for electrical goods, he looked at how to improve margins, recognising the Far East’s potential. This led to his move into wholesaling, sourcing products mostly from Hong Kong factories. These included watches, radios, clocks and cassette players, all

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under the brand name of Harper (chosen because Harper sounded more English and branding was for UK customers) and other electrical accessories. His Sylto Cash and Carry attracted customers from far and wide and established itself as a national distributor for popular Japanese brands such as TDK, JVC, Panasonic and Casio.

In the late 1980s he was also instrumental in raising the profile of the community by helping out Notun Din and later - the weekly Asian Post English newspaper.

Survival instinct and being a role model

Naz Cinema in 1970’s

After Brick Lane

bombing

PROFILE

Fire in main warehouse. 1994

CURRY LIFE

Ahmed is also a survivor - in more than one sense of the word. In October 1994, his warehouse at Chicksand Street, just off Brick Lane, burnt down to the ground, with his Christmas trade - one of the most lucrative times of the year, literally going up in flames. The accidental fire destroyed the entire Sylto business, as well as the offices housing his media and other companies, incurring losses of over £4m.

Undeterred, Ahmed turned to what he had left - the cinema, where the concept for the Cafe Naz chain of restaurants took hold, having opened the first such restaurant in the former cinema’s foyer. He opened another nine restaurants, with same theme and name, all around the country within five years of opening the first.

Once again, Ahmed was looking to capitalise on a growing demand in the UK - this time for Indian food and the popularity of dishes such as chicken tikka masala.

Cafe Naz quickly built a following among diners and restaurant critics for its take on contemporary Indian cuisine, providing authentic-tasting dishes highlighting the flavours of regional Indian cuisine. Ahmed brought in top chefs from five-star hotels in India and Bangladesh, with the restaurant not only showcasing authentic cuisine but Indian culture too. Chefs shared recipes with customers while the restaurant provided Indian-themed entertainment, as well as organise a number of food festivals.

In April 1999, Ahmed narrowly escaped death during the ‘Brick Lane bombing’, an attack targeted at London’s Bangladeshi community. There had been two similar nail bomb attacks in the run up to the one on Brick Lane, targeting Brixton’s black population and the LGBT community in Soho. Just moments before the bomb exploded, in the trunk of a car parked outside Cafe Naz. Ahmed had been at the restaurant. It was destroyed by the bomb, with Ahmed putting his narrow escape down to sheer luck - he was seating by the window which took the brunt of the force of the blast as the front and back house was preparing for the lunch trade when his wife Rashmi called and he crossed the road to meet her and their five

25 1985

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Muquim Ahmed with his wife Farzana Ahmed

Above: Muquim Ahmed (far right) with his Brother Moin Uddin Ahmed and his wife Nurun Nessa Khanam. Front row his mother Haji Umarjan Bibi and nephew and niece Tipu and Rubi. (1970) Left: Father Haji Mubarak Ahmed

CURRY LIFE

PROFILE

Right: Monique Ahmed (daughter) and Miraj M Ahmed (son).

26

year old daughter Monique just as the blast went off.

So how did Ahmed bounce back from such life-changing events such as his warehouse being destroyed and the bombing? Following the devastating warehouse fire, he was lucky enough to be able to borrow money from his family and his brother-in-law to get himself back into business, but crucially, his success has been about spotting an opportunity and running with it, as well as knowing when it’s the right time to move on. Muquim’s former wife Rashmi Ahmed also played an important role to support him to meet new challenges in business. After fire he did not try to rebuild Sylto for example, moving on to Cafe Naz. By 2000, a year after the bombing, there were 10 such restaurants under the ‘Naz’ brand, across various locations such as London, Cambridge, Horsham, Cardiff and Chelmsford. After 20 years of successfully running the chain of Café Naz, he decided to exit from Restaurant trade recognising he had taken that opportunity as far as he could. He is still involved in a handful of restaurants through Quantum Securities, but this time as their landlord.

“There were several reasons to get out of the restaurant industry,” he says. “There was personal stress, gross profit margins became lower, we suffered from staff shortages and the European HACCP & laws.

Residence: Mount Mascal Farm

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With Prime Minister Boris Johnson

It became harder to ensure the chefs are properly trained and you can’t be everywhere - sometimes too much can be just that.”

Ahmed had also established a bakery and a food manufacturing business alongside running Cafe Naz. With several of his restaurants preparing thousands of meals every week, moving into the industrial production of ready meals seemed like a natural progression - and one which again filled demand at the time for ready-cooked meals. The warehouse Ahmed purchased for his ready meal production facility turned out to be a lucrative move - he sold it for more than three times the purchase price, which led him to where he is today - property investment under Quantum Securities.

So what would Ahmed say to the younger generation?

His advice is simple: identify what you are good at and what you enjoy doing, Believe in yourself and do your best and give it your best shot. If you have ‘it’, don’t give up and if you are not successful, keep on trying.

“It’s essential to aim high, but not too high that you cannot reach,” he says. “To retain success is an art in itself. Be focused, diligent and plan your enterprises in a structured way. Ambition and motivation and a desire to succeed should propel you to your destination.”

And if the warehouse fire taught him anything, Ahmed says it’s that no matter how hard you try, accidents can happen. “Consolation and encouragement does go a long way, and you can feel incapacitated and debilitated. You’ve got to pick yourself up again; it’s difficult, but life must go on.”

With Former Prime Minister John Major

A firm remainer during the Brexit process, Ahmed feared that if the UK left the European Union, the country would suffer from a number of issues, labour shortages for example being his main concern. He has since changed his mind however, and says that leaving the EU is a better position for the UK to be in.

Only time will tell whether or not this is the case, but one thing is certain: as a businessman, Ahmed is proud to give his support to a Conservative government and has campaigned for the party over the years in a number of general and local elections. He was the cofounder of Conservative Friends of Bangladesh, an organisation that aims to develop relationships between the Conservative party and the British Banglasdeshi community. Currently he is serving as the Patron of CFOB. “When you are faced with a situation like Brexit,

CURRY LIFE

With Former Prime Minister David Cameron

PROFILE

Political point

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Receiving honorary fellowship at the Queen Mary University

everyone looks after their own interests,” he says. “I am convinced now that we will be more successful on our own. I believe in meritocracy - in a socialist-type state, there is no incentive for the individual to thrive.”

Unsurprisingly, we touch on immigration - a subject very close to Ahmed’s heart, who says the current situation is ‘far,’far better now than some 40 years ago’ when he first arrived. Without immigrants, he says, he would not have been able to run his businesses.

“Immigrants come here with nothing - just their hopes and aspirations, they make a life for themselves here by working hard,” he says. “If you have the ability and determination you can achieve anything; you can be anywhere if you have this belief in yourself.”

Community action

Ahmed was previously the chairman of the British Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce (serving three terms), and played a prominent role, overseeing a number of seminars and trade exhibitions, including The Expo Bangladesh 2005, held at London’s Barbican Centre, the first ever one-country trade show held internationally by Bangladesh. This helped to raise the profile of the Bangladeshi on an international front.

His take is very much that leadership is about actively lifting people up to your level, not just showing people how you got there.

“Our community is a new community, we have been here not even 60 years and we have achieved glowing heights. In the field of politics, we have four member of Parliament, we are in the House of Lords, Queen’s Councillors, Judge, Doctors, Scientist and City High flyers, High Commissioner/Ambassadors in the British foreign service. We are a young and vibrant community and are certain to achieve many more distinctive heights in the years to come.

CURRY LIFE

PROFILE

Working with and for the local community is another of Ahmed’s passions. He is adamant about having worked hard to make a difference to the lives of those in London’s East End, and helping the Bengali community integrate into mainstream British society.

With Former Chairman of the Conservative Party Francis Maude

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Leading BBCCI trade delegation to Bangladesh

Lifetime Achievement award to Muquim Ahmed by former leader of the house Andrea Leadsom. On left Mehfuz Ahmed and on right Abdus Hamid.

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THE KEY TRENDS IN OUR LOCKDOWN DINING HABITS As our daily routines under lockdowns and COVID restrictions have changed, so too, it seems, have our eating habits. A look at the data reveals some quite marked changes in when we’re eating and what we’re eating. And this presents some interesting opportunities for Restaurant Partners.

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Here’s a look at the key trends that have emerged in dining during lockdown.

We’re eating earlier

We’re eating more desserts

With no daily commute to endure, people are getting hungry earlier. Instead of having to wait until they get home at 7:30pm for dinner, they’re now seeing orders for evening meals starting two and a half hours earlier at 5 pm.

Now here’s a sweet surprise. Data reveals that people are ordering more puddings, sweets and desserts - a whopping 36% more of them in fact. Perhaps it’s a sign that we’re all taking comfort in small moments of joy during these unsettling times.

TOP TIP: Is your restaurant set up for an earlier dinner time rush? If you haven’t yet done it, you can amend your opening hours quickly and easily on Partner Centre at partner.just-eat.co.uk/openinghours

Every day has that Friday feeling As every day blurs into the next and we all lose track of time, gone too is the mentality of a Friday or Saturday night treat. While vast amounts of people continue to order at the weekend, people are having more meals delivered on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, perhaps as a reward for getting through the tough start of the working week.

TOP TIP: Make sure you are set up to handle any unexpected rushes - and remember, if you’re really busy, you can adjust your delivery radius and delivery times on Partner Centre at partner-ordertime.just-eat.co.uk

Chocolate fudge cake, strawberry cheesecake and apple pie have become the top afterdinner treats.

TOP TIP: If you don’t have desserts on the menu, could you consider adding some?

Try them out and amend your menus on Just Eat at partner.just-eat.co.uk/menu

We’re eating together more One of the benefits of staying home has been more quality time with family or housemates.

This has been reflected in the way we’re eating. When families and housemates aren’t prevented from doing so by restrictions, they’ve been coming together to eat more meals, more often - that means plenty of potential for larger order values.

TOP TIP: Having a family meal deal offer on your menu might help you tap into this trend. You can create these in Partner Centre at partner.just-eat.co.uk/help/message

Please remember. Always keep your opening hours in line with government guidelines. You risk fines and possible closure for non-compliance with COVID restrictions.

Join Just Eat 0203 370 9922 Head to our Partner Blog for the latest on COVID-19. partner.just-eat.co.uk/blog/covid-19

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SaNToSH SHaH

Finalist @ Masterchef: The Professionals

CURRY LIFE

PROFILE

F

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rom humble beginnings growing up in Nepal, to winning the nation's hearts on Masterchef, hugely talented chef Santosh Shah is putting Nepalese cuisine firmly on the map. He calls the Masterchef experience 'life changing'. "I always wanted to bring Nepalese cuisine to the world stage and now, this show has given me the opportunity."

The judges and top food critics on the show raved about his vibrant and unique Nepalese dishes. Monica Galetti described his cooking as "an education in a cuisine that we didn't know anything about until he walked through the door. Santosh carries that food around with him in his heart, and it shows. We have learned so much from Santosh and when he opens his first restaurant, I want to come and learn more."

Santosh, no doubt, has a bright future ahead and has big plans for 2021, including opening his first Nepalese restaurant and is also aiming to be awarded a Michelin star.

Santosh's full bio is below as well as attached.

Please get in touch if you would like to arrange an interview or speak with Santosh about his journey, unique cuisine or to discuss recipe features.

From humble beginnings on the streets of Nepal, to winning the nation's hearts on Masterchef: The Professionals, chef Santosh Shah is putting Nepalese cuisine firmly on the map.

Santosh's talent, skill and passion has been laid bare for all to see as he competed on the UK's most prestigious cookery competition, Masterchef: The Professionals, coming in second place against 32 other professional chefs.

Santosh shone a light on Nepalese cuisine in all its glory, introducing the judges, food critics and esteemed chefs to flavours and ingredients they had never experienced before. His dishes wowed throughout the competition, with The Guardian's Grace Dent noting 'this is the most

beautiful plate of food I've ever been served on Masterchef' and esteemed judge Monica Galetti commenting, 'it's a real master of art to be able to use spices as he does.'

Santosh's first culinary job was as a kitchen and commis chef in an Indian hotel when he was just 14. From then on, he worked tremendously hard, rising through the hospitality ranks in India, and eventually moving to the UK in 2010. Once in London, Santosh worked at some of the most renowned Indian kitchens, holding positions at Michelin-starred Benares restaurant and super trendy Dishoom, before becoming a Sous Chef at The Cinnamon Club and eventually Head Chef at its sister restaurant, Cinnamon Kitchen.

Santosh worked at The Cinnamon Collection with Vivek Singh for three years, cooking for MP's at The Cinnamon Club and City workers at Cinnamon Kitchen. He then took a position as Executive Chef at the five-star LaLit Hotel in London.

What's next? Santosh is looking forward to the future and what it may hold. His goal is to open a Nepalese restaurant in London and be awarded a Michelin star. For now, he will continue working on his skills, and learning from his mentors, to continue bettering himself and his cooking.

Santosh says: "Coming second on Masterchef is a dream come true, and I could not be more honoured! It has been an incredible experience that I will never forget.

My mission now is to show the world how amazing Nepalese cuisine is, with vibrant and interesting ingredients and flavours that deserve to be enjoyed by the masses!

Cooking authentic Nepalese food on Masterchef and experimenting with dishes I grew up eating has been an absolute joy and I am so happy that the judges loved them! For now I am going to keep working hard, experimenting and learning and we'll see what 2021 brings!"

Photo: Specto Media

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clusive x E e f i L y r r Cu Surely the UK’s favourite food warrants a celebration lasting a week – or are you among the small minority who think a day would suffice?

That’s the burning question that has been exercising industry experts – as we wave a not-sofond farewell to 2020 and cast our eyes forward to a better, more successful 2021.

CURRY LIFE

SPECIAL REPORT

Strong support for week

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Since being launched in 1998, National Curry Week has become a firm fixture in the calendar - offering strong support for the curry industry with the threepronged aims of showcasing the nation’s favourite cuisine, celebrating and supporting varied components of the curry restaurant industry and raising money for poverty-focused charities.

Over the past 21 years, hundreds of restaurants, caterers, pubs and home cooks have come together for one week to

Here’s why the majority of people favour a weeklong celebration – in the shape of the wellestablished National Curry Week, held each Autumn for the past 20 years! celebrate all things curry cuisine and culture - including unique dinners generating funds for causes both at home and abroad – with next year’s event scheduled for 7-12 October 2021.

Yet, despite National Curry Week’s continuing significance, a British Curry Day has been mooted for early December by some people from the curry industry - a call which can only serve to divert focus away from the already well-established National Curry Week and which is receiving mixed reactions from the curry industry.

This may be a good point to remind ourselves of the aims and values of the founder of National Curry Week two decades ago, curry pioneer Peter Grove – who many restaurateurs and industry leaders feel would be disrespected by any dilution of the week-long celebration.

Grove’s love affair with curry

restaurant sector -followed by National Curry Week in 1998 and Curry Capital of Britain in 1999.

The late Peter Grove, a well-known and established journalist, had a vision to promote awareness and appreciation of the curry industry after falling in love with curry cuisine.

Peter dedicated much of his rich and varied career to the curry industry: he worked with The Chartered Institute for Environmental Health (CIEH) for three years, running their National Curry Chef competition – as well as becoming President of The Federation of Specialist Restaurants and founder

In 1992, he started the Best in Britain Awards (BIBA) for the Asian

of The Curry Tree Charitable Fund and Menu Magazine.

Peter edited several travel and food guides, including The Real Curry Restaurant Guide from 1990. He appeared regularly on radio and TV as an expert in ethnic food and drink and co-wrote Curry Culture – a very British love affair with his wife Colleen as well as Flavours of History.

Peter Grove

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made to the wider community by the Asian restaurant industry was a message that was very dear to him.”

Now in its 22nd year, National Curry Week is still celebrated widely - and continues to showcase our beloved Curry Houses across the nation. So many are

British curry remains the most successful food and has created millions of curry lovers in this country, it’s a part of people’s lives and they cannot live without curry.”

“If you want to see a strong postCovid recovery, as an industry we should unite behind National Curry

“We should be celebrating for longer – not shorter”

The focus was on cooperation between councils, restaurants and educational bodies to promote the curry industry, alleviate unemployment and promote community cohesion. Since the competition began, only five cities have been named Curry Capital: Bradford, Glasgow, Leicester, Birmingham and West London.

To this day, Peter is seen as a great Curry pioneer and an industry friend who has done so much for the curry world. Peter’s widow, Colleen, has spoken highly of the campaigns he inspired, and previously said: “I can think of no better lasting tribute than to continue the work he started with National Curry Week and The Curry Capital of Britain. Their role in highlighting the contribution

Week, plan better for our business and create mass and broader appeal for people to enjoy and support curry business more.”

Pasha Khandokar MBE, former President of Bangladesh Caterers Association (BCA), says: “To be honest, I’m not sure why it’s necessary to introduce a British Curry Day now. Peter started National Curry Week a long time ago, when curry wasn’t that popular or an important part of everyday British life.

“Momentum was built up slowly, and now many leading industry brands, and even supermarkets, are united behind it. So, when you have an established week like this, I don’t find any reason to go small again – a week and a day makes a big difference.”

Pasha adds: “The curry industry is not having a pleasant time now due to challenges of the pandemic. Yet

Pasha ultimately believes in celebrating all that British curry represents for longer, not shorter.

“We like to see the curry industry looming larger and going forwards, not backwards,” he added.

SPECIAL REPORT

Held annually since 2001, the event was formed as a reaction to hostile publicity following racial unrest in areas of London – offering an opportunity to showcase UK cities promoting multi culturalism.

understandably now wondering: what is the point in introducing a new British Curry Day, when there is already a long-established, successful and widely recognised campaign dedicated to curry cuisine?

CURRY LIFE

A prominent feature of National Curry Week has been the Curry Capital of Britain - a competition where cities race for the soughtafter award through a combination of the quality of the food and fundraising activities.

Many leaders within the industry echo the sentiment that, with an established national campaign already in place, the introduction of British Curry Day is unnecessary. Here’s what just a few have been saying…

Pasha Khandaker MBE

He also ran several major websites on ethnic food, drink and sport, which generated over 1 million visitors a month.

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Operating Officer of KBE drinks representing Kingfisher Beer Brand.

“Take the National Curry Week to even greater heights!”

highlight the successes of National Curry Week and ask UK citizens to continue backing what everyone has done.

Cyrus Todiwala OBE

to continue for another 20 years!" says, Shaun Goode, Chief

Cyrus Todiwala OBE, Chef at Cafe Spice Namaste in London, and Brand Ambassador for National Curry Week, says: “With National Curry Week having been established since the late nineties, and having gained so much publicity

“We expect National Curry Week’s wonderful tradition to continue for another 20 years”

CURRY LIFE

SPECIAL REPORT

Kingfisher Beer, the world's No.

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1 authentic Indian beer brand and National Curry Week sponsor, staunchly supports the continuing work of National Curry Week – explaining: “We have been loyal supporters of National Curry Week ever since Peter Grove launched it over 20 years ago. When Peter sadly passed away in 2016, his widow, Colleen Grove, asked Kingfisher whether we would like to continue his work. Since then, we have been keeping his legacy alive.”

“National Curry Week is a time to honour the Nation's favourite dish and to support the British curry industry. We have done this in a multitude of ways, from Indian street food markets to the creation of Curry Top Trumps and cookbooks.

We expect this wonderful tradition

Restaurateurs within the industry likewise oppose the idea of a truncated celebration - instead preferring to see more effort being put into the already established National Curry Week. over the years, why do we need yet another initiative so soon after the original? I feel more muscle needs to be put behind the National Curry Week, to take it to even greater heights. Unity, I feel, is my preferred choice.”

While Cyrus may not view British Curry Day as going a backwards for the industry, he sees the new campaign as unwarranted: “When we already have a week to celebrate something, why depend on a single day? Instead, this day - if it is important - should be used to

“It should be focused on reminding people of how great this industry is, how much it has done for hundreds of good causes and why we should, therefore, continue to celebrate it.”

Cyrus believes this new campaign, away from National Curry Week, also has the potential to undermine the great work done before it: “By having a British Curry Day, it can dilute the original ambition and therefore confuse people.

“Britain is a nation reaching a stage of charity fatigue. It is best to contain the urge for more and more support. I believe that people are more inclined to contribute and raise more funds when it’s less pushy.

“Overall, my feelings are to collectively give the National Curry Week greater impetus and drive it to an even higher level.

M A Munim, current president of the Bangladesh Caterers Association (BCA), the oldest and main organisation representing the Catering Industry run by ethnic Bangladeshis since

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“It also undermines the great work done by our pioneers over the last two decades,” he says. “We will continue to support and promote the National Curry Week and --do not see any justification for a new British Curry Day.”

another one-day curry day.

“If it is done in fair way, it is good for our industry. People will talk about food and our industry more” he believes.

“Our curry is in every home from Docklands to Scotland. Despite having a week called National Curry Week, the one-day Curry Day will do no harm, as Curry Week is old and so well established,” says Tofozzul.

Shahanur Khan, the founding secretary general of the British Bangladesh Caterers Association (BBCA), says: “Since we already have a curry week called National Curry Week, I think it’s better to

continue with this one. We were told that Curry Day is only meant to celebrate coming out of the lockdown; a weekly celebration is much better.”

“Weeks are better than one day because they raise greater awareness among people,” says Shahanur. “As customers become more aware, it encourages them to patronise restaurants and takeaways.

“Especially if it’s a week, if a customer misses one day, another day they can go, due to publicity on social media, local newspapers and so on. If someone wants to celebrate a particular day, we don't really understand what vision he/she is pursuing.” says Shahnur Khan.

“Weeks are better than one day - customers become more aware!”

Oli Khan MBE, Senior vice president of BCA says, “Ultimately, we shouldn't be brushing off the years of hard work and progress Peter Grove made in promoting the curry industry.

“We should collectively continue to support National Curry Week as Peter Grove's legacy - and do the right thing by giving credit to

SPECIAL REPORT

M A Munim

1960s, views National Curry Week as the only national platform within the Curry Industry where people can come together to celebrate their love of curry.

He says: “We are already celebrating British curry by actively participating in National Curry Week - and we’ve done so every year for over two decades - so there is no point to also have a British Curry Day. I see it as contradictory.

Tofazzul Miah

Tofozzul Miah, the current secretary general of the British Bangladesh Caterers Association, sees no harm in

CURRY LIFE

“When we already have a week to do something, why depend on a day?

The new proposal undermines all the great work done before.”

Shahanur Khan

Not all those within the industry view British Curry Day as necessarily detrimental to the Curry Industry, however.

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“My fear is that they are promoting only themselves, not the industry. Many other voices in the industry also agree that British Curry Day’s small timeframe is the most significant issue when it comes to raising awareness.”

CURRY LIFE

SPECIAL REPORT

Oli Khan MBE

where it is due.”

While some may view a new national campaign as harmless, others also argue it will damage the curry industry if it seeks to benefit the individuals involved, rather than the industry as a whole: “If British Curry Day is doing something good to promote the

40

industry, then that’s fine, but my fear is that they are promoting only themselves, and not the industry,” Chef Oli Khan MBE says.

Oli, who set the world record earlier this year for the largest Onion Bhaji, is therefore not backing British Curry Day, nor its so called ‘Back the Bhaji’ campaign: “National Curry Week has been running for quite some time now – and being a former secretary general of BCA (Bangladesh Caterers Association) when I was in the office, we signed a lifelong

partnership with the National Curry Week campaign. We have established many promotions ever since. So, with National Curry Week already firmly in place, I don’t think there is any necessity to have another event.”

Khan also feels apprehensive about British Curry Day’s lack of communication with industry representatives: “With a national campaign like this, it needs to be promoted way before its launch; I first heard about it less than a week ago, just after the website launched, which doesn’t make sense to me.

“It has to be promoted widely beforehand and the industry has to have been informed – you can’t just run this as an individual as it’s a national issue. To raise your voice, you should call a meeting with all the representatives and organisations of the curry industry to discuss.”

As well as the British Curry Day’s lack of promotion prior to launch, Khan sees the timeframe of one single day as inadequate: “Even National Curry Week could have more time and that’s already a week – so why decide to hold for only one day?

There are 12,000 curry houses in the United Kingdom - so any national issue which helps the industry should be done collectively, rather than by an individual.”

On the other hand,

George Shaw, press spokesman for British Curry

Day, says: “British Curry Day commemorates the lives and achievements of those restaurateurs and chefs who created our unique British Curry fusion in the 1960s and ‘70s.

“The day allows the younger generation of restaurant owners to remember their history and celebrate those early ‘curry pioneers’, so many of whom have been lost during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Despite hospitality businesses being devastated by repeated lockdowns, the curry has shown its usual generosity to local charities and good causes. A last-minute government extension of lockdown restrictions, meant that many restaurants remained closed to eatin customers and planned fundraising meals had to be cancelled or curtailed.

“Nevertheless, the inaugural British Curry Day was deemed a great success by restaurants and customers alike. Many owners got behind the #BackTheBhaji campaign, donating the cost of the starter sold on the day, to their chosen charity. The onion bhaji is symbolic of the unique fusion of ‘British Curry’, created by those curry pioneers.

“These people came to a strange foreign land at the invitation of the British government and through their own endeavours and sheer hard work – often enduring blatant racism from post pub-closing time drunks – built a special industry, which is now an integral part of British society.”

"Next year British Curry Day will be held 1st December 2021," adds George Shaw.

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Madhus opened two more new restaurants

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Madhus director Arjun Anand and chairman Sanjay Anand MBE

NEWS

Chairman of Madhus told Curry Life, that while the new restaurant's menu is consistent with others, the service and delivery would be unique exceptions.

Madhus flagship Southall and Madhus at Sheraton Heathrow Skyline are two other popular restaurants.

This famous event caterer serves food at all major exclusive events, including No10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace and it is also caterer for the Curry Life Awards.

CURRY LIFE

The Southall's famous fine dining event caterer Madhus has turned 40. To mark 40 years of successful event catering Madhus is opening two more new restaurants. With this, the number of their restaurants will be four in total.

On early December 2020, the Madhus has opened their new restaurant inside The Grove Hotel in Watford. Their fourth branch will be opened at London's Mayfair in February 2021.

Mr Sanjay Anand MBE, Founder and

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CURRY LIFE

FEATURE

What does the future look like for the hospitality industry?

Top restaurateurs give their verdict ‘Unprecedented’ is perhaps the most fitting word to describe this rollercoaster of a year – a turbulent year where the hospitality industry has undeniably been one of the sectors hit hardest.

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Frequently changing government strategies – in turn boosting and hampering the sector – have left restaurateurs with no choice than to adapt and make many sacrifices to survive, with some even shutting their doors for good.

As we shut the door on this incredibly tough year, and look toward to a new one, many are wondering what lies ahead for the hospitality industry. With the prospect of multiple vaccines and mass testing assuring a gradual return to normality by next spring, there’s hope within the sector that the restaurants we know, miss and love will return to our cities and neighbourhoods.

But until then, will owners be looking to adapt to new ways of working? And, if so, in what ways?

To get a better idea, we spoke to leading restaurateurs to get their predictions for the future of eating out.

Capturing data With such uncertainty surrounding consumer habits in the New Year, investing time and money into data capturing is a useful way to enhance and bolster a restaurant’s demographic.

Ruhel Hoque, from The Indian Ocean in Cambridge, sees this as a key strategy for him to draw in the right type of customer: “I do all digital marketing and social media, targeting specific customers individually with personalised offers,” he says.

“I’ve updated our data capture so I can get more information about customers from google, phone calls, email and SMS marketing. My free WIFI also works as a data capture for customers, so I know what they like and what they don’t like.”

Ruhel views digital marketing, ultimately, as a crucial tool for keeping customers interested: “Restaurants will always be a luxury which people can do without; we are a treat and not a necessity like supermarkets or corner shops,” says Ruhel.

“We have to market ourselves so that, with all of this doom and gloom, we’re a good way to forget about our collective problems. Our industry has a shortage of skilled people - chefs, sous chefs and so on - and as a result I’ve invested heavily in technology to stay ahead.”

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Leaving Europe

Fine dining in danger?

Another strain on the restaurant industry in the near future is the reality of leaving the European Union.

Mr Ataur Rahman Lyak, owner of Rajdoot Tandoori in Guildford, shares his concerns over the fluctuating prices of products, as well as European workers’ involvement in the sector: “We have difficult times ahead of us,” he explains. “The number of people losing jobs means their pockets are shrinking - and coming out of the European Union is another big worry.

“We buy a lot of produce from Europe, so there are concerns that prices will get much higher once we leave.

Also, there is currently a large volume of European people working here in the sector, and I feel that will reduce quite significantly by December or sometime in the new year.”

Another worry for the restaurant sector is the future of fine dining. For Jamal, he sees this particular type of dining in danger due to the inevitable high pricing which comes with running such a menu: “I think fine dining is in danger next year. For the last five years we’ve been doing it, but because it hasn’t been feasible this year, we had to cut it. One problem is the table spacing, and it’s also very expensive to run the fine dining menu compared to the normal one.”

Jamal adds: “I don’t want to take the risk of operating two different types of foods and orders, because the

Technology boost

The sector has seen a huge uptake in restaurant tech due to the pandemic, with most restaurants adopting some form of app ordering systems and QR codes to help with order-taking. Despite this, not all restaurateurs see technology as the only avenue to go down when it comes to a restaurant’s operation.

Jamal Uddin Ahmed, owner of Shozna Restaurant in Rochester, states he, for one, will continue to operate his restaurant manually: “At the moment we have all the PPE in place for customer service; we take orders from the table and our menus are disposable.

“We will continue to do everything manually, making sure it’s all safe,” he says. “Technology is very good but when it goes wrong, it’s a big headache for us. It’s a very busy restaurant so we can’t afford the system to go wrong.”

Ruhel Hoque, agrees on the use of QR codes: “We will keep QR codes and apps in the restaurant for the next year, although once everything fully goes back to normal, we’ll go back to providing physical menus.”

regulations are so much stress - so we’ve only been operating with one, and fortunately it’s working well for us.”

Appliances With the pandemic taking so much control away from restaurateurs, something they can do to manage future operations is to invest in better appliances. Explains Ruhel: “I have invested lots of money in appliances.

Before all this investment we only had people to do the work. But now we’ve got prep machines which can do an hour’s work in five minutes.”

“Our new ovens do multiple cooking at the same time.

So, one person can actually do work previously requiring three or four staff. And then on the tandoori side, I’ve replaced the whole tandoori with a rational oven,” he says. “I’ve also invested in a dough machine which does all the work. It’s a very labour intensive and skilful job – and that’s done by machinery now.”

Takeaways Many restaurateurs would agree that takeaway is currently a major priority. For Mr Lyak, he believes takeaway is “the biggest thing in the industry now”: “I’m concentrating more on takeaway than the physical restaurant. The takeaway industry has grown much

FEATURE

On the other hand...

Lyak believe, tech is the future - especially as it’s becoming more reliable, with QR codes, ordering systems and so on.....

CURRY LIFE

Most restaurateurs would agree that technology is the way forward for the industry – certainly in the view of Mr Lyak: “Restaurant; technology is very important for restaurant management systems and it’s only a one-time investment. I believe the tech is the future – especially as it’s becoming more reliable, with QR codes, ordering systems and so on,” he says.

“To thrive in this competitive market, you need good technology and equipment to support yourself, so then we can have smaller staffing costs. We are therefore planning on heavily investing in a lot of modern technology, such as online ordering systems, so that staff don’t have to take orders themselves.”

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moment” – although he believes there needs to be more focus in “attracting younger, more vibrant people into this industry”.

“You will always need staff. But the approach I have taken is reducing the skill level,” says Ruhel. “Before, the tandoori chef or someone of that calibre had a skill, how to cook produce, naan bread, chapati, spicing. But now what we have done here is document all the recipes with weights and measures so all this is easier to pick up by other staff.”

Reducing menus Ruhel views digital marketing, ultimately, as a crucial tool for keeping customers interested.

bigger and is more profitable if you can run with a proper system,” he says.

“Takeaway means less people, and increased returns.

With restaurants, even if you have so much technology, you still need waiters to serve. With takeaway, the system automatically receives the order.”

Ruhel is similarly investing more money in tech to bolster sales: “We’ve recently invested in online ordering – an online ecommerce website - that does a similar job to Just Eat but at a bespoke level.

“I’ve adapted: before we had a phone, pen and paper, but now we have an integrated system with online ordering, and everything is done automatically,” says Ruhel.

“That’s the way forward, really. I’m generally moving towards automation, but not to an extent of a McDonalds or a KFC.”

Another alteration many restaurateurs have had to make is reducing menus, says Ruhel: “At a normal Indian establishment, you’d have a hundred or so dishes on one menu. At ours we only have 30 dishes. Over the pandemic, due to the shortage of staff and social distancing measures, we have drastically reduced the menu even more.”

CURRY LIFE

FEATURE

Carry on restaurants

46

Although takeaways have seen a huge uptake this year, Jamal remains committed to focusing his efforts on the restaurant next year: “We’ve had takeaways from the beginning, but I’m mainly still in the restaurant game.

We’re a 140-seat restaurant and we’ve invested so much in the restaurant side, so we wouldn’t convert to a takeaway only or look at the future as being takeaway,” he says.

“It’s too much for me to lose because we have massive premises. If we tried to operate just on the takeaway side, it would be a big loss for me; it’s a three-floor storey building. If we’re just operating as takeaway, what would we do with the other two floors?” Jamal says.

“We’ve already refurbished the restaurant this year, so everything is Covid-19 compliant and hands-free. If you go the bathroom you don’t need to touch anything.”

Staff skills For second-generation restaurateur Ruhel, whose restaurant has been in this industry since 1965, he sees the restaurant remaining “a very viable business at the

For Jamal, he sees fine dining in danger due to the inevitable high pricing of the menu.

Does he hope to expand his menu, once things gradually return to pre-pandemic levels of service? “Yes, we hope to expand it again, but it all depends on the economy - it’s looking quite bad at the moment,” he says. “From the financial side, it will be a very difficult road to recovery.

But we always remain optimistic.”

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Just eat to create a thousand jobs with added benefits

Online food delivery platform Just Eat has announced it will adopt an ‘agency model’ with its couriers, which it says will lead to the creation of at least 1,000 new positions at the business and increased job security.

Under this agency model, Just Eat will pay its couriers on an hourly

basis, instead of per job.

This will give them the opportunity to access improved working conditions, as they will be entitled to benefits such as holiday and sickness pay, for example. Under the new model, couriers will also receive Just Eatbranded clothing and e-bikes or emopeds.

Couriers working in central London will be the first to trial this new way of working, with the scheme set to

roll out to other UK cities such as Birmingham in the new year.

Couriers can also opt to work independently. Just East expects the new roles created to be a mix of fulltime, part-time and zero hour contracts.

Andrew Kenny, UK managing director for Just Eat UK, said: “As the market leader in online food delivery, we believe it is our responsibility to offer couriers a wide range of working options and benefits. From our experience in other European markets, we know many couriers value the benefits and protections our new model offers and, with the use of electric vehicles, this will also help us build a sustainable future for food delivery in the UK.”

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T

Veganuary

2 02 1

oP FIVe TReNdS

By Louise Palmer Masterton Stem & Glory

CURRY LIFE

FEATURE

I

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n the space of just one year to Nov 2020, Deliveroo reported a 115% increase in demand for plant-based meals. In my hometown of Cambridge, where Stem & Glory was the only vegan place in town in 2017, we now have five all-vegan outlets, including two vegan burger joints.

All are busy, which is testament to the popularity of the movement. A movement that surely only those in denial about the unsustainability of animal consumption can ignore or pass off as a ‘fad’.

With Veganuary upon us, it’s a good time to look back at the vegan trends of 2020, and to look ahead to 2021, which many people predict will be even more stratospheric in terms of growth.

2020 wasn't only the year of plantbased meat launches, it was also the year that all the major UK supermarkets introduced or expanded their own vegan ranges, and the year that, through sheer demand, all UK food outlets were compelled to have greater plantbased offerings.

As a vegan person however, I do think there is a long way to go, both in terms of quality and quantity. I find myself walking out

of most mainstream shops empty handed, as I still cannot find what I am looking for. Which for reference is something healthy, super tasty and with attention to balanced nutrition. All too often a vegan offering is still just a bunch of vegan ingredients lumped together with not much thought, and no attention to flavour.

With that in mind, I wonder how many of the plethora of plantbased meat products that are on the shelves now will still be there at the end of 2021? Early adopters of these products are no doubt already onto the next thing. So where is it we see new products starting to gain ground, and where do we see vegan products in the UK heading in 2021?

Vegan Seafood Even more of an oxymoron that vegan meat, vegan seafood has become a fast-moving trend all over the world. I was in Amsterdam in the heady days of Feb 2020. We were on a food tour as part of the Global Restaurant Investment Forum and landed at a place called ‘Vegan Junk Food Bar’. Another oxymoron really, as although they do serve a lot of

Vegan cheese board vegan junk (also known as ‘dirty vegan’), it was there I had my first experience of vegan ‘sashimi’.

‘Vegan sashimi’, what sorcery is this?’ I hear you cry. The first thing to note is that it really really looks like raw fish. I admit I had very low expectations of the first piece I put in my mouth. These however were immediately dispelled. It was quite tasty, served with a sweet soy dip, and very moreish. I am not really a fan of plant-based meat, but I would eat this again. Which is a perfect segue to our next top vegan trend for 2021

Healthier Fake ‘Meat’ We have come a long way in terms of plant-based meat, cheese and seafood replacements, but let's face it, these are all processed, and do not contain the same nutritional profile as their animal counterparts.

Take the vegan sashimi product for example. Raw fish is an extremely light and healthy product, high in protein and healthy fat, and very low in carbohydrates. The plant-

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based counterpart has high starch content and is a completely refined and processed product.

What we know about good health is that you need a diet high in natural protein and low in refined carbs, so this is a big challenge to plant-based alternatives. The wake-up call to this is already beginning to happen, and we predict that 2021 will be the year we start to see a trend in the direction of healthier and less processed animal alternatives.

We believe all eyes will be moving

based.

One gap however appears to be quality ready meals. Tesco has been ahead of the game here with their Wicked range, which has ready meals as well as products.

But for me personally, having sampled the offerings from all the major supermarkets, I am not convinced by taste or quality.

Vegan Cheese Vegan cheese is the absolute holy grail at the moment, and the race is on to be the first company that

on the verge of creating an authentic product with an engineered cow’s milk.

I checked in on this subject with Reuben Waller from Plant Candi, a well-known vegan chef. He believes ‘the slow demise of the traditional dairy business will provide a marked contrast with the rise of products such as laboratory engineered cow’s milk, which will signal a seismic shift for the vegan cheese market’. This echoes our view too. Imagine if you could get the full variety of cheese that we

Vegan Ready Meals The supermarket shelves are choca-bloc with vegan products. Tesco has a plant-based meat section in the meat aisle, and Asda has a dedicated aisle planned for plant-

creates a plant-based cheese that has the same taste and texture as dairy cheese. The noise in the plant-based cheese space is getting louder and louder with each passing week. Personally speaking, I feel there is a long way to go, BUT 2021 could see this start to change, as a few brands are now

have all been brought up on tasting exactly the same as the animal counterpart, but made 100% from plants. What a huge change would come. ‘Not being able to give up cheese’ is given as the number one reason for flexitarians not becoming vegan, so this would be a game changer for the vegan

CURRY LIFE

in this direction in 2021 and beyond.

FEATURE

Katsu Curry

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Print your profile and recipe with pictures in the ‘Curry Life Top Hundred British Curry Cook Book’ recipe book. This book will be a great gift to give to your customers.

Our expert recipe writers and photographers will assist you in stage by stage to compile recipe.

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movement. No wonder investors are rapidly diving into this space. An engineered dairy product would also take plant-based cheese back in a natural and unprocessed direction. As I am sure you are aware if you already eat vegan cheese, many have a nasty aftertaste, and all are highly processed.

All photograph courtesy of Stem & Glory

City Bowl

CURRY LIFE

Buffalo Cauliflower wings

I am a lifelong customer of G-Star. It’s been extremely exciting to watch this brand develop over the years. Their range ‘Raw for the Oceans’ was making fashion from plastic pulled from the oceans long before the Blue Planet documentary.

G-Star has a committed to 100% sustainable cotton, and they use a wide variety of recycled materials in their products. They are an excellent example of how a brand can use their sustainability agenda to grow their market share.

Another great example of an old established brand being ahead of the curve is Dr Martens who boasted that profits were up 70% year-on-year to March 2019 largely due to the success of their new 'vegan' range. Vegan Dr Martens however, whilst being an excellent hard-wearing product, are made from synthetic and non-biodegradable material. So, whilst they tick the vegan box, their products are not yet sustainable.

But innovation in sustainable vegan leather is happening. Michiel van Deursen from Capital V is one investor interested in the plant-based fashion space. ‘Leather is not sustainable at all, and since the alternative is often plastic, this has brought about a shift now towards plant based and biodegradable vegan ‘leather’. Michiel predicts massive growth in plant-based fashion and materials in the next few years, where demand is currently outgrowing production capacity.

These are my top five trends to watch for 2021, but to finish I would just like to throw in one overarching trend which will underpin all others; sustainability. To date, plant-based has been labelled, by sole virtue of it being ‘made from plants’, as ‘sustainable’. Is something sustainable just because it is plant-based? We believe that 2021 will be the year that this comes fully under scrutiny. It isn't enough to be plant-based, tick the sustainability box and be off the hook. In 2021 sustainability will be the greatest trend of all, with consumers utilising their purchasing power in support of those with truly circular and authentic sustainable credentials.

FEATURE

Vegan Fashion

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Fernandes Vaz Solicitors is a London based niche immigration firm in practice for over 30 years with a wide breadth of experience in all areas of immigration law.

The principal of the firm, Maria Fernandes has extensive experience in a wide number of areas of immigration and we are pleased to

announce that she will be regularly contributing story related to immigration matters in Curry Life.

If you need services related to work permits and immigration please contact Fernandes Vaz Solicitors directly on: 020 8733 0123 or visit their website: www.fernandesvaz.com

New Year - New Points Based System Hospitality is at the heart of our communities and despite this the industry has suffered a number of blows over the last few years on the immigration front.

Skill levels were raised and chefs became a prized possession available only to fine diners.

With the ending of the free movement of EU nationals, the government have introduced a new points based system for those who want to work in the UK in the future. The changes so far are largely positive.

However how it is operated will determine its success.

Chefs were retained as a shortage occupation.

Other welcome changes are that the cap/quota that was previously in place has been suspended.

It will be possible for applicants in the country to switch into the Skilled Worker route from most categories.

CURRY LIFE

LEGAL

Scoring points

54

There is a requirement to score 70 points in total in 4 scoring areas.

1. Sponsorship – 20 points The applicant must have a valid certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from a licenced sponsor who has paid the Immigration Skills Charge. The Resident Labour Market Test has been scrapped. The Home Office still need to assess whether a job is “genuine”.

The decision-maker must not have “reasonable grounds to believe” that the job the applicant is being sponsored to do;

• • •

Does not exist Is a sham; or Has been created mainly so the applicant can apply for entry clearance or permission to stay It remains to be seen how this clause will apply in practice. Will certain countries or jobs have higher refusals on this basis than others?

2. Job at appropriate skill level – 20 points An employer must match the role to a standard occupational code (SOC) which is contained in a complete code in Appendix Skilled Occupations. [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigrationrules/immigration-rules-appendix-skilledoccupations] The minimum skill level has dropped from RQF level 6 (degree level) to RQF level 3 (A level).

This will vastly increase the range of positions that can be sponsored.

3. English language skills at level B1 – 10 points 4. Salary (tradeable points) - 20 points There are various ways to earn these final 20 points, which is why they are referred to as “tradeable”.

Those who do not earn the rates required can trade their points in certain circumstances, where the position is listed in the shortage occupation list, health and education positions, new entrants and holders of PHD qualifications.

Existing Tier 2 (General) workers can apply for

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There are more generous rules for new entrants aged under 26 to qualify: • Those applying for a postdoctoral position in certain science roles • Those whose job offer is for a UK regulated profession and the applicant is working towards one of those professions • Applicants who are working towards full registration or chartered status with the relevant professional body for the job they are being sponsored for • Applicants who last had leave at a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) • Applicants who last had leave as a student which expired up to two years before application and completed a Bachelor, Masters, PGCE or PHD in the UK The new rules also enable a new entrant to be granted up to four years’ permission to stay in the UK

Removal of time limit Under Tier 2(General) there was a maximum limit of 6 years. This has been removed for existing and new

Cooling off period The cooling off period has been removed. This prevented people applying for another Tier 2 visa until 12 months had elapsed since they left the UK or moved onto another visa.

Settlement The minimum income threshold for indefinite leave to remain has been reduced from its current level of £35,800. An applicant will need to earn at least £25,600, and the going rate for the job, (whichever is higher) when they come to apply for ILR. If applicants are working in a shortage occupation they will need to be paid above £20,480 and the going rate for the job.

Maria Fernandes Fernandes Vaz Solicitors 87 Wembley Hill Road Wembley Ph: 020 8733 0123 Email: info@fernandesvaz.com www.fernandesvaz.com

LEGAL

New entrants

applicants. There is now no limit on the amount of time a Skilled Worker visa holder can spend in the UK. Applicants can be granted permission up to a maximum of five years at a time, with unlimited extensions.

CURRY LIFE

extensions, changes of employment and settlement under the Skilled Worker route.

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Grand Trunk Road chef dayashankar Sharma to open Heritage in dulwich

Grand Trunk Road chef Dayshankar Sharma is opening a new Dulwich-based restaurant in the new year, bringing 30 years of culinary experience comprising Michelin-starred Tamarind and Kensington classic Zaika.

Chef Sharma has curated an authentic Indian menu for the new restaurant, which is set to open in

West Dulwich in January.

Speaking about the traditional menu, Dayashankar Sharma said: “This food is very close to my heart – I have spent many years developing dishes that my mother taught me as a child and taken inspiration from my early career at some of the finished establishments in India and Sri Lanka. This restaurant is about exploring the myriad cuisines of regional Indian and sharing that Heritage with our customers.”

On the opening of the restaurant, Heritage General Manager Saurav Rai said: “We are incredibly excited to be launching Heritage in the heart of West Dulwich and bringing something positive to the local community at such a difficult time. Our goal is to transform the idea of classical Indian cuisine passed down through the generations by bringing our

customers an innovative and elevated take on the dishes we know and love.”

The Dulwich restaurant, which offers small plates, kebabs, tikkas and bold curry dishes, prioritises produce and provenance. Highlight dishes include char-grilled truffle murgh kebab and a range of vegetarian and vegan choices such as broccoli ke kofte and Indian bread like the gruyere and chilli naan.

For drinks, Heritage will offer Indian-inspired alcoholic, zeroproof versions, a plethora of fine wines, Indian whiskeys and beers.

Inside, the 48-cover restaurant will feature traditional walnut furnishes, with tan leather banquettes and a central copper bar.

Heritage is also expected to provide takeaway and home delivery options across South-East London postcodes.

CURRY LIFE

NEWS

WHo aRe yoUR ToP BRITISH CURRy LeGeNdS?

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Help us to celebrate the lives and achievements of great British Curry Legends who have helped to build curry cuisine into the country’s favourite food.

That’s the call coming from Curry Life group – as we announce the launch of a unique series of features in Curry Life and Curry Chef, in both English and Bengali.

“The aim of the series,” explains Curry Life Editor-in-

Chief Syed Pasha, “is to highlight the lives of people who have played a crucial role in making our industry what it is today – thereby inspiring new generations to reach even greater heights.”

He adds: “Sadly, over the years we have lost some of them. Yet their achievements and legacies are with us today – as are their many present-day successors who are driving the industry forward.

“So, as we approach the twentieth anniversary of Curry House publications, we ask you to join us in celebrating all of our curry heroes in our forthcoming series.

“If there is somebody who has inspired you personally - whether past or present - please let us know and we will look at covering them in future editions.”

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A beer designed for food

Expertly brewed for a smooth and sophisticated taste

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Cobra Premium is made from a complex recipe of seven ingredients, expertly brewed in a way that gives it fewer bubbles, producing a smooth and sophisticated taste.

Available in 330ml and 660ml bottles and on draught, stock up while you can!

Call your Cobra Sales Manager or Head Oice on 0207 788 2880 to find out more.

*Source: CGA data for restaurants, 52 weeks ending 29/12/2018.

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£50 CASHBACK NOW Switch your business energy to Bionic before 28 February and you could save on your energy bills next year.

Plus if you’re a Just Eat Restaurant Partner, you’ll receive £50 cashback* paid back through your Just Eat invoice within 60 days of switching.

It’s quick, it’s simple. Call Bionic today and quote “Curry” to save.

0800 158 3704

*Offer available to all active Just Eat Restaurant Partners. Switch business energy supplier with Bionic by Sunday 28 February 2021 to receive £50 cashback.

Max 1 x £50 cashback reward per Restaurant Partner and must not be used with any other offer. For full terms and conditions visit partner.just-eat.co.uk/info/bionic-tcs