News

What - no curry?


24/ 9/2004

Snub 1 from the curry capital
MANCHESTER - the city that boasts the title curry capital of Europe - has snubbed the south Asian restaurant trade it has been claimed.
Chefs and spokesmen for the city's curry mile are angered that out of 56 restaurant nominated for awards in the city's own Food and Drink Festival only one serves south Asian cuisine.
The awards will be made at the climax of the festival in 11 different categories from best restaurant to the most family friendly operation.
But only the city centre Asian restaurant, Shimla Pinks, a favourite of David and Victoria Beckham, stands a chance of winning a food Oscar, and this only in the minority category of best vegetarian food. This compares with six Manchester Chinese restaurant shorlisted.
The former chairman of the Rusholme Traders Association, Daood Akram, said the selection was "ridiculous".
He said: "When you talk about Manchester's cuisine, the first thought that comes to people's mind is curries, so I find it amazing that there is such a poor representation of curry houses in the festival.
"There should have been more engagements with south Asian business community and maybe then there would have been more Asian restaurants nominated.
"The Rusholme Traders Association were the founder members of this festival, so I am quite stunned to hear that out of 56 restaurants nominated only one is Asian."
Award winning chef Aazam Ahmad from Manchester said south Asian restaurants could have easily been nominated in at least six categories.
"They could have been nominated for the restaurant of the year, newcomer of the year.
"They could have even nominated one for the best food and drink outlet as many Asian restaurants are fully licensed.
"Manchester boasts about their famous curry mile whenever they can, but seem to have had a memory lapse on this occasion.
"This is a council that actually promotes the national curry competition which had been won twice by a Manchester Asian restaurant."
Manchester council's spokesman on race and equality, Councillor Afzal Khan said he would investigate why only one south Asian restaurant had been nominated."All the city's communities should be represented in this festival.
"I will definitely be making more enquires about this."
But organisers of the festival deny they have overlooked Manchester's massive south Asian food industry.
A spokesman said restaurants were shortlisted by panel of food and drink experts, which included a south Asian judge. They made their selection from restaurants and bars they had dined at, or had been recommended to them, over the last 12 months.
Their shortlist is now on the festival website which invites the public to vote for the best restaurant, bar or pub in each category. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner held at the town hall on 11 October
He added: "South Asian restaurants from across the city were considered and two restaurants serving south Asian food were in the running and one was put forward. As in previous years, the 2004 Manchester Food and Drink Festival continues to recognise and include food and drink businesses from across the whole of Manchester."

Snub 2 from the Beeb
THE BBC has denied ignoring the south Asian restaurant trade over its failure to have any Asian chef demonstrating at its prestigious food show for the fourth year running.
Though curry cuisine is now the British public's favourite meal out, Asian chefs are absent from the show which will be staged at the Birmingham NEC between 24 and 28 November.
Several British chefs will demonstrate their skills cooking dishes before a large audience. The one Asian representative is Chinese food maestro Ken Hom but no-one will be there to cook-up a curry dish.
Said Asian News food writer and one-time BBC Fusion Chef of the Year Aazam Ahmad: "This is a total disgrace and cannot be dismissed as a oversight.
"In a country where south Asian food is the public's favourite meal out not to invite a south Asian chef onto the stage is at least institutional racism on the part of the BBC.
"There are scores of talented Asian chefs out there in the north west alone. I, for one, get invited to do public cook-out all over the region.
"I took this up with the BBC and spoke to three people - I could tell by their reaction that they were embarrassed by this omission. It should be sorted right away."
The BBC Good Food Show director Laura Biggs denied the south Asian food industry had been ignored.
She said there were many south Asian product suppliers involved in the show.
She said: "When booking chefs for the shows' live cookery demonstrations we take the lead very much from visitor feedback, who enjoy seeing chefs they recognise. Ken Hom, for example, has been working with us at the BBC Good Food Show for several years now. We are also pleased to announce that Iqbal Wahhab, the genius behind London's Cinnamon Club restaurant will preview his soon to be open Borough Market restaurant, Roast, at the Festive BBC Good Food Show in December."


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