Curry crisis: Neelofar Khan outside her restaurant
A Streatham curry restaurant owner is campaigning against what she has labelled a "curry crisis" in the area.
Neelofar Khan, owner of Chilli Chutney, which has branches in Streatham High Road as well as in the Allders Department Store in Croydon, says that there is a severe lack of talented chefs due to new immigration laws.
For years, many staff in the UK's 9,000 curry restaurants have been recruited directly from Bangladesh.
But restrictions on the workers have been tighter since eastern Europeans were given employment rights.
As a result Mrs Khan says that many businesses are unable to expand and grow, including her own, and others are facing closure.
The mother-of-three said: "This is all about the new immigration laws and about the point based system. What that will mean is that chefs here on work permits may not be able to stay and new chefs will not be able to come into the UK as it is now focused much more on education rather than skills.
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"It is a £1billion industry in the UK and it would be a great shame if it were to fall apart."
According to the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS), there are thousands of vacancies in curry houses across the country.
It says that 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.
Mrs Khan added: "These Eastern European chefs know about curry but not like Indian chefs. However the problem is that many Indian chefs do not have an education or the ability to speak the English language.
"There is a massive lack of skills for this type of cooking in Europe and Britain and it is getting to the point where many restaurants in Croydon and the whole of south London are being forced to close because there is not enough chefs."
Posted by: Lewi Mountbatten, Merton on 9:51am Sun 27 Apr 08
Why doesn't she train some from the local community. Lets face it there are thousands to choose from. That way she would be putting something back and reducing immigration at the same time. Cool!
On the other hand I am thinking what has happened to all those that used to work in the restaurants? Where have they all gone? Bit sus if you ask me or could this really be a cry for free publicity. Yeah, thats more likely.
Why doesn't she train some from the local community. Lets face it there are thousands to choose from. That way she would be putting something back and reducing immigration at the same time. Cool!
On the other hand I am thinking what has happened to all those that used to work in the restaurants? Where have they all gone? Bit sus if you ask me or could this really be a cry for free publicity. Yeah, thats more likely.
Posted by: Bella Ferreira, London on 9:38am Wed 30 Apr 08
This is not a joke nor is it a publicity stunt. It is a very real problem faced by the curry restaurant trade. They can't train someone from the local community because it takes years to build up the necessary experience and skills. And if she did, people would complain that the restaurant was not authentic because a London-born Asian was running the kitchen.
Let's face it, it's also about money. Working in a kitchen is long and arduous work for a comparatively small wage. Forget the celebrity chefs on their big wages because the reality is different. I can't see many people in Streatham wanting to do the job. Everybody wants a 9-5 job with lots of money. So it's only migrant workers who will take this kind of job.
To expect Eastern Europeans to come in and do it is not only a joke, but also an insult to the trade. It is a highly skilled job for goodness' sake.
This is not a joke nor is it a publicity stunt. It is a very real problem faced by the curry restaurant trade. They can't train someone from the local community because it takes years to build up the necessary experience and skills. And if she did, people would complain that the restaurant was not authentic because a London-born Asian was running the kitchen.
Let's face it, it's also about money. Working in a kitchen is long and arduous work for a comparatively small wage. Forget the celebrity chefs on their big wages because the reality is different. I can't see many people in Streatham wanting to do the job. Everybody wants a 9-5 job with lots of money. So it's only migrant workers who will take this kind of job.
To expect Eastern Europeans to come in and do it is not only a joke, but also an insult to the trade. It is a highly skilled job for goodness' sake.
Posted by: Lewi Mountbatten, Merton on 11:08am Sat 3 May 08
Sorry Bella
That wont wash.
Some of the worlds best "French" cooks are not French.A very memorable curry meal I had was in Swansea,it was cooked by a white Welshman and his Filipino wife served it!
The shortsightedness of the curry industry not to have started training chefs -of whatever ethnicity- is their own fault and I can see no good reason to re-write government policy to address that.
As for the wages,then they should increase there prices or reduce their profits to pay decent wages that would attract people into the kitchen.
If the customer is not willing to pay these prices then that business will fail,that is supply and demand I am afraid . This of course would reduce the number of "Curry" restaurants and the remaining ones would be able to command better prices.
To supplement the trade with cheap immigrant labour is fundamentally wrong and regressive.
Sorry Bella
That wont wash.
Some of the worlds best "French" cooks are not French.A very memorable curry meal I had was in Swansea,it was cooked by a white Welshman and his Filipino wife served it!
The shortsightedness of the curry industry not to have started training chefs -of whatever ethnicity- is their own fault and I can see no good reason to re-write government policy to address that.
As for the wages,then they should increase there prices or reduce their profits to pay decent wages that would attract people into the kitchen.
If the customer is not willing to pay these prices then that business will fail,that is supply and demand I am afraid . This of course would reduce the number of "Curry" restaurants and the remaining ones would be able to command better prices.
To supplement the trade with cheap immigrant labour is fundamentally wrong and regressive.
Posted by: SW16, Ex-Streatham on 8:05pm Wed 7 May 08
There have been curry houses in London for decades. Obviously there is no tradition of training, only of importing cheap labour. If no effort was made to train then why should there be any sympathy now?
In addition there seems to be something approaching a racist employment policy in operation here: Eastern Europeans lack "cultural sensitivity". So we have an employer who doesn't want to employ certain nationalities, and who doesn't want to train people to do the job.
Where is the contribution to the local community in this? In fact how much contribution to the local economy is there here ?
I have eaten in this restaurant and it was overpriced, empty and not much cop. I would be worried if I was her.
There have been curry houses in London for decades. Obviously there is no tradition of training, only of importing cheap labour. If no effort was made to train then why should there be any sympathy now?
In addition there seems to be something approaching a racist employment policy in operation here: Eastern Europeans lack "cultural sensitivity". So we have an employer who doesn't want to employ certain nationalities, and who doesn't want to train people to do the job.
Where is the contribution to the local community in this? In fact how much contribution to the local economy is there here ?
I have eaten in this restaurant and it was overpriced, empty and not much cop. I would be worried if I was her.
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