Seven brothers, one restaurant (From Your Local Guardian)

Seven Afghan brothers open East Sheen restaurant

11:20am Saturday 6th June 2009 in Richmond By Ian Mason

They began life living in a luxury 18-bedroom house, in the blink of an eye they became refugees and now seven brothers from Afghanistan living in Hounslow represent the entire workforce behind an East Sheen restaurant.

Each of the sons in the Esmailzadah family has a role to play in the aptly named Seven: The Fusion Kitchen, in Sheen Lane.

Between them they wait on tables, tend the bar, manage and supervise behind the scenes and in the kitchen, and share the washing-up.

Their life now is a far cry from childhoods spent in Afghanistan where their dad, Ghulam, owned several clothes shops, a sprawling mansion, four chauffeur-driven cars and a garden “like a football pitch”.

But everything changed in 1979 when Soviet troops invaded and occupied the country.

Eldest son and chef Ehsaan, who was seven at the time, said: “Suddenly in one night from that sort of life we found ourselves sleeping on the floor under tents.

“[Our father] said ‘look guys, if the seven of you get together you can do anything’."

Ehsaan Esmailzadah

“There were days I can tell you when me and my brothers slept hungry but my dad would say don’t worry we will sort it out.”

His family paid prison workers a bribe worth millions of Afghani (the country’s currency) to free their father from Soviet custody after the invasion and they all fled to Pakistan and later India.

Their mother, Zahera, became one of the main bread-winners by selling hand crafted embroideries on the streets but Ehsaan dreamed of more.

He said: “I grew up, I became an adult and said I have to go back home and have to find things out like what happened to our land and our property.”

However, the 32-year-old’s return to Kabul did not last long due to the growing Taliban presence and in 1996 he found refuge in England, where he worked in a Lebanese kitchen and learned to cook. The rest of the Esmailzadah clan did not join him until 2001 and now all live in homes across Hounslow.

Earlier this year Ehsaan was inspired to start a family business after passing a disused shop in Sheen Lane. He immediately gained the support of his relatives.

Ehsaan said: “[Our father] said ‘look guys, if the seven of you get together you can do anything’.

“We have very strong bonds.”

And after spending “the only money we had” Seven: The Fusion Kitchen opened on May 3.

“Because we did not have a dishwasher we said everybody would take turns and come and wash the dishes," he continued.

“We have arguments and we shout at each other but at the end of the day when we were growing up whenever we had fights between ourselves my dad would say, ‘No. Go outside and fight with someone else’.

“With family we have always been united and lean on each other.

“When [everyone – parents, sister Nargis, 36, and the wives and children] get together it’s like a fish market – the place erupts but it’s nice.”