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Is our passion for curry really cooling?

The North’s Curry King has reacted angrily to claims that Brits are losing their passion for Indian food.

Avi Malik, manager of Raval Luxury Indian Restaurant, hit out in response to comments made by businessman Sanjay Majhu in a Scottish newspaper.

Mr Majhu, of Glasgow, who runs the Ashoka chain of restaurants, said demand for curries had fallen so much he had sold off four of his 14 businesses in the past year.

He claimed diners north of the border were leaning towards restaurants serving more international cuisine, which offer greater variety.

However, Mr Mailk, whose restaurant just off the Tyne Bridge in Gateshead was named best in the North East at the British Curry Awards, says there is no hard evidence to back up such a claim.

He said: “This has certainly not been my experience. Demand for our dishes has never been higher. In order to cope with that demand we recently launched Raval Express, a new take away service.”

In the Glasgow Evening Times article, Mr Majhu revealed he was diversifying his portfolio to include two Spanish tapas restaurants in Scotland, trading as Las Ramblas. And he said he had already sold his two Ashoka restaurants in Glasgow.

In his popular Curry King blog, Mr Malik wrote: “A sceptic might conclude that his comments are designed to lure curry lovers away from restaurants he no longer has a vested interest in…and to try the food at one of his new ventures.”

However, Mr Malik does concede that the restaurant industry is facing challenges.

He said: “There is evidence that people are dining out less than they used to in the pre-recession boom.

“But that is an industry-wide trend, and certainly not confined to Indian restaurants.

“The growing popularity of food-related programmes on TV has also encouraged people to be more adventurous at home…but I cannot point to any hard evidence about how curry consumption in the UK has changed.”

Mr Malik added: “The real crisis facing the industry, which Mr Majhu does not mention, is the problem of attracting and retaining skilled staff.

“Current government restrictions mean bringing chefs from abroad is not a financially viable option for most restaurants.

“Indian food is complex and top restaurants require chefs with years of experience of cooking with spices. There are simply not enough in this county to meet demand.

“It is this skills shortage – rather than some spurious argument about a decline in the popularity of curry – that is threatening our £4billion industry.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ken Oxley .