Lord Bilimoria, Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Curry Catering Industry, was recently interviewed as part of a comprehensive article written about the British curry industry by Malcolm Moore, a journalist at the Financial Times. The article, titled the The Great British Curry Crisis, detailed the history of curry restaurants in Britain and noted the major issues facing the industry, focusing in particular on the impact that a shortage of skilled South Asian chefs entering the business is having on the industry as a whole.
Speaking about the difficulties that many UK curry houses are experiencing, Lord Bilimoria said: “It is a very serious crisis. There are a lot of restaurants closing and many more are struggling to survive. The only reason that curry has become so popular is thanks to pioneering entrepreneurs who moved to every high street and opened restaurants as complete strangers. That has not been appreciated.”
“Indian food needs specific skills”, he continued, “you can guarantee there has to be a South Asian chef. You cannot just recruit anyone and follow a recipe checklist.”