Spice Times Summer 2011 by Spice Times

CONTENTS

Spice Times Magazine Summer 2011 A few words from the editor

SPICE TIMES Spice Times Publishing 131-133 Victoria Avenue Southend-on-Sea Essex SS2 5EX 0844 800 9871 info@spicetimes.co.uk Twitter: @SpiceTimes Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/spicetimesmagazine

EDITOR IN CHIEF Moinul Hussain ART DIRECTOR Jayson Valand FEATURE WRITER / LAYOUTS Matthew Webb SUB EDITOR / MEDIA Carl Doherty PHOTOGRAPHY Jayson Valand Matthew Webb CONTRIBUTIONS Umesh Regmi SPECIAL THANKS Oli Kahn

It has been a busy couple of months here at Spice Times since we sent out our last issue, including launching the 2011 Spice Times Restaurant Awards after the incredibly successful debut event last year. I am sure that this year’s event will top last year, especially considering that the awards will be hosted at the prestigious and world-renowned London Hilton on Park Lane. Once again it will be hosted by the articulate Tasmin Lucia Khan who can be seen every weekday morning presenting the news on Daybreak. The live gala dinner will be groundbreaking due to the live vote on the night in which the guests will pick the winners nominated by the public. There is still time to register your restaurant for the awards through our website at www.spicetimes.co.uk. It is a chance to take part in the most progressive awards today, that is the only one of its type to listen to the public who dine in the restaurants every night. Spice Times were given the honour of being nominated business of the year at the Essex Countywide Business Awards, and it was fantastic to be nominated and Spice Times will be out in force for next year.

In this issue we’ve some fantastic features including an interview with England cricket ace, Graeme Swann and a look at this summer’s cricket. Our popular cooking section features a beginner’s guide to curry and how to cook healthier. The news section is also bursting with relevant stories for restaurant owners plus a couple of stories from the Asian sub-continent.

Moinul Hussain Editor in Cheif hussain@spicetimes.co.uk

www.spicetimes.co.uk/restaurant-registration/

Cover Image

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Spice Times is published quaterly. We accept no responsibility for any information or printing errors. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any way, shape or form without written permission from the executive board of directors. Spice Times is a registered trademark and copyright 2007 Spice Times Publishing. For editorial enquiries and to submit press releases please email editorial@spicetimes.co.uk. For any information regarding this publication please visit our website www. spicetimes.co.uk or to advertise please call 0844 800 9871 during ofﬁce hours.

CONTENTS

Regulars

34 Bollywood Preview

Food & Recipes

06 News Frank Bruno in Monsoon’s corner, restaurant staff race as fantasy characters for charity, superstar Juhi Chawla visits Chak89 and much more...

A look at the best films coming out of Bollywood this year

37 Cocktails Summer can be hot, so cool down with our lime based cocktails

18 Restaurant Focus

38 Guide to Facebook Marketing

We revisit the winners of the Spice Times Restaurant Awards 2010 and ask how their accolade has affected their business.

How to promote your restaurant using social networking.

39 Curry on the Web

Features

The best wbesites for information on curry.

30 Summer of Cricket

41 The Gentle Art of Upselling

A look at the hightlights of this year’s cricket.

Using upselling to increase your profits.

31 Graeme Swann Interview

46 UK Asian Music Awards

Our features writer caught up Graeme Swann ahead of the test series against India.

A report from the UKAMA held at the Camden Roundhouse, March.

22 Send Us Your Recipes This issue we feature two innovative recipes from Oli Khan, an award winning chef at Surma in Stevenage.

25 Asian Food Spotlight: Chutney Last issue we had a look at the trusty papadom; this time we are looking at the food that goes so perfectly well with it, chutney.

26 The Curry Guide Spice Times gives you a basic consumer’s guide to the indian menu.

28 Keep Your Tikka Ticking Healthy cooking tips to keep your heart ticking.

Spice times 05

NEWS

Boxer Bruno in Monsoon’s Corner Boxing great and former world heavyweight champion Frank Bruno has helped open a new restaurant business in Basildon. The boxer with a staggering fighting record joined MP John Baron to assist in the opening of the new Indian takeaway Monsoon, based at the Southfields Business Park. Monsoon is the eighth restaurant Mr Rouf owns, and he says that he got to know Frank when the champion lived in East London. Owner of the takeaway Abdur Rouf said: “We used to serve Frank when he lived in Emerson Park and he liked our food.”

Pride of Asia Launches Olympic Healthy Menu Pride of Asia is gearing up for the Olympics by introducing an exclusive healthy menu designed by Masterchef India winner, Pankaj Bhadouria. The Brick Lane restaurant is sure to profit from being the official Curry Capital of 2012, just in time for the Olympics.

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Pride of Asia Director W H Shelim said: “It is my absolute pleasure to launch a healthy and delicious menu that caters for all, especially hundreds of athletes and 2012 Olympic visitors who are looking to experience diverse cultures – one of them being the Indian curry culture.”

Ms Bhadadouria provided a demonstration of her professional cooking skills to show how the menu retains traditional flavour but helps keep the calories and fat down.

NEWS

Stealthy Healthy Meals Patak’s to Sneaking into Restaurants Spice Up Suppertime Patak’s have introduced a new ‘Hot and Spicy’ range of sauces to cater to the British demand for hotter food. The company holds 25.3% of the glass sauce market in the UK. Curry sauces are in high demand and reﬂect a move from eating out to cooking a curry at home.

Restaurants in Lincolnshire are taking part in a new health initiative to help combat obesity in the region. The new “health as stealth” scheme is getting chefs and restaurants to cook new, healthier meals and low fat versions of favourite dishes. This is the result of a 2009 Trading Standards investigation into 60 restaurants across the East Midlands. Most of the dishes contained alarmingly high amounts of fat and salt and 30% of the meals contained more than the recommended daily allowance of salt (6 grams).

At the moment ﬁve restaurants in Lincolnshire are taking part including The Star of India in Boston, Mowgli in Metheringham, The Agra in Sleaford, Kismet in Grantham and The Passage to India. So far, consumers cannot tell the difference between the healthy and unhealthy versions. The participants in the programme will take part in a demonstration on June 30th at Epic Centre, Lincolnshire Showground. Free training will be given to other restaurants and takeaways willing to take part.

Tracy Hughes, Marketing Controller at AB Foods, said: “We have seen a 4% growth in the sauce in glass category over the last year showing that consumers are increasingly looking to make quick meals with the no fuss element. With consumers’ palettes becoming more acclimatised to heat, the Hot & Spicy range allows consumers to ‘spice up’ suppertime, recreating the restaurant experience at home, in only 30 minutes.” Hot Tikka Masala, extra hot Vindaloo and extra hot Phal are among the range of sauces for the spice enthusiast. These new styles add to the already eclectic assortment that Patak’s has on offer on the supermarket shelves.

Considering most people would not give up their love of takeaway and curry, despite knowing the negative effect on health, the idea to change the source of the problem was born. Dr Tony Hill, Director of Public Health for NHS Lincolnshire said: “We believe that if we can work with the industry to help them to produce healthier products for consumers we are one step closer to tackling the impact of a diet high in salt and saturated fat.” Spice Times 07

NEWS

Carlisle United Celebrate Cup Win at Viceroy Restaurant Spice Times award-wining restaurant Viceroy, in Carlisle, Cumbria, recently played host to Johnstone’s Paint Trophy winners Carlisle United. Carlisle boss Greg Abbott brought the trophy into the restaurant and enjoyed a celebratory curry. The owner, Sukur Ali, a big fan of the club said: “I was so pleased that Greg brought the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy here to show us. “Greg has done a great job with our boys this season and we will do what we can to fire them up for the next. He is such as nice guy and I’m looking forward to see what he does with the club next season. If Manchester United comes wanting him we will just tell them they can’t have him.” 08 Spice Times

Carlisle United previously won the competition in 1997 when it was known as the Auto Windscreens trophy. Mr Abbott commented on the win by saying: “It was great for us to be able to take the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy along to the Viceroy as a small gesture in return for the amount of support that he gives the club. “As usual, the food was fantastic, and it was an absolute pleasure for us all to be able to go along and spend a bit of time with Mr Ali and his staff.” Viceroy Restaurant won the Spice Times Restaurant Award 2011 for Best North East Restaurant. Registration for this year’s awards is now open - further details and a registration form can be found on page 43.

NEWS

Sky Tackles Landlady Over Football Rights

Britons Barmy For Fried Food 75% of Britons admit to enjoying fried food once or twice a week; good news for restaurateurs across the country. Research carried out by OnePoll earlier this year discovered that we are obsessed with fried dishes. The poll found out that the emotions eaters feel most when tucking in to a tasty dish are happiness and satisfaction. These feelings can go a long way to getting returning business as the market is already there.

A row is breaking out over whether a Portsmouth pub landlady should be allowed to use foreign channels to show Premier League games. Danielle Collins is facing prosecution from the Media Protection Services for showing football matches through an Albanian broadcast at the Velvet Bar in Broad Street, Birmingham. The issue is due to the fact that Sky TV has exclusive rights to the top level of the sport inside the UK. This is not the first time Miss Collins has been prosecuted. The Federation against Copyright Theft and the MPS have sought legal proceedings against the landlady, making the latest one her fifth in four years. The majority of the prosecutions fall under the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. It is a criminal offence to receive a programme and not pay if an applicable charge is in place. Miss Collins’ solicitor Nama Zarroug, Head of Crime at top law firm Kirwans, said: “It is nothing short of ridiculous that Miss Collins now faces her fifth prosecution having previously been

Shopping Centre Seeks “Quality Restaurant” cleared on key evidential issues. The ruling by the European Court of Justice is a terriﬁc breakthrough for hardworking publicans across the UK and the sooner it is made binding the better. “Should the court ruling be adopted later this year it will be a huge blow to Sky and Rupert Murdoch, who have been locked in an ongoing battle with publicans over illegal broadcasts. “At the moment because of its exclusivity, Sky can charge publicans exorbitant fees for the rights to show live Premier League games. For many landlords, there will be savings of as much as £12,000 a year.” The Advocate General made her ruling on February 3rd after hearing the case of Portsmouth landlady Karen Murphy, who believed that her conviction for breaching copyright laws by using a Greek decoder should be overturned. Miss Murphy said she had been through “ﬁve and a half years of hell,” but pursued her case to the European Court of Justice because she felt strongly that “we shouldn’t be dictated to about what we pay and where we buy it from.”

Newly refurbished shopping centre 5Rise is seeking a top class restaurant to bring good food to Bingley, West Yorkshire. The shopping centre has received acclaim for turning the former Myrtle Walk lot into a great success and attracting top businesses, including Boots and Santander. Its owners are now keen to add a great new dining experience to the retail section. Richard Holmes, director at 4Urban said: “I live in Bingley myself and it has been some time since we have had a good quality restaurant on our doorstep. “Due to its excellent road and rail links [Bingley] is a desirable place to live having more wealthy executives and ﬂourishing families than the Yorkshire and Humber average. The town is prime for a leisure operation akin to what we see in places like Chapel Allerton in Leeds and we are seeking to attract the same calibre of restaurant for the people of Bingley.” Spice Times 09

NEWS

Restaurant Staff Race as Fantasy Characters For Charity Spice Cottage’s staff dressed as genies, fairies and wizards for a charity fun run through Diss’s Marketplace. The event was held to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish foundation and the Suffolk Young People’s Health Project 4YP. Sarwar Jahan, manager at the Indian and Nepalese restaurant in Dolphin House, whose restaurant also took part, said: “The work that Make-A-Wish do to support families at a devastating time in their lives is truly inspirational. “We are a family run restaurant, and we wanted to help give our free time and energy to help raise funds to help other families in our beautiful county of Norfolk. “We know other charity fundraisers have Santa runs, but we thought it would be a magical thing to do to have an exotic genie run, making children’s wishes come true. “Make-A-Wish is there for families at times of crisis, creating rays of hope, and we are thrilled to be able to do our bit, however modest, to help others.” The Make-A-Wish foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and has granted over 6000 wishes since its creation in 1986.

Free Cooking Demos at Kent Farm Shops Acclaimed chef Dev Biswal will be giving free cooking demonstrations at a selection of Kent farm shops through July, as a drive to promote his new range of marinades. The award-winning chef-patron of Margate’s Michelin-listed Ambrette Restaurant will be giving the uninitiated an introduction to Asian cuisine. The first two to ran at Lower Hardres Farm Shop (Hardres near Canterbury - Saturday 10 Spice Times

16th July) and Quex Barn in Birchington (Saturday 23rd of July), with more to be announced. Calcutta-born Biswal, who uses the marinades at his restaurant, sees the initiative’s secondary purpose as helping to promote Kent’s farm shops: “We have some excellent farm shops in Kent, showcasing the very best fresh produce and artisan foods around - they do a great job in giving the food-loving public

a wide choice of the best quality local and seasonal produce. If I can help these shops sell more meat and fish with the marinades, everyone benefits.” The Ambrette does not, as one might expect, serve curry, but rather lightly spiced dishes; a philosophy that Biswal, a chef who has been vocally critical of the “fast-food mentality” of Indian restaurants in Britain, hopes his marinades will bring to the home.

NEWS

Immigration Minister Commends Cinnamon Restaurant

Raja of Kent is “King of the Tandoor” The Raja of Kent has the prestigious honour of being named “King of the Tandoor” by top food presenter and writer Olly Smith.

The Minister for Immigration, Damian Green MP, paid a visit to the Cinnamon restaurant in Ashford, Kent.

Olly Smith praised the owner, Rezaul Raja on his Channel Four TV programme Secret Supper Club, where dinner parties are held in unconventional locations. Mr Raja was also called “Kent’s best restaurateur”.

Mr Green was impressed with the local charity work and effort that Cinnamon puts into the Ashford community. Ash Miah, manager of the restaurant said: “He came to visit the Cinnamon Spice team and also had lunch ,I asked him if he would like to cook his own lunch surprisingly he replied yes and was ready to put on his apron and walk in to Cinnamon Spice kitchen”

The episode of the programme saw Mr Smith hold a dinner party inside the lifeboat station for Dungeness in Kent. He also build a ﬁsh smoker and Tandoori oven to make a delicious meal of kedgeree and chicken tikka.

The minister received expert guidance in cooking an authentic curry during the visit.

Rushanara Ali Joins Bangladeshi Friends Rushanara Ali MP, the first British Bangladeshi elected to the House of Commons made her first visit to Luton, welcomed by The Bangladeshi Friends of the Labour Party (Luton). Rushanara Ali came to lend her support to the Labour Biscot war campaign, which has a local election coming up on May 5th. Miss Ali was out in force to support party politics by saying “in the forthcoming election the Bangladeshi community to should vote for the party and not for an individual as it is the party policy that effect the lives of the people. “I would like everyone to reflect on the devastating cuts the current ConDem coalition government inflicted on ordinary people where an average family

with children in education could be worse off in excess of £3000 per year”. She was presented with a plaque, sponsored by community leader Oli Khan. Mr Khan organized the event along with Firuzul Haque and M R Chowdhury on behalf of the ﬁrst British Bangladeshi to the House of Commons.

gave a speech saying: “the Labour Party is a party of social justice and fairness that provided a platform for people from diverse community and Roshanara Ali MP is a prominent example of that. That is why I joined the Labour Party at the age of 18 - so that I can work with in the system to bring about change to ensure equality for all.”

Many dignitaries were in attendance, including Gavin Shukar MP and Shadow Minister for Natural Environment, Leader of the Stevenage Borough Council, Cllr Sharon Taylor, and Deputy Leader of Luton Borough Council, Cllr Robin Harris. The reception was hosted by Cllr Tahir Khan Lead Executive who Spice Times 11

NEWS

Raja of Kent Honoured Kent restaurant mogul Rezaul Raja has been honoured by the Development Council for Bangladeshis during a special dinner at the House of Commons on Thursday 3rd March. Mr Raja owns the Raja of Kent in Tenterden and Maidstone, as well as the Mouchak restaurant in St Michael’s, and was celebrated for this award because of his extensive national and local charity work. Mr Raja’s restaurants also sponsor the Maidstone and Mid Kent Football Leagues.

Northwich Curry Festival Northwich’s ﬁrst Curry Festival, to be held in Weaver Square this September, will showcase a wide range of Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine provided by restaurants from the mid Cheshire area. The Curry Festival will showcase the best Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine that the mid-Cheshire area has to offer. Guests will be able to sample a variety of freshly-cooked dishes, quiz chefs on their culinary techniques and have the opportunity to buy a range of curries, chutney, Indian sweets and curry paste.

Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) and MAM Curry Sauce organised the two-day event. The CWAC said: “This is bringing a new type of event to Northwich town centre, to encourage its vibrancy and the local community to shop locally.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband congratulated the winners and highlighted the “big role in promoting the vital economic, social, cultural and political work done by so many Bangladeshis in this country.” Mr Raja said when receiving his award: “It’s a great honour to receive such recognition given that there are over 18,000 Indian restaurants in the UK – it’s testament to the dedication of my chefs and front of house teams.”

The Curry Festival will run Friday 9th through Saturday 10th of September, from 10am until 3pm. A range of events will be on offer, including food sampling and question and answer sessions in which chefs will impart their best culinary techniques. Ingredients including curries and chutneys will also be on sale.

Many MPs attended the event, including Rushanara Ali MP, Jim Fitzpatrick MP, Lee Scott MP, Simon Danczuk MP, Stephen Timms, Justine Greening MP, Andrew Stunnell MP, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Anwar Chowdhury - ex British High Commissioner for Bangladesh, and Dr M Sayeedur Rahman Khan – British High Commissioner for Bangladesh.

Colleges Create Home-grown Curry Talent Colleges are attempting to create homegrown curry cooking talent to ﬁll the gap created by tight immigration rules. One college in particular, based in Bradford, is set to run a programme to encourage new cooks, and wants to get 50 students to learn on the job. Students will have placements at many of the city’s world-renowned restaurants. The scheme will last between one to two-and-a-half years and is run by the 12 Spice Times

Bradford College’s International Food Academy. Graham Fleming, head of the academy said: “We are working with a lot of local employers and these apprentices will be employed full-time, coming into college just one day a week. Respected chef Bobby Patel welcomes the change and believes that it will give restaurants the advantage of working with them for four days during the week. “Having them come through the college gives them a good foundation and the

knowledge which it is always excellent to have.”

SOUTH ASIA & THE WORLD

Superstar Juhi Chawla Visits Chak89 Bollywood superstar Juhi Chawla visited the award winning Chak89 restaurant earlier this year. During the trip to the restaurant she enjoyed a paneer dish, and made a couple of surprise entrances at parties that were happening, signing autographs for surprised fans.

Juhi was in the UK to promote her new ﬁlm “I am,” directed by Onir, which opened the 13th London Asian Film Festival. As well as promoting her new ﬁlm, Juhi travelled to London to attend the Asian Women’s Film Festival, sponsored by Chak89.

Rukh Khan’s Twitter Milestone Shah Rukh Khan has more than enough reasons to celebrate, but now he can add the achievement of reaching the milestone of 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. SRK only joined his Bollywood colleagues on the micro-blogging site in January 2010, but he was not the ﬁrst Indian superstar to reach the million follower mark. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actress and Don co-star Priyanka Chopra both reached it before him. Upon ﬁnding out about the achievement, Khan tweeted: “Celebrating the million mark by watching Bambi with my daughter. Feeling the warmth... thanx all. Love u.” 14 Spice Times

Britney Spears Gets Bollywood Treatment Britney Spears’ re-mix of her latest single, “I Wanna Go” is getting the Bollywood treatment, with singer Sonu Niigaam adding his vocals to the track. Spears confirmed the collaboration by tweeting “So excited about having @ sonuniigaam on I Wanna Go. His vocals add such a different feel which I love.” Sonu tweeted back “India loves you Britney @britneyspears. Welcome to Bollywood! Am loving the fact that it’s OUR Collaboration that marks your first step here. God bless you and more power to Great Music.” Britney follows in the footsteps of the likes of the Pussycat Dolls by adding an Asian flavour to traditional pop music. Lady Gaga is also due to visit India this October.

SPICE TIMES NEWS

Spice Times Celebrates Romford M.P.’s Election Spice Times Chairman Moinul Hussain celebrated the 10th anniversary of Romford MP Andrew Rosindell’s election victory in 2001 at a special dinner in London. The victory dinner took place at the distinguished Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich, London. The function was attended by many eminent Conservative figures including Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague. A number of local MPs were also in attendance, including David Amess. Speaking about the event Mr Hussain said: “I first met Andrew at the first Spice Times Restaurants where he applauded the efforts to reward the industry. Andrew made us feel very welcome and it was a fantastic evening.”

The Spice Times Restaurant Awards Are Officially Open For Registration The Spice Times Restaurant Awards 2011 officially launched yesterday (12th July) during a special press lunch at the Pride of Asia restaurant in Mile End, London. The event was attended by all the major Asian television channels and special guests included Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman, who commended the awards for promoting the industry. Lutfur Rahman said “It is important to thank the older generation for setting up the industry we have now. The awards are important as the smaller and medium sized business give £4 million worth of business. “The younger generation is important to promote the industry, just as what Moinul Hussain is doing with the Spice Times awards.” 16 Spice Times

Winners from the 2010 awards were also in attendance to explain how their business had improved from entering and winning an award. Feedback was positive; Cllr. Prince Sadik Chaudhury, speaking on behalf of Saffron owner Naz Islam, said “the awards are good because they are so consumer based, which is what we have been crying out for. We have seen a 25% increase in business.” Live voting will take place and the audience members will use handsets to vote in real time for each award. This is a first of its kind for an event such as this and further proves Spice Times’ commitment to the restaurant trade and passion to innovate. Restaurants that are willing to take part this year are able to register using the form on page 43 (or via our website) for £59.99 and will have until 31st August to enter.

SPICE TIMES NEWS

Grand Opening for Desi

Spice Times Winner Special

Spice Times attended the Wednesday July 13th opening of The Desi in Grays. The restaurant, which features a brand new conversion and a Shisha Bar, hopes to provide a lively party venue for private or corporate parties, as well as a sophisticated lunch and dinner dining experience.

Last month channel S hosted the Spice Times Winner Special, a live retrospective on 2010’s Gala Dinner ceremony and the benefits that receiving a Spice Times award has had on last year’s winners.

Owner Abdul Wahid, who has been developing and refining menus and signature dishes by celebrity chef Tommy Miah for several years, said of the opening: “Our goal is to bring a lot of cheer into these times with our hard work in the kitchen and our care in choosing the finest ingredients. “What we are especially pleased with is how our mixture of the best of the Indian and Bangladeshi sits and creates an exciting menu for everyone. We can also offer many vegetarian options alongside specially made Tandoori and Sylheti specialities bursting with the flavours of herbs, vegetables and spices. And our very own weekly menu is second to none.” There are plans for The Desi to hold music and dancing evenings over the festive period, as well as talk of hosting Bangladeshi’s Famous Baul Music Classes, and even cookery classes.

During the show CEO Moinul Hussain lead a panel with 2010’s regional and local champions, in which they discussed how the awards have benefitted both the industry and the restaurants which participated in it. The panel also answered questions from the public. Mr Hussain also appeared on Channel S’s technology show Bits n Bytes on Saturday 23 rd July, to discuss the impact that IT and the internet have had on Spice Times and the Asian catering industry as a whole.

Spice Times Editor Finalist For Business Man of the Year Editor Moinul Hussain was short-listed for the Business Man of the Year award, as part of the Essex Countywide Business Awards. The awards ceremony for the business awards took place on Friday 20th May at the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend.

AWARDS

The Winners: A Year On We spoke with several of the 2010 Spices Times Restaurant Awards winners to see how their business has benefited from their success.

National Award Winner 2010: The Last Days of the Raj How do you feel about winning the award?

How much effort was required to get your customers voting?

I was extremely proud that my restaurant had won and the fact that it was our customers and not any other judges made it even more special. To be considered for the regional award was credit to our hard work, but then to go and win the national award was absolutely fantastic. I would like to thank all the customers that voted for us.

The customers were very eager to vote for us. We did have to photocopy the flyers and distribute them to our customers but some preferred to give us their details so that we could vote on their behalf.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was extremely proud that my restaurant had won and the fact that it was our customers and not any other judges that made it even more special.â&#x20AC;? How did your customers/the public feel about the online voting process? The process was fairly simple. I think that they were more than happy that the form only asked for their name, email address and vote. If you had wanted more information then they may have turned away. The amount of votes we got shows that our customers thought the process was easy and uncomplicated.

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Did you enjoy the Gala Dinner event? Yes, the event was a great success and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not saying that because I won, but I have been to many events over the years and there can be mistakes made in all events regardless of how experienced an operator you are. The fact that this was the first even that Spice Times had held made the event an even greater achievement. How do you think the Spice Times Restaurant Awards 2010 compared to similar industry awards? For a first event, this compares with the very best industry awards and I am sure that you will be able to create greater and grander events in the future. I am looking forward to participating in your events in the years to come.

AWARDS

Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Winner 2010: Shimla Spice How do you feel about winning the award?

North West England Regional Winner 2010: The Viceroy How do you feel about winning the award? Winning the Spice Times awards has not only improved our business but it’s also made us more of a talking point around our city and region. Of course, any restaurant that receives an award for their accomplishments is going to do better. But as the Spice Times award is a very unique award to win, it had created a huge buzz around the city. Nothing like this has ever been done before and we can say. The Spice Times have helped us build a stronger relationship with so many more of our customers. One award from the Spice Times opens up so many doors for your business and I plan on winning another! How did your customers/the public feel about the online voting process? The best part of the whole process was getting our customers involved. It was great to see the reaction on some faces when I would say “we need your help to win the Spice Times Award” It made them feel important and more close to all of us.. Our customers want to win just as much as we do. That’s the best confidence boost I could get.

We are extremely happy winning this award, after winning the best restaurant in the Bradford district for many years, and now been crowned the best restaurant in Yorkshire by Spice Times is a real great honour. As Bradford has won the curry capital of England 2010 and Shimla Spice represented Bradford in that national competition, it is great to be recognised as one of the best restaurant in the hospitality industry.

“Winning the Spice Times awards has not only improved our business but it’s also made us more of a talking point around our city and region.” How did your customers/the public feel about the online voting process? Do you have any advice for next year? My advice for restaurants taking part this year is if you really want to win this award, then you must be 100% dedicated to winning. Day in day out, you have to be relentless. They must know how important they are to your restaurant. My last bit of advice would be use every kind of online access you have. I would love to give you more advice but I’d also love to win an other Spice Times Award! Can’t give away all the secrets!

Our customers found the voting procedure very simple and easy. For customers that don’t have time to go online and register, noting their details down and registering their votes for them was both easy for the customers and for the restaurant. How much effort was required to get your customers voting? We had put up posters in our restaurant, and gave out leaflets to every customer and got all of our Facebook fans and Twitter fans to register their votes, so it was quite simple, we always kept talking and reminding our customers about the awards.

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FOOD & DRINK

Send us your Recipes We asked our talented readership to share their recipes with us. This issue we feature two innovative ones from Oli Khan, an award winning chef at Surma in Stevenage.

Grilled Lamb and Lemon Kebab with Red Hot Salsa Serves 4 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes

Recipe for kebab

Recipe for red hot salsa

1 kg mince lamb or (can be done with chicken or beef mince)

150gm fresh or frozen sweetcorn

Juice and grated zest of large lemon

4 small red chilli ﬁne chopped

1 large egg or (2 small one)

8 tomatoes de-seeded, chopped

150g gram ﬂour

1 carrot ﬁnely chopped.

3 tea spoon garlic/ginger paste

1 table spoon mustard oil

2 tea spoon ground cumin

1 table spoon coriander ﬁnely chopped

½ tea spoon chilli powder

1 red onion ﬁnely chopped

1 table spoon chopped coriander leaf

3 tea spoon tamarind sauce

Salt to taste (1tea sp salt)

½ tea spoon red chilli powder

20 wooden kebab sticks

Pinch of salt

The Method For Kebab: Put all in a large mixing bowl. Combine everything by hand and mix well, until it’s smooth. Roll into 20 small sausage shapes. Wet your hands with water every time you make roll. Thread onto kebab sticks. Place the stick over a hot barbecue and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until the kebab is fully cooked, according to size. While they’re cooking, make the salsa. For Red Hot Salsa: Simply mix all together in a bowl then Serve the kebabs with the red hot salsa.

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FOOD & DRINK

Tawa Pomfret with Tomato Spinach & Mustard Serves 4

Recipe for Tawa Pomfret with tomato, spinich & mustard 4 whole pomfret, make several diagonal cut on each side 2tbsp finely chopped garlic 8 fresh tomatos finely chopped 3 tbsp finely chopped onion 2tbsp chopped coriander 2tsp mustard seed (salt to taste) 350gm fresh spinach, chopped 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp green chilly finely chopped 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp chilli powder 2 tsp tomato puree

The Method

4 tbsp mustard oil

1. Mix 2tsp oil, turmeric, ground coriander and 1tsp mustard in a bowl. 2. Put the ﬁsh in to the spice, apply evenly and marinade for 30 minutes. 3. Put a tawa under medium heat. Put mustard oil. When the tawa is hot put the pomfret, two at a time, onto the tawa. Fry each side until golden brown; after they’ve ﬁnished frying, keep them on the hotplate. 4. Put the mustard oil in a medium sized non-stick pan and set over medium heat. When hot, sprinkle on the remaining mustard seeds. After a few seconds add 1tsp garlic and stir until golden brown. Put the spinach in and salt to taste.

Cover and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Put this in a dish and keep it on the hot plate for warmth. 5. Making tomato sauce: prepare a wide non-stick saucepan to medium heat. Add a little oil and when hot put the garlic and onion in; stir for about 5 minutes. Add salt, then chilli powder and all the chopped tomato and chopped chilli. Keep stirring until smooth; now add 2 cups of water and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the fried pomfret into the sauce and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until cooked. 6. Add the chopped coriander. Serve with spinach, garnish with chives and dry red chilli.

1 bunch chives (for garnish) 3 red dry chillies (for garnish)

Meeting Oli Khan Award-winning Chef Oli Khan has won numerous accolades and awards for his outstanding culinary skills and innovation. He was chosen for the second time out of thousands of chefs to represent the UK in the International British Bangladesh Fusion Food Festival 2006 in Dhaka.

If you would like to see your recipe in the next issue of Spice Times Please email us at: info@spicetimes.co.uk or tweet us at: @spicetimes Spice Times 23

FOOD & DRINK

Chutney South Asian Food Spotlight

an incredibly versitile snack which goes as well as it does with papadoms and a curry as it does in a cheese sandwich.

Each issue, Spice Times puts the spotlight on a different South Asian food. Last issue we had a look at the trusty papadom; this time we are looking at the food that goes so well with it, chutney.

The word Chutney derives from the original name in Hindi, Chatni, and as with most South Asian food here in the UK, it was brought back from the region by British expeditionary forces in the 19th Century. Ever since it appeared on these shores, it has been loved by Britons.

If you ask most people in Britain about chutney, they will no doubt tell you about the most famous one, which is of course mango chutney. Chutney is

During the long three month voyage from India, the chutney that the British were taking home changed somewhat. The commercial chutney that is enjoyed today was created on this journey and was branded ‘Major Grey’s Chutney,’ which is thought to be a fictional British Colonial Officer. Chutney comes in loads of different variations, including onion chutney and tomato chutney.

Preparation method Ingredients: 4 green (under ripe) mangoes - peeled, stone removed and cut into strips 1 (3cm) piece fresh root ginger, chopped 3 cloves garlic, peeled 500g caster sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes

1 2 3 4 5

Place the mangoes into a large pot. Crush the ginger and garlic using a mortar and pestle until they become a smooth paste. Stir the paste into the mangoes. Stir in the sugar, and season with salt, chilli flakes, cumin seed, cardamom pods and seeds, cinnamon stick and cloves. Stir to blend, and then cover the pot. Leave the pot sitting out at room temperature overnight. The following day, place the pot over medium heat. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in the vinegar and peppercorns; cook for 1 more minute. Cool before using.

1 teaspoon cumin seed 2 cardamom pods 4 cardamom seeds 1 (7cm) cinnamon stick 5 whole cloves 250ml vinegar 5 black peppercorns, crushed

Spice Times 25

FOOD & DRINK

The Curry Guide by Matthew Webb

Don’t know the difference between a balti and a jalfrezi? Spice Times gives you a basic consumers’ guide to the Indian menu.

Biryani

Jalfrezi

Biryani is famous for its simplicity and reliance on being a ricebased dish. Yet it is a curry that has possibly the most variations in each Asian country. It originated in Persia, which is Iran today, and was brought to South Asia by traders.

Jalfrezi is another medium spiced dish that is cooked with marinated chicken and cooked with a thick but dry sauce.

Rice and the rest of the dish, including the sauce and meat, are cooked together to create a flavour intense dish and only mixed together when it comes to serving up the meal. A boiled egg can be added.

Balti The Balti has its origins in Birmingham but it is highly disputed as to where it was invented. Others trace the iconic meal to Baltistan, Pakistan, where it is a local custom to eat food out of a Balti dish that looks similar to a wok; presumably because it shares a border with China. The name is also believed to come from the name of the Baltistan area or the name of the dish that all Baltis are served in. The curry became popular from the eighties and really became incredibly popular during the 1990s. It is a spice heavy dish that can feature potatoes and usually chicken or lamb as the meat.

26 Spice Times

Main components are onions, tomatoes and green chillis and are perfect cooked with meat or fish in a sort of stir-fry as Jalfrezi means ‘hot-fry’. The heat of the Jalfrezi can wildly vary, from a mild flavour to a fiery hot chilli-intense flavour. Diners usually cool it down by adding cream, which is also a good way to cool down other hot dishes.

Korma A korma is the least spicy dish of all the curry family and is a good dish to start off with if you are new to the world of Asian food. It is a blend of spices and coconut milk, and, of course, few chillis, which give korma a sweet, creamy flavour and the trademark zero spice. Usually, a Korma will come with chicken as the meat but other meats can be used and feature nuts and almonds.

FOOD & DRINK

Rogan Josh A Rogan josh is a lamb curry from the Kashmir region. The name means oil cooked in very high heat. Its iconic red colour is integral, and comes from the type of pepper that is used in the cooking. Kashmiri Mirch, which literally means ‘pepper from Kashmir,’ is used and is red when ground up.

Tikka Masala Tikka Masala is the typical curry that everyone knows. It is usually top of the list when it comes to naming Britain’s national dish. Like many other curries, its origins are also disputed. Chefs up and down the UK claim that they invented the iconic dish. The two main areas that hold claim to it are Scotland and Birmingham. The chicken is marinated in yoghurt and baked in a tandoor oven. It is served with a mixture of spices and has a prominent tomato flavour. It is usually cooked with chicken. It is a good meal to graduate to once the Korma has become tiresome as it can be hotter with the addition of chillis. The creamy nature of the yoghurt makes it milder, so it is perfect for those who are not yet ready for a vindaloo.

Vindaloo Vindaloo, alongside the Tikka Masala, is one of Britain’s most iconic curries and has been the focus of multiple songs, one of which was the unofficial England football team anthem. The Vindaloo is most notorious for its level of heat. Only curry veterans dare even take a bite of this fiery beast. It is based on a Portuguese dish including pork, wine and vinegar, and was changed in Mumbai. Today it features chicken or lamb mixed with potatoes.

Spice Times 27

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

Keep your Tikka Ticking Healthy Cooking Tips Cooking a family meal can become a bit of a struggle, especially when you want a healthy option. So we decided to create a small guide to help you keep your heart healthy.

Less Salt

Less Fat

More fruit & veg

Just like salty foods, the fattiest of meals are for some reason often the most enjoyable. Fatty foods are a direct cause of obesity and heart disease. There are three types of fats monounsaturated found in nuts and vegetable oils), polyunsaturated (found in oily ﬁsh) and saturates fatty acids (butter and animal fat).

The ‘ﬁve portions of fruit’ advice is taken as gospel today. It is impossible to enter a supermarket and not see the logos on any healthy snack or food.

High amounts of saturated fat can have a highly negative impact when it comes to health and well-being. On food labels there are two different listings for fat and saturated fat to help see how much of it is actually saturates within the food.

Adding salt to food is a bad habit that should stop right now. While salt can enhance the ﬂavour of any savory food, excess consumption of the mineral can cause problems for the heart and general health.

Eating less red meat will easily lower the intake of saturates and fats. Chicken is a nice lean meat which can be used in nearly every meal and is relatively cheap compared to its red meat counterpart.

The guideline daily amount for the intake of salt is 6gs. A lot of the time, salt content is hidden in processed foods and meat. Adding further salt to these meals will soon send your daily consumption of salt sky high. Having a high salt diet can cause high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

Using cooking oils is a hidden way to get more fat into a meal and a diet as a whole. Using butter and other high cholesterol and high fat cooking aids can seriously increase the amount of fat that is consumed, and is easily avoided.

Fortunately, cutting salt out of your diet is very easy. By avoiding pre-made spice packs and adding extra herbs and spices, you can make the dish as tasty as you like without the need for adding the unhealthy condiment at the table.

28 Spice Times

Swapping these for olive oil or vegetable oil will eliminate the saturated fats which are really bad for the body. These oils now come in spray form and using just a couple sprays cuts down on a lot of the fat. Oils are healthier but they are still high in fat; through the sprays this helps restrict your use.

The health benefits of eating more fruit and vegetables are almost endless; every single one has at least three healthy saving properties and helps keep hunger at bay. Not only is upping your fruit and veg intake really easy, but it will make you fuller for longer. There are simple and obvious ways, like swapping the lunch time pack of crisps for an apple or banana. Bolstering food with extra vegetables is a great, filling way to get that five a day in.You’ll be able to enjoy a bigger dinner without adding any nasty fats or sugars.

SPORTS

Summer of Cricket Cricket World Cup 2011 T England’s he ICC Cricket World Cup showcased the best that South Asia had to offer, not to mention the insatiable hunger for the sport that is inﬁnitely more popular in the region than in its birth place.

This year’s world cup had thrills and upset around every corner. England proved so dominant over Australia during the prestigious Ashes series, that the English fans were hopeful that the superb form that Andrews Strauss and the boys displayed would be replicated in South Asia. The fate of bitter disappointment was on the cards though for the English side as they limped through the table qualification towards the knockout stages, which included a tense battle with South Africa and an incredible upset in the match against Ireland. The game against Ireland produced one of the best centuries in recent cricketing memory by Kevin O’Brien; even he was shocked by the spell-binding form which he had just displayed. If England is to stand a chance in future 50-over engagements then the England and Wales cricket board needs to stop the short-sightedness and actively encourage the one day international more. Schedule issues can make or break even the best team and is a contentious issue in other sports, the most high profile being football. A gruelling post-Ashes series of fixtures for the England team certainly did more harm than good. The schedule meant 30 Spice Times

that England’s best batters and bowlers had to ﬂy back home due to injury and pure fatigue from a ridiculous amount of matches in such a short period of time. Considering the attention this type of cricketing gets from the board, England were not going to really beat the likes of Pakistan or India out to claim the title.

What is a bigger disappoint than England almost mirroring the poor display of their footballing brothers in South Africa last year, is the bad performances of the other great cricketing nations, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand. Big complaints have been made about the length of the tournament because the big buildup to the latter stages of the contest with a month allocated for the table-based fixtures, which appeared to go on forever, and the bang ended sharply with the knock out stages. The fact that the world cup was hosted by three nations meant a lot of traveling was needed for all the teams A big problem which any high profile sports event organizer will face is the problem of ticketing. A lot of issues arose out of allocating far too many tickets to matches, especially the final, to private and corporate parties as opposed to the public, who had to queue for hours just to be turned away. India Premier League great and India batsman Yuvraj Singh had to be the star of the tournament due to his great batting, but also proved invaluable when it fell to him to bowl a few balls, which he did expertly.

Summer Assault

Cricket fans have a lot on their plate when it comes to cricket ﬁxtures this summer. Some of the biggest and best teams in the world will be coming to our shores this summer. Great cricketing nations, including Sri Lanka and India, will be taking part in one day internationals and test match games throughout July, right on to September. England have been on superb form this year and it looks like the bold statement, laced with ambition, that Andrew Strauss said about wanting the current England side to be the best ever, may come to fruition. The side are, however, still bandaging their wounds up from the poor showing at the World Cup earlier this summer. India will be facing a busy summer as they confront England in an extensive tour, and also face Australia in the KFC Twenty20 international at Sydney. India will also have something to prove after winning the World Cup, and will be keen to show up their hosts, England.

SPORTS

Graeme Swann Interview S

pice Times recently caught up with cricketing ace Graeme Swann before the India series. Who is your favourite cricketer and why? Alan Lamb, because when I was growing up in the 80s he was playing for England, and I had an older brother, so when we were playing cricket in the garden, he always chose Ian Botham, so I had to pick second. It was a good choice. Obviously you’ve had a great career and there must have been unforgettable moments, what has been the highlight? I think there’s so many but the winter tour for The Ashes just gone. During the game in Sydney we got three wickets, and there were 25,000 English fans singing as loud as they can. It was like St. James Park on a Saturday afternoon, it was phenomenal. It will always be my fondest memory. What are your thoughts on Twenty Twenty cricket? Do you think it could take over from the tried and tested test match? It’s a great game but I don’t think we should overkill it by playing too much. I think after test cricket, it’s my favourite form of the game. If it is well nurtured and looked after then it will be around a very long time. It’s a shorter game and it gets kids involved, it’s the sort of thing if you’re a bunch of students then it’s the perfect sort of cricket. You can’t imagine taking your girlfriend to a test match being wowed but you can see her being amazed by Twenty Twenty.

Did you know?

. . .

Graeme was born in Northampton. He is England’s best spin bowler Swann is also the lead singer of band Dr Comfort and the Lurid Revelations

to be ridiculously loud until you take a wicket then you could hear a pin drop. We’re lucky in England that we get very big crowds at home and overseas at test matches. We’re the best supported team in the world in the way of travelling fans. Australia and New Zealand are pretty good crowds as you get a lot of banter and abuse because obviously we’re the ‘Poms’. Lastly, what is your favourite curry?

What about internationally? Sydney for me, Cape Town’s also good. You have Table Mountain in the back ground and the brewery next door so it has everything a bloke wants in life, cricket, mountain and beer. Is there a big difference between the crowds around the world? The noise levels vary a lot, if you’re in India or Bangladesh then the noise tends

I’m a big Rogan Josh fan, I prefer lamb to be pink and in a curry it tends to be a lot tougher. Also, chicken Karai, I really like those. Out of South Asia and Britain, who has the best curry? I reckon in Britain, we have better curries than in India. I’ll tell you why, all the best chefs from India and Bangladesh have come over to Britain because they get more money. Spice Times 31

MOVIES

Bollywood Preview MOVIES

Ra.One

October 26th 2011

The South Asian film industry is getting bigger and better, and so is its output. We take a look at 3 of the most anticipated Bollywood movies to hit cinemas later this year.

Ra.One is an upcoming ﬁlm from the great Shahrukh Khan and is produced by his own production company where he plays a superhero; a bit of a departure from his 2010 ﬁlm, My Name Is Khan in which he set out to prove that he is not a terrorist in a post 9/11 America.

Ra.One

Ra.One is not the only sciencefiction Bollywood film in recent times. Enthiran The Robot where a doctor creates an android after years of research. Khan has enlisted the help of his friend, Akon to help with some of the music for the film. Jackie Chan was also approached by Shahrukh to be in the film but he eventually declined.

Dhoom 3

Don 2: The Chase Continues Don 2: The Chase Continues

34 Spice Times

MOVIES

Ra.One

October 26th 2011 Ra.One is an upcoming film from the great Shahrukh Khan and is produced by his own production company. Here he plays a superhero; a bit of a departure from his 2010 film, My Name Is Khan, in which he set out to prove that he was not a terrorist in a post 9/11 America. Ra.One is not the only sciencefiction Bollywood film in recent times. Enthiran The Robot where a doctor creates an android after years of research, was a big hit last year. Khan has enlisted the help of his friend, Akon to help with some of the music for the film. Jackie Chan was also approached by Shahrukh to be in the film but he eventually declined.

Don 2: The Chase Continues December 23rd 2011

Sharukh Khan is a busy man as he is not only releasing Ra.One but also a sequel to the 2006 film, Don: The Chase Begins Again. A sequel was always on the cards after the shocking twist ending that took place at the end of the first film. SRK will reprise his role as the gangland boss, Don. An international version of the film is also planned; which will see the dancing and singing cut out as well as the drama being toned down a bit. This is rumored to be because SRK wants to go head to head with Tom Cruiseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mission Impossible 4.

Dhoom 3

December 2012 Dhoom 3 is the third in the phenomenally popular motorcycle heist franchise. The series is based on the Luc Besson film, Taxi which was a fast paced driving-based comedy. The plot also shares similarities with the Fast and the Furious series in that they are both based around a group of petrol head robbers. Vijay Krishna Acharya will be directing the third installment while Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra will be reprising their roles from the previous films.

Spice Times 06

Give your customers the most delicious accompaniments to your menu and a reason to return again and again for deliciously soft naans made from Gold Star Special Self Raising Flour. At Wrightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s we only use the finest ingredients so you get great results every time.

G R WRIGHT & SONS LTD. Ponders End Mills, Enfield, Middlesex, EN3 4TG Website: www.wrightsflour.co.uk Email: sales@wrightsflour.co.uk

FOOD & DRINK

With a Splash of Zest At Spice Times we are always grateful for the summer weather. But in this heat we need to find different ways of cooling ourselves - exactly why we’ve assembled a variety of summer cocktails with a splash of zest to keep you refreshed.

Mojito (original) • Dashes angostura bitters • 2 Shots white rum • 1 Shot lime juice • Top up soda • 1 Teaspoon sugar syrup Muddle the mint leaves in a glass with the sugar & lime juice to extract the mint oils. Fill the Tumbler glass with crushed ice and add the rum and Angostura, then top up with soda water and stir. Garnish. You can, of course, use fresh limes instead of lime juice.

Mai Tai • 2 parts dark rum • 2 parts white rum • 1 part curacao • 1 part grenadine • 2 parts pineapple juice • dash orgeat syrup • 1 part lime juice Shake all together very well (except paper umbrella, pineapple spear and ice cubes). Strain into highball glass over ice cubes. Garnish with pineapple spear on rim and paper umbrella (the paper umbrella is the most important part).

Amaretto Rose • 1 shot amaretto • 1 shot lime juice • 1 glass soda Pour Amaretto and Lime juice over ice add club soda then drink! If you have any unique cocktails you would like to send us, please send to info@spicetimes.co.uk and you could see your cocktail in the next issue.

Steamboat • 1 1/2 shot southern comfort • 1 shot lime juice Throw some ice in a tumbler, add the southern comfort, lime, and top up with (clear) lemonade, but don’t add too much. Add a lime wedge to garnish. All aboard! Fresh-squeezed lime juice tastes better than lime cordial, but the end result is cloudy, and doesn’t look as appealing. The “traditional” cloudy yellow coloured lemonade also makes the drink cloudy, but in my opinion, the clear lemonade tastes better anyway.

Spice Times 37

ONLINE

Raise Your Profile Marketing your restaurant on Facebook

ocial Media has been taking the world by storm. Billions of people use these websites each day. The most well known of these sites is Facebook. It has been the subject of books and even a Hollywood movie, The Social Network. Now is the perfect time to put your restaurant on the website. Most restaurants have little to no online presence, which is setting them at a massive disadvantage when it comes to getting new or regular customers through the doors. When it comes to getting your own space online to promote your business, there are two options, paying someone to make your own website, or making your own Facebook page; which is free and can take only ten minutes to set up. To begin making your page, head to www.facebook.com and at the bottom of the page you will see a link to ‘Create a page for a celebrity, band or business.’ Next, you will be required to input a name for your page - it is best to put the actual name of your restaurant as it will make it easier to find amongst all the other pages on when someone is searching for it. You must also make sure to click the ‘local business’ button as well.

You now need to link this page to a Facebook account, as each page is required to have a normal (think the usual, personal pages) account linked to it. If you already have an account then all you have to do is log in. Now that your page is made, there is still some work to do such as adding your opening hours, images, and information. Your first thing to do is add your opening times, this is possibly the most important part of the page as this will make it easier for customers to find out when the opening and closing times are. The address is also needed, of course. Now that your page is officially made, it is time to put all your images and information on there. Adding a little bio about the restaurant makes a prospective customer feel more comfortable and makes the page look more professional. It can be a short piece, just about the founding of the restaurant, and even what special dishes are on offer. One of the first things viewers of the page will see is your picture. As nice as the food is, people will want to see that a place looks inviting before committing to dining there. Adding a crisp, highresolution image of your interior or

38 Spice Times

shop front will really add an impact and convince everyone that it is a stylish place to be. There is also the opportunity to add more than one picture, just like a normal Facebook profile, so upload snaps of events to make it look busy. Facebook, however, is not the only place you can get a business onto the wide world of social media. Another site is just as popular called Twitter. Twitter allows you to post 140-character ‘micro-blogs’ so you can keep everyone up to date with your latest goings on, including changes to opening times and meal deals. It is possible to link both a Twitter account in the settings or you can streamline things by using a programme such as TweetDeck or Hoot Suite. Services also exist that allow social media users to ‘check in’ to places, including restaurants, bars and cinemas. Four Square is the biggest, and users who frequent a place can even become the ‘mayor’ of that place. As an incentive, places offer special discounts to get people to ‘check in’ there. Facebook has copied this by letting their users ‘check in’ as well. Offering promotions through this could be a good way to drive more business.

ONLINE

FEATURE

Curry On The Web The internet is a big place, and it can be hard to find quality info on curry, so Spice Times did the leg work for you... Curry Council http://www.currycouncil.com

Everything

Images

The Curry Council is a group of eight guys who love curry and have made it their mission to, in their words, “hopefully improving and ensuring [the] quality” of Manchester and Cheshire curry houses. Curry Council features a comprehensive list of reviews in the Manchester area, not to mention money off vouchers and a restaurant directory. BBC Good Food http://www.bbcgoodfood.com

Videos

Did you mean? Spice Times Magazine www.spicetimes.co.uk The informative voice of the south asian restaurataur. Celebrating the Spice Times Restaurant Awards. Find out more.......

BBC Good Food may feature more recipes for lemon tarts than Kormas but it does have healthy variants on many classics. The site includes recipes from celebrity chefs, including Jamie Oliver, and user-generated dishes.

News

Cobra Beer Blog http://www.cobrabeer.com/blog/

More...

Cobra beer have their own blog about everything to do with curry. The blog has reviews, recipes and books for the curry connoisseur. If you are stuck for a place to eat, then just use their helpful restaurant directory by simply typing in your post code. Curries Online www.curriesonline.co.uk Curries online is the ﬁrst direct solution for the customer to be able to order a curry from multiple places through one simple website. It includes user reviews and the ability to book a table, and there is the opportunity to earn points to put towards future takeaways.

Spice Times 39

BUSINESS

The

Gentle Art of Upselling G

etting customers to spend a lot in a restaurant is the big question that every restaurateur asks themselves almost every day. In recession-hit austerity Britain, customers will aim to spend as little as they can in a restaurant. Most would skip starters and desserts, and some even skip buying alcohol all together. Using upselling techniques to entice a diner to get starters and desserts can quickly increase an eveningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s takings, even if the upselling is an additional portion of rice, it all makes a difference. Waiters and servers are the key to getting customers to spend more through upselling techniques. There is also an incentive for waiters to upsell, as it can increase the amount of tips that they receive through providing exemplary service. Simple things like striking up a conversation can make a customer feel at ease and more likely to take suggestions from someone who works at the restaurant. The first thing to do is to sit down people who are eating and offer them as many poppadoms as there are people in the party, or offer starters and drinks. When asking instantly if someone would like a large glass of wine or carbonated drink, they are more likely to order a large which is obviously a lot better than just ordering a small or medium. Even offering a pint of beer instead of a bottle can have a positive effect. Other than upselling starters and drinks, ideas on where to try and get some more money may be hard to come by. Looking around the menu, offering a portion of rice per person, similar to the

Getting customers into your restaurant is an accomplishment in itself, but a restaurateurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts do not end there. Considerate upselling will not only maximise your sales but enhance your customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dining experience.

poppadom, ensures at least an extra two pounds per person. Upselling through migration on the menu is another way to increase profit margins on a bill if a waiter is not comfortable using the standard method. Advising a dish that makes more money but is a similar price can be a lot more profitable than just offering an obviously more expensive dish. Trying to nudge a customer into the direction of ordering desserts is almost the same as getting orders of starters, as it also involves conversation. The best way to open up a discussion is asking if they have finished and if they enjoyed it and offer suggestions for an after dinner course. The waiter must of course be positive about what is on offer and assure that they a really enjoyable. Offering rewards and incentives for good upsellers will improve business; if the winner receives a gift voucher or theatre and cinema tickets, it becomes a competition to see who can do the best. If a waiter is aggressively upselling then the customers would not enjoy themselves and may not return in the future; of course, a fall in repeat business could have dire consequences for a restaurant, not even including the detrimental effect of negative opinions being spread throughout word of mouth.

Spice Times 41

. Following the success of our 2010 Restaurant Awards, and its subsequent Gala Dinner held at the City Pavilion last December, we are pleased to announce that registration for the Spice Times Restaurant Awards 2011 has opened. The public voting period will start from 1st September 2011 and run through to 5pm on the 30th September 2011. For further information visit www.spicetimes.co.uk/spice-times-restaurant-awards-2011/ Contact: awards@spicetimes.co.uk or 0844 800 9871

Registration closes 31st August, so register today to represent your local area and stand a chance to win Full name:

.........................................................................................................................................................

Restaurant name:

.........................................................................................................................................................

Street Address 1:

.........................................................................................................................................................

Address 2:

..........................................................................................................................................................

Town/city:

.......................................................................................................

County:

......................................................... Postcode: .......................

Email Address:

.......................................................................................................

Phone Number (restaurant):

........................................................

(mobile)

........................................................

Number of years trading:

................ years

Number of covers:

................

Which district is your restaurant located in?

......................................................................................................................

Please include a cheque of ÂŁ59.99, made payable to Spice Times, and return to:

Spice Times Publishing Ltd, 131-133 Victoria Avenue Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 6EL

Alternatively, pay securely online via Paypal at:

www.spicetimes.co.uk/restaurant-registration/ or pay by credit card at 0844

800 9871 (mon-fri 9am-5pm)

Terms & Conditions The competition is open to establishments within the United Kingdom only. Both restaurants and takeaways can register for the award. To be eligable for registration entrants must have been trading for a minimum of 2 years, and restaurants must contain a minimum of 40 covers.

. This year’s spectacular ceremony will be held in the Grand Ballroom of London’s prestigious Hilton Park Lane, and will feature renowned entertainment acts and an exciting live voting event that will allow industry insiders to decide the country’s best restaurants. Tasmin Lucia Khan will return to host the event due to popular demand. The four highest-voted restaurants in each region will compete for the Best Regional Restaurant and Best National Restaurant awards, and will be voted for by the audiance using state of the art wireless handsets.

Tickets: £125 per person Full table discount: £1125 (10 seats for the price of 9) Restaurant / business name:

........................................................................................................................................................

Street Address 1:

.........................................................................................................................................................

Address 2:

..........................................................................................................................................................

Town/city:

.......................................................................................................

County:

......................................................... Postcode: .......................

Email Address:

.......................................................................................................

Phone Number (restaurant):

............................................................

No. of Seats

(mobile): ............................................................

............... x £125 = .................. (£1125 for a full table)

1. Title ............

Full Name ..........................................................................