Indian chefs

An article by Nicholas Lander titled "Wanted: Indian Chefs” pub­lished in Lon­don’s Financial Times (March 29, 2008) features a substantial interview with Cyrus Todiwala who with his wife Pervin has built Café Spice Na-masté into a byword for outstanding Parsi and Indian cuisine in London. "They have practiced the Zoroastrian ethos of giving back to the community by working with and supporting training organi­sations to help youth into a catering career. Cyrus is one of the founding committee members of the UK chapter of the World Zarathusti Chamber of Commerce,” notes ZTFE (Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe) trustee Rusi Dalal in his e-mail forwarding the article to Parsiana.

"The imposition of higher criteria for entry to the UK by the Home Office, an approach which is also affecting recruitment by Chinese and Japanese restaurateurs... is having a particularly significant impact on the Bangladeshi community, which populates so many Indian restaurant kitchens. The Immigration Advisory Service estimates this particular sector alone requires another 27,500 employees,” writes Lander, adding, "Finding them is increasingly difficult due to the growing demand for chefs in India itself.”

To understand the situation, Lander writes, he chose to speak to Todiwala "over a very hot lamb vindaloo.” Explaining the reason for choosing Todiwala, he notes, "At 51, he is slightly older than his London contemporaries and widely respected, not just by the capital’s other chefs but also by the large hospitality companies whose chefs attend his master class events which are also run for the public.” Referring to Todiwala’s social work Lander notes, "He has given a great deal back to the UK, his home of 17 years, principally via training organizations such as Springboard UK and Investors in People, for which he was awarded an MBE in 2000.”

Todiwala told the journalist, "It is impossible rather than difficult,” to hire Indian chefs, adding, "I cannot even remember when we were able to hire a good Indian waiter. It’s a big challenge.” But the hearty optimist also suggested a solution to the problem. "There are two things that have to happen. The first is that the Asian community has to be less ghettoized and contribute more to the society we have become a part of. And the second is we have to improve our whole approach to training...

"In the UK, we tried something similar a few years ago when we opened the Asian & Oriental School of Catering in Hackney, east London. While it was open we had over 900 youngsters attend. But then there was a change in the way the school was funded and it was forced to close down.”

Café Spice Namasté’s Garden Café

Lander compliments Todiwala’s cooking, listing all the items he tasted and enjoyed at the Café: "Beetroot and coconut samosas, batons of aubergine deep fried with turmeric, a masala spring roll stuffed with minced lamb, a slow roast lamb and the desserts — particularly the kulfi and ice cream made from Hunza apricots — are very good. Even the dining room, brightly colored but functional, is evocative of India.”

Every month there is some event in which the restaurateur participates. There is also a new theme at the restaurant as recorded in his e-mail listings. Like the Teenage Cancer Trust Dinner which raised a fantastic £ 16,000 towards building a new unit at Addenbrookes Hospital. Or the Malt Whisky Dinner, which was such a success last year. In partnership with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Todiwala came up with a four- course dinner, hand picked to work perfectly with the stunning range of whiskies.

This summer Café Spice Namasté introduced its Garden Café and prayed there would be enough bright days for people to sit out in the cheery surroundings.

In the context of the Master Classes he runs at Café Spice Namaste including specialized private classes for some of the larger companies, some in association with other outstanding chefs, Todiwala writes, "My plan is to, as has been the case in the past, donate an element of the cost (my classes only) towards each of the following bodies in turn. These are Springboard UK, tasked with promoting the industry to young people and those looking for a change of profession, The Academy of Culinary Arts, The Master Chefs of Great Britain, The Craft Guild of Chefs and Hospitality Action and, my own two charities Learning for Life (giving the gift of education to very poor kids in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan) and The Time and Talents Association of which I am the president (giving hope to the elderly, under-privileged and sick people of south east London primarily in the Rotherhithe Basin).

"This way not only do we share our knowledge and skills with chefs, foodies, managers, etc and increase their own knowledge, but at the same time help our associations in doing the stellar jobs they do in promoting our industry to youngsters and raising the profile as well as collecting money for those amongst us who may fall on troubled times.”