Tough rules cooking up a curry crisis

Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant owners tell of fears ahead of new immigration laws.

WHEN chef Miah Shuhel came to Edinburgh from India as a young man in 1978 his work options were limited.

Without a basic understanding of English and no education, his only option was to find work in one of the Capital's many curry houses.

"I began as a kitchen porter and worked my way up," he says. "It was the only way for me to get by."

Today, Miah works as a chef at Zest curry house on North St Andrew Street in the New Town. His tale is one of hard work and triumph over adversity. But while many of the Capital's older Indian and Bangladeshi families will be able to relate to Miah's story, it is one that is unlikely to be repeated by future generations of young migrants moving to the city.

Curry may be Scotland's most popular dish, but if current moves to curb immigration laws go ahead, it may soon become an endangered species in the Capital.

In an argument that reached the House of Commons this week, curry restaurateurs accused immigration chiefs of causing a devastating shortage of qualified chefs and kitchen workers across the country.

Recent restrictions on lower-skilled workers from outside the EU, combined with the changing aspirations of young immigrants, have seen the number of skilled restaurant workers from India and Bangladesh fall dramatically.

As a result, restaurant owners are being forced to take on untrained staff from non-Indian or Bangladeshi backgrounds who have no experience or knowledge of curry. They believe the situation is threatening the quality of the dish they serve.

Asaddar Ali, owner of curry restaurant Zest, where Miah is a chef, and takeaways Eastern Spices and Bombay Feast, says that his business has been seriously affected by recent changes. He said: "It is a big problem. We have a lot of staff shortages. Our next generations are not coming to this trade because it is a hard job.

"When the first Indian and Bangladeshi workers came over to Britain in the 1950s, they didn't have any choice but to work in restaurants.

"Nowadays, third generation young people are British and have a British mentality. They want to work in different professions – not just in restaurants.

"At the moment, I am short of staff in my kitchen. Today I advertised for jobs but the majority of phone calls I received were from Eastern European people.

"I get four or five calls a day from people from Eastern Europe. But these people are not familiar with our food and it is not good for my business."

Mr Ali, who is also organising secretary for the Bangladesh Catering Association in Scotland, says tighter immigration legislation is making it difficult for him to bring in trained staff from the sub-continent.

The new points-based system, the first stage of which rolls out on February 29, requires that immigrants who wish to work in the UK fulfil certain criteria before being allowed to do so.

They will have to assess themselves against a list of points which will be specific to the kind of work they want to do and will also be required to understand a certain level of English before being admitted.

Employers who ignore the new regulations will face a fine of £10,000 for every illegal worker they take on.

Foysol Choudhury, owner of The Verandah restaurant in Dalry, said that the legislation was making life difficult for restaurant owners and was threatening the future of the business.

He said: "At the moment, every restaurant in Edinburgh is short of staff but the new legislation is very confusing for businessmen who want to take on more workers.

"If a chef comes here from India or Bangladesh to work in a curry restaurant but his English isn't any good, it shouldn't be a problem as he will be working with people from his own community. Why can't a chef from Bangladesh make good curry for customers without speaking good English?

"I am now employing a few Polish people to fill my staff shortage but this is a big problem as well. Firstly there is a big communication gap because many of them don't speak good English.

"But most importantly, people from India and Bangladesh eat curry every day and they know it off by heart.

"It is very hard to teach someone from outside how to make a good curry. When a restaurant employs an outsider they are spending more time teaching that person and then that person might end up leaving.

"There will be quite a lot of businesses closing down if this continues. We are going to have a crisis very soon.

"We do not want to go against the law, but the quota for work permits should be higher in Scotland and particularly in Edinburgh where there are not enough Bangladeshi people to manage all of the businesses."

John Barrett, MP for Edinburgh West, said that he was aware there was real concern across the city over how the changes were going to affect the curry industry.

He said: "Edinburgh is lucky to have with a wide range of top quality Indian and South Asian restaurants providing not only great food, but adding the sort of spice and cultural diversity that makes this city great.

"I am sure the purpose of these immigration changes is not to restrict the restaurant trade. However, I know from speaking to restaurant owners in my constituency that there is real concern over how the changes will affect them and their staff.

"That is why the Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons yesterday called for an urgent debate on immigration issues at Westminster, so that we can make sure that the restaurant trade, among others, is not the victim of the unintended consequences of the new proposals."

Mr Barrett said that he would be meeting with the Bangladesh Catering Association for Scotland today to discuss what the next move should be.

A Border and Immigration Agency Spokesperson said: "Our objective is to manage migration in the national interest. The new points-based system for managing migration will ensure that those with the right skills to benefit Britain can come here to contribute.

"The recently-established Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will advise ministers on where migration might sensibly fill gaps in the labour market.

The MAC has already started work on the first shortage occupation list for skilled employment which it aims to publish in June."

The Bangladesh Catering Association for Scotland is holding a seminar this Sunday at Orwell Lodge Hotel, Polwarth, where they hope to meet politicians to discuss the way forward.

Among those they have invited are Alistair Darling, Malcolm Chisholm MSP and First Minister Alex Salmond.

THE FACTS
• Indian restaurants in Britain serve about 2.5 million customers every week.

• There are about 9000 Indian curry houses in the UK, employing an estimated 70,000 staff.

• Khushi's, now based in Victoria Street, claims to be Scotland's oldest curry house. It was opened by Khushi and Hanida Mohammed in Edinburgh in 1947 on Lothian Street, at Bristo Square.

• The Indian food industry in the UK is worth £3.2 billion.

• Indian restaurants outnumber Chinese restaurants in the UK by two to one.

• Scientists at Nottingham Trent University discovered that people begin to crave curry because the spices arouse and stimulate the taste buds.

• One of the earliest known recipes for meat in a spicy sauce appeared on tablets found near Babylon about 1700 BC.