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Enam Ali can hardly remember a time when business was this tricky.
Ever since they first arrived in Britain from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh in 1958, the Ali family have done what so many Asian immigrants did during the mass post-war migrations to Britain: they cooked.
His grandfather headed to the suburbia of south London and set up his first "Indian restaurant" in the Surrey town of Cheam. Later, as the British public became addicted to the piquant dishes of its former South Asian colonies, the Ali business went from strength to strength. The family now own restaurants all over the country.
Such success stories have been repeated by thousands of families across Britain. It is often said that the nation's favourite dish is chicken tikka masala. This may not be strictly true, but the British have certainly embraced what they like to call "Indian cuisine" with more enthusiasm than any other modern culinary import.
Today, however, Indian restaurants in Britain are in crisis: not because the British have fallen out of love with their food but because restaurant owners have been hit by a double blow that they say threatens to ruin the £3.5 billion ($8.5 billion) industry.
Thanks to a recent Government crackdown on short-term visa schemes for foreign workers from outside the European Union, restaurateurs cannot find enough skilled chefs in an industry that has traditionally expanded year on year.
And now, to compound the problem, dramatic increases in world rice prices have hit owners in the pocket.
"I've worked in the Asian restaurant trade for 30 years and I've never seen the industry in such difficulty," says Ali, who chairs the Bangladeshi Guild of Restaurateurs and owns the Le Raj restaurant in Epsom.
"Unless something is done to alleviate our staff shortages, don't be surprised to see restaurants going under, particularly those in rural areas that rely on local regulars."
After more than six decades of expansion and overwhelming cultural acceptance, the Asian restaurant trade is going through one of the most critical periods in its history.
Over the past two years, restaurant owners have been lobbying the Government to listen to their concerns, but they say they have been ignored. Meanwhile, a third problem has become apparent: owners are finding it increasingly difficult to persuade their sons and daughters to follow them into the trade.
Owners say that the Government has failed to take note of the crisis in this vibrant sector of the catering industry, which provides more than 100,000 jobs. "The industry risks being destroyed," says Rajesh Suri, owner of Tamarind in Mayfair, the first British Asian restaurant to be awarded the Michelin Star award.
"No one is going to invest thousands of pounds in a restaurant if there's no guarantee they'll find chefs. I know of at least 15 restaurants in the past year that have had their openings delayed because they couldn't find the chefs. Top end restaurants like us are not going to have so much of a problem but the Government risks killing off the local curry house industry."
To compound their concerns, Asian restaurant owners have also been hit by the worldwide rise in food prices and rice.
Big rice producers such as India and China have imposed severe restrictions on exports in order to retain supplies for domestic consumption, while others, such as Vietnam and Egypt, have banned exports.
Official figures say the price of food has risen by 6.6 per cent over the past year, but rice is now 60 per cent more expensive than it was last year and basmati rice at least double the price.
Imam Ahmed, who owns The Lodge restaurant in Sutton Coldfield and two others nearby, is concerned that many businesses will have to pass on the price increase to customers.
"The average grocery bill is up by 40 per cent over the past 12 months, while the price of vegetable oil has gone from £6.50 for 20 litres to £15," he said.
The Government has suggested that Asian restaurateurs try to hire chefs from within the British Asian community. But many owners say that the younger generations have higher aspirations.
HEAT IS ON 'NATIONAL DISH'
Indian food has become an integral part of British cuisine, so much so that, since the late 1990s, chicken tikka masala has been commonly referred to as the "British national dish". It is said to have been invented by a Bengali chef in Glasgow.
Marks & Spencer sells about 19 tonnes of the chicken tikka masala curry every week and 23 million portions a year are sold in Britain's more than 8000 Indian restaurants, half of them located in and around London.
A Government crackdown on short-term visa schemes for foreign workers from outside the European Union means Indian restaurants are struggling to find enough skilled chefs.
Soaring world food prices are also hurting the industry with basmati rice at least twice as expensive as it was last year.
- INDEPENDENT
