Emergency call for 1,000 new chefs to save our curry houses

The heat is on to save our national dish and Ministers have sprung into action.

Curry houses are in crisis because of a shortage of chefs to cook chicken tikka masala. Now Business Secretary John Denham has said he wants 1,000 British curry chefs trained as soon as possible.

He is giving the catering industry emergency funding to set up courses in ethnic food.

The Government will also hold a "curry summit" to discuss ways of saving the industry.

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Indian restaurant owners have warned they may have to close because Bangladeshi immigrants who do the cooking are banned under new rules requiring them to speak English.

There are fears the £3.2billion industry could collapse.

Mr Denham said: "The deal will encourage owners to train home grown talent rather than rely on workers from abroad."

But Bangladeshi community spokesman Foysol Choudhury, from Edinburgh, said: "Our chefs don't need to speak English. Their curry talks."

Source : Mirror

Curry favour with super spices

No doubt you’ve heard the buzz about “super foods” such as blueberries and pomegranates.

Thanks to new research at www.ars.usda.gov/nutrientdata/ORAC, now all eyes are on “super spices.”

Using a scale to measure the oxygen radical absorbance capacity or ORAC, scientists have discovered that a variety of commonly consumed herbs and spices contain high amounts of health-promoting antioxidants that relieve inflammation and ward off heart disease and some types of cancer.

The McCormick Web site ( www.mccormick.com) is already busy getting out the word: 1 teaspoon of curry powder contains nearly the same amount of antioxidants as 1/2 cup of red grapes.

Curry powder is actually a complex blend of up to 20 spices, herbs and seeds. Commonly used ingredients include cardamom, chili peppers, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel seed, fenugreek, mace, nutmeg, red and black pepper, poppy seeds and sesame seeds, saffron, tamarind and turmeric, the spice responsible for giving curry powder its warm, rich yellow-gold colour.

The art of spice blending is a natural part of cooking in India, where home cooks develop their own signature curry powder that they grind fresh, as needed. Commercially available curry powders were a British convenience food used to approximate the taste of regional curries.

Source :KansasCity.com

Curry Announcement: Sangam 2

Our next curry is to be held at the Sangam 2 (Didsbury, Manchester) in May 2008.

The Sangam 2, is a stylish, very modern restaurant located in Didsbury village almost adjacent to the infamous Royal Oak pub.

The owners chose the indian word 'Sangam', which means 'meeting place', to represent the name of their indian restaurant.

Please refer to your individual email and SMS invites for the exact details. Confirm your attendance to Gary Jordan ASAP.

Review to be published soon

Jalfrezi - Bramhall

T 0161 439 9494
A 3 The Bramhall Centre, Ack Lane East, Bramhall, Stockport, SK7 1AW

Visit arranged by: Chris Marchbank Smith
Review by: Martin Noble

The April monthly curry was held at the Jalfrezi Indian Food bar in Bramhall, Stockport.

Six members of the Council promptly reported for duty at the pub next door, the Orange Tree, for a swift half before entering the aptly named Jalfrezi.

Woodman missed this months curry due to babysitting problems and Hague was "on call". Hague's attendance was yet again a hot item of discussion. His curry attendance statistics, from the last 16 events, read an absymal 6! His 38% attendance rate may be analysed for patterns (distance from house, curry cost, dicky tummy, etc). Hague has quickly become the Derby County of the Curry Council and may soon be set for relegation !

Upon entering this modern establishment , it was clear that we were not in a traditional Indian restaurant. The venue offered a chic, low-key but tasteful interior.With an expanse of dark wooden tables, a tasteful modern bar with subtle green panelled lighting, the interior is a world away from the "traditional curry house".

The evening started well as the Council were seated at a large wooden table (“table cloth” free, which may help the more messy curry eater) in the corner of the restaurant.

The waiters promptly took our drinks order. Cobra lager, the perfect curry accompaniment and whistle wetter, was ordered all round. Poppodums were then served whilst we perused the vast menu on offer.

The motto of the Jalfrezi restaurant is borne out by the words on the front of their menu, "The essence of good food is time”. First impressions were very good and the Council hoped that the food would live up to our expectations.

The poppodums came accompanied with a massive selection of five, yes five, condiments. These were of a high standard and included a pesto-style mint sauce, creamy coleslaw, along with a yoghurt sauce, the more traditional mango chutney and red onion.

A variety of starters were sampled by the group including the Rongpuri chilli chicken (highly recommended by Jordan) and the Chicken Chat Puri (of a mammoth portion size, pictured to the right). Four members of the party sampled the 'Mixed Starter for two' and the 'Flaming Mixture for two'.

The mixed starter's arrived sizzling away on large platter (pictured left) and contained plenty of meat, much to the plaudits of the commited carnivores in the group.

The waiters were attentive, constantly replacing cutlery and napkins in between the courses.

The main courses sampled included the Chicken Tikka Silsila (priced at £8.95). This is a more fiery dish which still lets you taste the subtleties of the sauce and the strips of chicken.

Dave Marchbank-Smith gained kudos points for both attending whilst his wife was close to labour and moving up the chilli factor by eating a fiery Chicken Tikka Madras. Paul Day opted for the lamb balti dish (priced at £7.50). All main courses were enjoyed and came in good portions sizes that managed to satisfy our large appetites.

The bill came in at £23 per head (including a 10% tip). This included 2 pops each, starter, main course, rice, naam bread and 2 pints of Cobra lager (for the majority).

The Curry Council left the Jalfrezi Indian Food Bar very impressed with the high quality of food on offer. The service from the start was exemplary.

The Jalfrezi Indian Food Bar will soon be opening another sister restaurant, the Purple Pakora, in the nearby village of Poynton.

Food 9/10
Service 9/10
Atmosphere 8/5
Value for money 7/5
Originality 8/10

Overall 8.2/10

Breaking News - Moti Mahal Restaurant Closes !

The Moti Mahal Indian Restaurant in Hazel Grove (Stockport) closed for business on the 2nd April 2008.

The photo below shows that a notice of peaceable entry has been served on the Macclesfield Road Restaurant. The statement indicates that the restaurant has "non-payment of rent" and that the "building lease is therefore terminated".

The Moti Mahal was established in 2004 and faced competition from other popular Indian Restaurant's in Hazel Grove (Blue Nile, The Nobin) and Poynton (Deeba and Ruby).

The Curry Council did not have the privilege of visiting this establishment and hope that the restaurant can resolves these issues in the near future.

Brown urges curry house training

People in Britain will be trained up to fill staff shortages in curry houses, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said.

The industry fears it will be hit hard by a new points-system for workers from outside the EU.
Mr Brown was asked to help ease shortages in kitchen staff, who used to be largely recruited from Bangladesh.

Mr Brown said he believed they had come to a "fair" position on immigration but he wanted to help people already in Britain train up to fill the jobs.

Last month the Home Office was urged to ease new restrictions on migrant workers for curry restaurants, of which there are about 9,000 in the UK.

Lack of staff

It is thought the industry employs at least 50,000 people - the majority of restaurants are Bangladeshi owned.

During his press conference Mr Brown was told there were about 25,000 unfilled vacancies in kitchens and some restaurants are faced with the threat of closure over a lack of staff.

Mr Brown said: "We will make it possible for people who are in this country to be trained to be either chefs or restaurant workers in the industry.

"We are doing far more to train than every before. We know there are people who, if trained, could make a contribution to the industry."

He said it was important, not only so people could contribute towards the British economy, but to become productive workers earning good salaries.

'Irreparable damage'

"We have come to a position on immigration that I believe people will see is a fair one," he said.
"That the new Australian points system is one that gives us the opportunity to decide on occasions what are the right needs for the British economy.

"But I have no doubt at the moment that one of the things we should be concentrating on is helping people in this country train for the industry, that is a very important industry and a very important part of our economy."

According to the Immigration Advisory Service, restrictions on lower-skilled workers from outside the EU are causing a labour shortage so severe it could cause "irreparable damage" to the curry industry.

It argues that attempts to get eastern Europeans to work in curry restaurants have failed because they do not have the "cultural sensitivity" required.

It wrote to the immigration minister Liam Byrne asking for the rules to be relaxed for catering workers from Bangladesh. But government officials said they had no plans to review the current arrangements.

Reference: BBC Online

P-RICE RISING?

Curry lovers across Britain could face higher meal bills as rice soared by 30 per cent to a record global high.

The increase came after Egypt, a major world rice exporter, imposed a ban on selling its product abroad to keep local prices down. Worldwide stocks are at their lowest since 1976 and half the amount in 2000. A spokesman for Britain's Indian restaurants said owners will try to hold prices for now.

Reference: Propeller

Curry News - Purple Pakora opening soon

The village of Poynton (Cheshire) is to see the introduction of a new Indian restaurant. The ‘Purple Pakora’ has taken over the old Bray's furniture site on London Road North.

Extensive building work has commenced to renovate the site (as the photo shows). In an exclusive interview with a Curry Council member, the man pictured in the photo stated that the new restaurant "would be open in about 3 months". Licencing is currently being applied for the restaurant, by Mr Bobby Azim Bakht, with Macclesfield Council .

The restaurant is to be opened by the same owners as the highly successful Jalfrezi restaurant on Ack Lane East in Bramhall (Stockport). They also have another sister restaurant, The Princess of Hearts, which is located in Sale (Cheshire).

Poynton will see the ‘Purple Pakora’ joining the established ‘Ruby’ Indian Restaurant on London Road South and the popular ‘Deeba’ restaurant on Chester Road.

The Curry Council are looking forward to visiting this curry establishment in the near future and hope to publish a review soon.

Shimla Pinks - Manchester

T 0161 831 7099
A Dolefield, Crown Sq, Manchester, M3 3HA
E enquiries@shimlapinksmanchester.com
W www.shimlapinksmanchester.com

Visit arrnged by: Dave Marchbank-Smith
Review by: Chris Marchbank-Smith

The March(BANK) curry saw the newly named Curry Council visit Shimla Pinks at Crown Square, Manchester.

Expectation's were high after receiving good reviews from friends and family, although we had heard rumours about rogue items on the bill ?

This being a City Centre restaurant, Shimla Pinks does not have any customer parking but there are nearby car parks that all within walking distance (with prices ranging from £2.60 to £6 for around 2 hours).

The Curry Council enjoying their meal.

On arrival we were greeted by numerous staff and a very nice looking cocktail bar. The restaurant had a very modern sheek and sophisticated feel. We almost had a full compliment of members with the exception of young Dayo (Anderton) who again was missing from action (reason unknown).

Service was quick with drinks and pops arriving promptly. Although there was no draught lager available and bottles of Cobra arrived in 660ml bottles (priced at a reasonable £4.85 each).

The pops came accompanied with condiments to suit the average curry eater but for the Curry Council we had to ask for many refills !

Shimla's offer a great selection of poppadum dips (pictured above)

The menu is vast and interesting with some nice speciality dishes. We asked if the Tandoori Platter Starter was suitable to share as it is described as a huge combo of succulent meats and where advised it would be fine, the combo arrived with 1 king prawn and chicken on the bone along with other meats it was very difficult to share and at £8.95 it is not great value for money.

Taste was very good and again service was prompt. The main meals arrived in nice traditional curry bowls but without the authentic heaters you normally find in a traditional curry house. Pilau rice portions are small (priced at £2.25 each) and I would definitely recommend having a portion of rice per person. Naan bread was tasty especially the Chilli Cheese !!

Nan Bread (£2.95) and a main course, Chicken Nentara (priced at £8.45) are pictured above .

The service on the whole was good but we did find 10 empty bottles of Cobra that were left on the table all evening.

We would recommend a visit but make sure you take plenty of cash as it is the most expensive curry witnessed by the council at around £28 pp. This included pops, starter, main course and Cobra Beer. A mandatory 10% service charge was also added to the bill.

Value for money?? This is a tricky one, the food is of a high standard but this comes a cost. We have had equally good curries at much more reasonable cost! Shimla's do have a Early bird special menu that may be worth a try !!

The Council at the bar

Food 7/10
Service 8/10
Atmosphere 8/10
Value for money 6/10
Originality 7/10

Overall 7.2/10

News - Website Rebranding

CurryCouncil.Com is proud to announce a recent rebranding exercise for the site.

The currycouncil.blogspot.com has been replaced with a new domain name and you can now view the review site from

http://www.currycouncil.com/

or

http://www.currycouncil.co.uk/

The group, formerly known as the Stockport Curry Council (SCC), have saturated the Stockport area for Indian Restaurants.

We have recently been visiting and reviewing many more Indian restaurants across the whole of the North West (including Stockport, Manchester, Cheshire, Tameside and Salford) and now have expanded the geographical area that we cover.

The time is now right to remove ‘Stockport’ from our name and from this point forward, we are now known as the CURRY COUNCIL.

We thank you for your continued support and hope to add some exciting features to the site throughout 2008.

Mission Statement

The Curry Council was formed in the early 1990s and is an independent Indian restaurant review site and knowledge base.

The Curry Council have a clear set of aims and objectives which are listed below:

(1) to arrange regular Indian restaurant visits and to publish a fair and accurate review of the experience.

(2) to provide regular news articles regarding the curry community

(3) to provide advertising opportunities to related organisations on www.currycouncil.com

You've been mangoed!

MOTORISTS found themselves in a sticky situation when a lorry shed its 18-ton load of mango chutney, causing chaos on the roads yesterday morning (Tuesday).

Gallons of the popular Indian condiment spilled onto London Road (A523) by the Adlington bends, leading to major diversions and tailbacks across the area.

The lorry appeared to have got into a pickle and tipped its contents onto the wall and forecourt of the MySpa Clinic.

Police set up roadblocks as they battled to contain the fruity and highly fragrant spillage.

And when our photographer arrived on the scene one officer quipped: "I hope you’ve brought your poppadums!"

But a recovery worker, battling to wade through the chutney which was rapidly covering his lower half, was less impressed saying: "I love mango chutney, but I’m rapidly going off it."

The chutney clogged the A523 in Adlington at 5.16am leaving disbelieving motorists "naan" the wiser and not relishing the tailbacks.

Despite the emergency services trying to preserve commuter flow, traffic chaos ensued after the HGV from F Swain and Son in Adlington, dropped its saucy load.

The road was closed between Mill Lane and Bonis Hall Lane for seven hours until noon causing traffic mayhem on the town’s by-way with several diversions put in place around the accident at the junction between Chester Road and London Road in Poynton and the Silk Road junction with Hibel Road. The knock-on effects were felt in Bollington where traffic was heavily congested from the Pott Shrigley direction.

The driver of the HGV walked away unhurt, but the large metal barrels of chutney, destined for London, destroyed the small wall outside the MySpa clinic, causing worried workers to call Transco when they could smell gas.

After an inspection on the site, Transco discovered a long-standing leak that had remained undetected for months which the clinic thought was dirty drains.

Managing director of MySpa Mary Burney said: "We might start to do mango facials, or we could use it to stick people’s faces back. Thankfully no-one was hurt, but the wall looks a mess – you could say the surgery needs a facelift.

"We always thought the bad smell was the drains and have had them cleaned several times. Turns out it was a gas leak."

A spokesman for F Swain and Sons said: "It’s just one of those things."

The scenes were reminscent of the legendary tale of how Macclesfield gained its nickname of Treacle Town when barrels of the sugary solution fell from a cart in the town centre.

A name change may now be on the cards after this latest twist to the tale!

Source : Macclesfield Express

Heatons Tandoori - Heaton Moor

Review by: Dave Marchbank-Smith
Visit arranged by Paul Day

A 33a Shaw Rd, Heaton Moor, Stockport, Cheshire, SK4 4AG
T 0161 442 9766

Tonight we visited the Heatons Tandoori in Heaton Moor. The restaurant is located just a few hundred yards down from the better known “Kush” (Kushoom Koly).

Shaw Road is a vibrant and popular area in Heaton Moor with a number of tightly packed restaurants and bars. This popularity sometimes makes parking directly outside a little difficult; however there is ample parking on the residential streets just a stone through away.

The restaurant décor had an authentic Indian feel, the tables were small and cosy and the staff were welcoming.

This wasn’t my first visit to the ‘Heatons ‘ and most certainly won’t be my last. The mixed starter was very tasty and was enjoyed by all. A fine choice of main courses were on offer and the general consensus from the Curry Council was that the food was excellent. The drinks selection was slightly disappointing, but the staff’s attentiveness made up for this.

Asian restaurants in this area are competing with the famous curry mile just a few miles away in Rusholme, however based upon our visit we won’t be RUSHing past the Tandoori in a hurry.

The turnout tonight was slightly disappointing, those who missed it – missed out on a superb feast.

Paradise Spice - Heald Green

T 0161 499 0060
A 250b Finney Lane, Heald Green, Stockport, SK8 3QD
W http://www.characterdata.co.uk/paradise/homepage.html

Review By : Martin Noble
Arranged by : Dave Marchbank-Smith

A small contingent of the Curry Council visited the Paradise Spice Indian Restaurant in Heald Green (Stockport). Dave Marchbank-Smith's hastily arranged event meant that Curry Council member availability was extremely limited.

A friendly face greeted the boys at the door. The waiter, who previously worked at the Kismet Restaurant in Heaviley, instantly recognised our faces and greeted us with warmth and enthusiasm.

Kingfisher on draught was offered with a good mixture of indian bottled beers (including Cobra and Bangla).

The food sampled included a Chicken Shashlik starter and a Chicken Tikka Karahi Speciality (a fairly hot dish cooked with a delicately prepared special sauce, garnished with tomatoes, onions and capsicums). The food was well received and came in adequate portion sizes.

This recently opened restaurant has a contemporary feel to it and its compactness make it suitable for small parties.

Food 7/10
Service 8/10
Atmosphere 6/10
Value for money 7/10
Originality 6/10

Overall 6.8/10

Deeba - Poynton

T 01625 879885

A 2 Chester Road, Poynton, Stockport, Cheshire. SK12 1QT

W http://www.deeba.co.uk/mainpage.htm

Visit arranged by: Martin Noble

Reviewed by : Martin Noble

Eight curry eatting connoisseurs descended upon the Deeba Indian Restaurant on Chester Road (Poynton, Cheshire). The Deeba also has a sister restaurant located in Cheadle.

The lads arrived at the first official monthly 'timetabled’ Curry Council event. Parking was located the front of the restaurant but spaces were minimal. There is also a shared car park behind the post office.

The Deeba also offers a takeaway service from the building immediately adjoined next door to the restaurant. All food is cooked in an open plan kitchen, which offers takeaway customers a chance to see their food being prepared and cooked.


A choice of two Indian lagers on draught (both Cobra and Kingfisher) was immediately offered, which must be highly commended. Poppodums (with a good selection of condiments) were served but the experience was ruined by the waiters bringing the starters to the table as the party were all still half way through eating our poppodums.

Members of the group sampled the mammoth Tandoori Mixed Grill starter (for two) which included Tandoori chicken, Chicken tikka, Shami Kebab, Lamb tikka, Sheek kebab, and Onion bhaji. This was of a high standard and more than satisfied the committed carnivore's in our party.

The main courses sampled included a elegantly spiced madras, the sauce being fiery but civilised. An unusual chilli chicken (pieces of battered chicked, with green chillis, green pepper & onions, stir fried in a sweet chilli sauce) was sampled along with a variety of tomato based curries.

Winfield, who is watching his weight, opted for a prawn cocktail starter and a reduced fat curry with boiled rice. This highly unusual choice was condemned by the Curry Council. Winfield was told by all to stop this nonsense and eat properly at next month's curry or face immediate expulsion from the Curry Council.

The Deeba offer all main courses as a healthier option (reduced fat content) for the more health conscious eater.

The overall experience was good. The group also benefitted from the 20% discount card offered by the restaurant. It was also noted and appreciated that this establishment is a 100% non smoking restaurant.

The only down side of the evening was the rushed delivery of the starter. Overall, a good mainstream curry house in a pleasant environment.

Food 8/10
Service 6/10
Atmosphere 7/10
Value for money 8/10
Originality 6/10

Overall 7/10