Curry revival for the Midlands

Midlands curry restaurants need "new blood"

A new breed of curry chefs is to be trained in the Midlands, offering salvation to the UK's Indian restaurant industry.

Courses in Birmingham and Leicester will be aimed at overcoming the current chef shortage in the UK.

The recruitment drive is being led by restaurant owners wishing to capitalise on the growing popularity of Bollywood films.

They hope a new generation of chefs will cast off the image of Indian cooking as late-night fast food.

Britain has 8,500 curry houses

Khawaja Shafique, from the Asian Balti Restaurant Association, said: "Currently the only colleges aimed at Asian restaurant businesses are based in London.

"With its high concentration of Indian restaurants, the midlands is crying out for catering academies to train new blood."

In Birmingham, where baltis were invented, the city's leading Asian chefs are planning a balti academy.

Mr Shafique said Birmingham's status as the UK's balti capital should be acknowledged.

'Specialist catering'

"We are keen to have a balti academy in the city to bring the younger generations into the tradition. It would be somewhere were they would be trained in balti cooking, health and hygiene in a hands-on way."

Late-night fast food is popular

Talks are also taking place between the Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs and Leicester College to start courses teaching the skills behind Indian cuisine.

Mick Wood, from the college, said: "I have been in contact with the Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs and I'm meeting with them in the near future to discuss plans for a specialist Indian catering course.

"At this stage, there are plans to start a course in the New Year."

Many of the UK's 8,500 curry houses are finding it difficult to expand because of the shortage of skilled chefs

Some have started recruiting staff from India.

The UK's first curry academy was the Academy of Asian Culinary Arts at Thames Valley University, launched in 1999.