CURRY LEGEND - A wealth of knowledge

A wealth of knowledge

Having owned five restaurants in his time, and been involved in many charitable endeavours, Faizur Rahman Choudhury has a fascinating story to share

The Shah Bhag in Horsefair, Birmingham was one of the very first curry houses to open up in Birmingham, in the 1950s. It was taken over in the late 1970s by Faizur Rahman Choudhury, who first visited the UK from Bangladesh in 1970, aged 16. His father was in the UK at the time, having served as a non-commissioned officer in the British Army. Choudhury returned to Bangladesh soon after his first visit, where he completed his school studies, before coming back to the UK to undertake a Business Studies degree at Birmingham’s Brooklyn College. Having seen many other Bangladeshis making a success in the restaurant and catering industries, he moved around the UK for the next few years, working as a waiter in Indian restaurants in Newcastle and London. Eventually, he settled back in Birmingham and took over the 40-cover Shah Bhag, along with two business partners.

“I enjoyed the restaurant industry - I thought of the one thing I had learnt for a few years that could be useful,” says Choudhury. “I bought the restaurant as a going concern, using money from friends and family alongside savings.”

Investiture at Buckingham Palace in June 1999' Rt. Hon Member of the British Empire (MBE) Honor was awarded to Faizur Rahman Choudhury forServices to the community

An invitation to visit an orphanage centre ' Nirmal Hriday' in Calcutta with Mother Teresa in 1997

A place to be seen

The curry house scene at the time (late 1970s) was very different from the present day, with the restaurant open from 6pm in the evening until 4am in the morning. It attracted diners after the pubs closed at 11pm (a time Choudhury describes as ‘early evening’) , partygoers when the nightclubs wound down at 2am and between 3am and 4am, it was mainly taxi drivers, stopping off for a meal having finished their shifts for the night. With its location in close proximity to The Night Out Theatre Restaurant, one of the country’s premier cabaret venues, it also regularly attracted a fair number of celebrities who performed there.

“So many famous people used to perform at that venue and then visit aftwards for dinner,” recalls Choudhury. “We were very busy from midnight onwards.”

Running such a late-night establishment inevitably involved its fair share of challenges. Choudhury recalls how almost most nights, larger parties of six or eight people would order food and eat the dishes but then not have the money to pay the bills.

“I used to tell my staff not to fight, to let these diners go but to remember who they were and not to allow them in the

next time,” he recalls. “They would often swear and try to kick the door in but you had to be very determined and strong. Keeping your distance was important too - you never wanted to be close enough so that they would try and take a swing at you.”

Choudhury pictured with Desmond Tutu in Birmingham

Changing times

Having got married in 1982, and then starting a family in the following years, Choudhury’s priorities changed. He was keen to find another restaurant where he could focus on trading during the afternoon and evening, rather than late nights. His next venture was The Purple Rooms, opened on the site of an existing restaurant in 1988, in the leafy Birmingham suburb of Hall Green. Here the hours were more manageable, with the restaurant open for lunch and then again for dinner, closing at midnight. The restaurant remained in the family for just close to 30 years and reputation with loyal customers, and was also recommended by the likes of Egon Ronay.

Choudhury’s son, Hesan Faiz Choudhury took over the running of the restaurant from 2012. He decided not to stay with the business, opting for a career in banking instead and Choudhury kept the business going until 2018, eventually selling it. Today, the former site is a fast food restaurant. Alongside Shah Bhag and The Purple Rooms, Choudhury opened three further restaurants - Regards and Regards II, also in Birmingham and another one called The Purple Rooms, which opened in 2015 in nearby Sutton Coldfield. This venture only lasted a year, however.

‘I sold the Sutton Coldfield restaurant in 2016 because I felt I was getting too old for the restaurant industry,” explains Choudhury. “I still own the building, and it’s now an Italian restaurant.”

Current climate

Despite having been out of the restaurant industry for some time, Choudhury is quick to point out the main challenges facing Indian curry houses today: staffing issues, the lack of qualified chefs and rising costs, while immigration issues are only adding to the problem.

Choudhury was involved in many community

“Anyone can be a waiter or manager or work their way up to that position but the chef is the one professional you need in the kitchen,” he says. “You have to get a trained chef from Bangladesh or India or an Indian chef from Dubai - a proper one, not just someone who is a friend or from your family. You have to pay a good salary - for the most part they are experts at the job and you will find that their fathers were chefs before them. The alternative is to train chefsin-waiting at colleges and to educate them from the ground up.”

Choudhury reflects on his experiences ‘back in the day’ and says those times were better - customers were much more cordial than nowadays and less time-poor and finding a chef was not such a struggle - even with a lack of training courses. But with today’s customers ever-more demanding, the service and the food really has to deliver.

Community presence

While his days as a restaurateur are behind him, Choudhury has been active in charitable, community and political endeavours for many years - almost as long as he was running restaurants, and he continues to offer support. He took an active interest in the Bangladesh Liberation movement in 1971, when he

Choudhury at the site of his first restaurant, The Purple Rooms

was in the UK and only just last month, he attended a ceremony where he was recognised as a freedom fighter.

In 1991, in response to the devastating Bangladesh cyclone, which caused widespread flooding, he arranged a charity dinner at one of his restaurants to raise much-needed funds. Choudhury raised £6,000 that first year and it became something of a tradition to host a similar event every year, raising funds for various other causes. The events have supported the people of Bosnia and Kosovo and Choudhury also set up a Christmas Tree Fund for underprivileged children in Birmingham. In 1997, he was invited by Mother Theresa to visit Calcutta

Choudhury visited the Taj Mahal with his wife

to discuss issues of global poverty, while two years later, in 1999 he was awarded Member of the British Empire by HRH The Queen, for services to the community. He has also had the honour of meeting the late archbishop Desmond Tutu, at the opening of a primary school in Birmingham.

In the early 1990s, Choudhury also found the time to publish some of his favourite Indian recipes in a booklet titled ‘Hot Stuff’, referring to the spicy nature of the food. While he has never worked as a chef, he does enjoy cooking. The booklet was featured in a local newspaper, with proceeds from sales going to a local cause.

“People used to read the recipes and come to the restaurant,” recalls Choudhury. “Many said they tried them at home but could not quite replicate the food to fit the images, but they still said it tasted delicious.”

Choudhury currently supports three organisations: the Bangladesh Cultural Society Midlands, the Bangladesh Multipurpose Centre and the Bangladesh Business Forum, helping out with immigration queries and offering advice to businesses on a range of issues, such as meeting VAT requirements.

“Being able to bring people together and celebrate both the Bangladeshi and the local community has and continues to be a great honour,” he says.