UK restaurant boss asks fellow businessmen to sell Pakistani cuisine with pride

[TSA321]

LONDON: A leading Pakistani restaurant boss has called on Pakistani restaurant owners to proudly own Pakistani cuisine and stop marketing their business places as Indian.

Raja Suleman Raza, who made his name after setting up a successful chain of Spice Village restaurants across Britain, said that Pakistani cuisine has a distinct taste and flavour when compared with Indian cuisine but it was surprising that several Pakistanis market their restaurants and eateries as “Indian” while actually serving Pakistani cuisine and being of Pakistani origin.

“I proudly go around and tell the world that I am a Pakistani, my restaurants serve Pakistani cuisine and I am proud of it. I have been doing a great business by marketing my business associated with Pakistani name and Pakistani food. It’s unfortunate that hundreds of Pakistani restaurant and takeaway owners in Britain don’t want to be associated with the Pakistani name and instead use ‘Indian’ name to do business,” said Suleman Raza, who has won several food industry awards.

“I call on all such restaurant owners to reconsider their approach, be true to yourself, your origin and be proud of Pakistan. This will give you more respect and credibility than anything else,” he stressed in an interview with The News and Geo.

Suleman Raza came to Britain from Pakistan several years ago and started working as a chef in a Brixton restaurant with an aspiration to start his own restaurant. He always felt things could be done differently for more delectable outcomes. The young Suleman found himself captivated with London's eclectic restaurant scene and longed to bring some of that foodie culture back to South of London.

“I was even more sure of my success as I thought I had found the magic potion to hit it off – the spices,” he said. Suleman decided to set up his restaurant business in Tooting for "people who might drive long distances to find an authentic restaurant with great food, where they could take their time with friends and families without feeling rushed. Slow, enjoyable food. Nothing to be rushed”.

While sweating himself in kitchen, Suleman immersed himself in almost daily restaurant planning. He began collecting travel-magazine photos of restaurants, along with reviews and other articles about their food presentations. "I started spending most of my time away from cooking thinking about the components of food, blends of spices, service and ambiance," he recollected.

He opened Spice Village restaurant in 2004. His workdays usually started at 9 a.m., going over the itinerary of the day with dozens of items to source, and ended at 3 a.m. after clean-up. Suleman regularly mopped and swept the restaurant, hauled delivery boxes to the recycling centre, did the restaurant's laundry and served as general handyman.

Suleman’s hard work has been rewarded. Customers have poured in, some of them from 30-40 miles away. Spice Village spread to the East of London and West of London too and its clients include mainly Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and many others. From Tooting it reached Ilford and then Southall.

“I always thought it would be more challenging to bring people in without alcohol. However, I believed if we would be good enough, we could do that. I don’t believe in alcohol and do believe in getting customers intoxicated with the power of spices – a much healthier option.”

Spice village customers range from the British House of Commons and House of Lords to Lambeth Palace, the Riyal Military Academy at Sandhurst, several embassies and London’s best starred hotels and iconic venues. London’s mayor Sadiq Khan ranks Spice Village among his favourites.

“I have made sure that I promote Pakistan every day through my business and that’s my responsibility and my commitment to the country of my origin. We are all set to go global in second half of 2019 with branches in South Asia and Middle East,” said Suleman.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/4...inessmen-to-sell-pakistani-cuisine-with-pride

 

[PakLFC]

Totally agree. I do not blame Indian people for this at all. This is what I said some days back that we are not Asian's but Pakistanis. There is no such country called Asia anywhere. No Britisher ever calls them self European. Own Pakistaniat!

 

[Syed1]

Bad form my Brit Paks to pass off our cuisine as Indian. #Insecurity

 

[Major]

Bad form my Brit Paks to pass off our cuisine as Indian. #Insecurity

Syed have you ever tried Bamiyan Kebab? I think its in Mississauga.
Its afghani and probably the best kebabs i have ever had

 

[ahsan17]

I have actually never seen this happen in Canada or US. Pakistani restaurant owners would not even think about calling their restaurant an Indian restaurant. Why is it happening in UK?

 

[King-Misbah]

Bad form my Brit Paks to pass off our cuisine as Indian. #Insecurity

It is bad! Not every restaurant / takeaway does it though. The establishments that classify themselves as Pakistani are doing really well in the north of England. The trend is definately changing We actually have places named after Pakistani cities, areas now.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

I have actually never seen this happen in Canada or US. Pakistani restaurant owners would not even think about calling their restaurant an Indian restaurant. Why is it happening in UK?

Unfortunately I have seen some Pakistani restaurants advertise their food as Pakistani and Indian in America. The reason i believe they do this is because of the Indian Muslim population. i think the trend is changing tho, I have seen new restaurants open without any mention of Indian.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Glad to see this change, as it has always bothered me. The food served in Indian and Pakistani restaurants is not completely the same anyway. The best Pakistani dishes are with beef. For example you will never see Nihari served in a Indian restaurant.

 

[ahsan17]

Unfortunately I have seen some Pakistani restaurants advertise their food as Pakistani and Indian in America. The reason i believe they do this is because of the Indian Muslim population. i think the trend is changing tho, I have seen new restaurants open without any mention of Indian.

Advertising it as Pakistani AND Indian is fine IMO, because they are trying to attract Indian customers like you mention. It is purely a business decision to attract more customers. I have seen Indian restaurants, especially those ran by Indian muslims, advertise themselves as Indian and Pakistani as well, which is fine since it is to attract Pakistani customers. The issue is when they identify themselves as Indian restaurant only.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Advertising it as Pakistani AND Indian is fine IMO, because they are trying to attract Indian customers like you mention. It is purely a business decision to attract more customers. I have seen Indian restaurants, especially those ran by Indian muslims, advertise themselves as Indian and Pakistani as well, which is fine since it is to attract Pakistani customers. The issue is when they identify themselves as Indian restaurant only.

I have seen Indian Muslims advertise their restaurants as Indian and Pakistani, but I have never seen a Indian non Muslim put any mention of Pakistan in their restaurants.

 

[ahsan17]

I have seen Indian Muslims advertise their restaurants as Indian and Pakistani, but I have never seen a Indian non Muslim put any mention of Pakistan in their restaurants.

Which is fine IMO, because you aren't going to see Pakistanis go to those restaurants very often. They might go there as part of an office lunch, or occasionally a few times a year, but it won't be something Pakistanis frequent. I have been to non-Muslim Indian restaurants a few time and I didn't like their food at all. Every Pakistani in my circle is like that too. It's all about their food, nothing else. I make sure to never go to those restaurants anymore.

I am curious though, in the OP, are we talking about Pakistani restaurants advertising themselves as solely Indian or as Pakistan and India? Because the latter is a decision based on business that I can respect, but not the former.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Which is fine IMO, because you aren't going to see Pakistanis go to those restaurants very often. They might go there as part of an office lunch, or occasionally a few times a year, but it won't be something Pakistanis frequent. I have been to non-Muslim Indian restaurants a few time and I didn't like their food at all. Every Pakistani in my circle is like that too. It's all about their food, nothing else. I make sure to never go to those restaurants anymore.

I am curious though, in the OP, are we talking about Pakistani restaurants advertising themselves as solely Indian or as Pakistan and India? Because the latter is a decision based on business that I can respect, but not the former.

Only Indian, so definitely glad that the Brit Pakistanis are changing that.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I have actually never seen this happen in Canada or US. Pakistani restaurant owners would not even think about calling their restaurant an Indian restaurant. Why is it happening in UK?

It is quite simple, during the early phases of immigration from the subcontinent, Britain was quite racist and all brown people, whether from Pakistan or India were referred to as *****, and quite often a further descriptive term was tacked onto the back of that. In Canada or US the population is more mixed to start with, there is less of an indigenous resentment to newcomers as it is perceived the whole population are in many ways immigrants.

Pakistan has as a result become somewhat tarred with the racist association more than the other countries, although had restaurant owners actually stuck to their guns and displayed their Pakistani origins, by now the cuisine would have been established and it would have gained enough of a good reputation that the racist association would have been forgotten.

Easy to say though, but you can understand why they would take the easy way out. Iranians do the same by branding their businesses as Persian to be more appealing to British customers who have a bad impression of Iran.

 

[Pakistanian]

It's common in America for Pakistani restaurants to say they serve "indo-pak food" or even they say they're Pakistan restaurants they still list themselves as "indian cuisine" on food review websites. Hopefully this ends, I never see Cubans brand their restaurants as "mexican resturants" just cause they later is more famous and has a larger population.

 

[IMMY69]

In London A large percentage of restaurants calling themselves Indian are actually owned by Bangladeshi’s... much more so then any Pakistani restaurant..

 

[BreadPakoda]

In London A large percentage of restaurants calling themselves Indian are actually owned by Bangladeshi’s... much more so then any Pakistani restaurant..

Not only London/UK - elsewhere as well. Many "Indian" restaurants I have visited in NA, Europe, and SE Asia are owned by Pakistanis or Bangladeshis - mostly latter.

I see nothing wrong in it though - the cuisine is primarily Indian. It is usual to see restaurants run by the name of the cuisine-type served.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

In London A large percentage of restaurants calling themselves Indian are actually owned by Bangladeshi’s... much more so then any Pakistani restaurant..

The Bangladeshis moved into the food industry when they arrived en masse after the collapse of East Pakistan. Initially they cooked mostly food you would associate more with Pakistan or northern India, although their taste is definitely more inclined to sweetness than ours. Nowadays you are probably seeing them showcasing their own food more as the British get used to the idea of regional variations.

We need to bear in mind how British sees the subcontinent, for them India was the jewel in the crown for two centuries, before the Brits there wasn't even a collective called India. So it really made sense in a way for Pakistanis to describe food in terms that their British customers could identify easily.

 

[Stewie]

Very interesting.. doesn’t happen in North America. Labeling it indian will turn away a lot of meat eaters..

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Very interesting.. doesn’t happen in North America. Labeling it indian will turn away a lot of meat eaters..

From what I've observed Indians in the US tend to be a high proportion of south Indians, whereas initial wave that settled in the UK was north Indians. I believe the south Indians tend to take their vegetarianism more seriously than the northern ones.

 

[Pakpak]

Even Nawab do it, its pathetic. They are big as it is and have no need to do it.

 

[IMMY69]

Even Nawab do it, its pathetic. They are big as it is and have no need to do it.

That’s true they do but then they have plenty of dishes that are actually Indian...
Rogan Josh etc etc... and for a restaurant the size of Nawaz I can see why they would do this...

 

[Pakpak]

That’s true they do but then they have plenty of dishes that are actually Indian...
Rogan Josh etc etc... and for a restaurant the size of Nawaz I can see why they would do this...

Most of their dishes are Pakistani, not Indian. So no I can't see why they do it. At best they can label it as Asian cuisine. They're massive and have no reason to not advertise our cuisine.

 

[BreadPakoda]

From what I've observed Indians in the US tend to be a high proportion of south Indians, whereas initial wave that settled in the UK was north Indians. I believe the south Indians tend to take their vegetarianism more seriously than the northern ones.

Not the ones from Andhra and Kerala. Mostly Tamilians.

 

[tahir_dj]

Exatly
The kind of rich and full of flavour dishes Pakistan have indian dishes can never be compared.

Iv tried Indian and bangali restaurants their taste is so bland.
Since mainly indians dishes are daal and sabzi type and with bangalis they make it more watery.

That is also the reason indians and bangalis open their resturants in English areas where they know english people wont know what the tastes of real curry or karahi is. All they do is make tomato souce and put boiled meat in and present is as authentic indian curry dish.

 

[IMMY69]

Most of their dishes are Pakistani, not Indian. So no I can't see why they do it. At best they can label it as Asian cuisine. They're massive and have no reason to not advertise our cuisine.

The speciality dishes, the the pots behind the main buffet, are all Pakistani Specalities but the buffet itself contains a wide array of dishes some of which are Indian and some of which are hard to distinguish between Indian and Pakistani.

The Royal Nawab here on the A40 in London attracts all sorts of people. Indian Sikhs, Pakistani's, Indians, English, Europeans and even hosts Indian as well as Pakistani weddings.. As a Pakistani I know it is a Pakistani owned restaurant as do everyone else I know. So I really don't see the problem with this.

 

[IMMY69]

Exatly
The kind of rich and full of flavour dishes Pakistan have indian dishes can never be compared.

Iv tried Indian and bangali restaurants their taste is so bland.
Since mainly indians dishes are daal and sabzi type and with bangalis they make it more watery.

That is also the reason indians and bangalis open their resturants in English areas where they know english people wont know what the tastes of real curry or karahi is. All they do is make tomato souce and put boiled meat in and present is as authentic indian curry dish.

yes the Chicken Tikka Massala being the prime example...
Or for Bangadeshi, it is the Balti dishes made bland enough for the English to enjoy. If they want something spicey then there is of course the Bangladeshi "Phaal" dish or Vindaloo if its an Indian... None of these dishes are authentically made.

I think most people, at least here in London, know that if they want something authentic, then go and find a Pakistani Owned restaurant.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

You have to be realistic. I mentioned in my first post the negative connotations associated with Pakistan. I can't even type out the abbreviation for Pakistanis without it being censored on this site, that should tell you something.

If you are selling something, you need to take the views of your customers into account, and who would the majority of customers be in Britain?

Nawab is set in a commercial district is it not? That can be the only reason why they still take the "Indian restaurant" approach. Maybe they are hoping to appeal to a wider audience than just the Pakistanis of the area.

 

[Pakpak]

The speciality dishes, the the pots behind the main buffet, are all Pakistani Specalities but the buffet itself contains a wide array of dishes some of which are Indian and some of which are hard to distinguish between Indian and Pakistani.

The Royal Nawab here on the A40 in London attracts all sorts of people. Indian Sikhs, Pakistani's, Indians, English, Europeans and even hosts Indian as well as Pakistani weddings.. As a Pakistani I know it is a Pakistani owned restaurant as do everyone else I know. So I really don't see the problem with this.

The problem is it is a Pakistani restaurant, owned by Pakistainis with most of their dishes being Pakistani but being advertised as Indian. With smaller places there is an excuse, a flimsy one, that they need customers so easier to brand it as Indian but Nawaz have no excuses.

 

[Pakpak]

You have to be realistic. I mentioned in my first post the negative connotations associated with Pakistan. I can't even type out the abbreviation for Pakistanis without it being censored on this site, that should tell you something.

If you are selling something, you need to take the views of your customers into account, and who would the majority of customers be in Britain?

Nawab is set in a commercial district is it not? That can be the only reason why they still take the "Indian restaurant" approach. Maybe they are hoping to appeal to a wider audience than just the Pakistanis of the area.

Then they can call it Asian cuisine. Spice Village showed you don't need to label yourself as Indian to be a success and Nawab are already a success.

Not a difficult concept to grasp.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

On a side note, I do see plenty of smaller places which are keen to display their regional origin. So you'll get places described as Punjabi dining, or Khyber Express, or Lahore Kebab House being a famous example. Definitely the issue is the P word.

 

[Pakpak]

On a side note, I do see plenty of smaller places which are keen to display their regional origin. So you'll get places described as Punjabi dining, or Khyber Express, or Lahore Kebab House being a famous example. Definitely the issue is the P word.

Yeah I know, but none of those places call themselves Indian either and still are a success.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Then they can call it Asian cuisine. Spice Village showed you don't need to label yourself as Indian to be a success and Nawab are already a success.

Not a difficult concept to grasp.

Asian cuisine is also associated with Chinese and Korean food. I get your point about Spice Village, but these are usually establishments which have younger gen owners who are stepping out of cultural stereotypes.

I honestly think the older brigade thought the British associated India with empire and servility so they were happy to play up to it. Just look at the names of some of these establishments. We have Last Days of the Raj where I live, although I think it might be Bangladeshi owned.

 

[IMMY69]

Then they can call it Asian cuisine. Spice Village showed you don't need to label yourself as Indian to be a success and Nawab are already a success.

Not a difficult concept to grasp.

My friend, if I was to open a 200 seater restaurant I too would advertise it as Indian/Pakistani..
My perspective would not be from a nationalist point of view but from a business point of view.
The rent and rates alone for the Hoover Building would be in excess of £120,000.00 per year (probably well in excess of this) and I would want to reach out to as many Indians and Pakistani's as possible, especially as its only 12-15 minutes away from Southhall.

Restaurant businesses are fickle as it is. Strong today, out of business in a year
So that's how I would do it. You may disagree.

 

[Pakpak]

My friend, if I was to open a 200 seater restaurant I too would advertise it as Indian/Pakistani..
My perspective would not be from a nationalist point of view but from a business point of view.
The rent and rates alone for the Hoover Building would be in excess of £120,000.00 per year (probably well in excess of this) and I would want to reach out to as many Indians and Pakistani's as possible, especially as its only 12-15 minutes away from Southhall.

Restaurant businesses are fickle as it is. Strong today, out of business in a year
So that's how I would do it. You may disagree.

And once you reached out to them and established a brand that is in 2 countries I'd reasonably assume you'd stop advertising it as Indian cuisine.

 

[Zorro]

From what I've observed Indians in the US tend to be a high proportion of south Indians, whereas initial wave that settled in the UK was north Indians. I believe the south Indians tend to take their vegetarianism more seriously than the northern ones.

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/06/14/how-india-eats_n_10434374.html

 

[troodon]

My friend, if I was to open a 200 seater restaurant I too would advertise it as Indian/Pakistani..
My perspective would not be from a nationalist point of view but from a business point of view.
The rent and rates alone for the Hoover Building would be in excess of £120,000.00 per year (probably well in excess of this) and I would want to reach out to as many Indians and Pakistani's as possible, especially as its only 12-15 minutes away from Southhall.

Restaurant businesses are fickle as it is. Strong today, out of business in a year
So that's how I would do it. You may disagree.

This. Its all about filling the tables with people.

 

[finalfantasy7]

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/06/14/how-india-eats_n_10434374.html

How about beef consumption

 

[shaz619]

This happens especially in the areas where they target the goreh primarily, e.g in town or closer to the city centre's or in the affluent regions and to be honest the food quality is awful, they make their money of the presentation, seating and alcohol.

The best food is largely closer to the inner city's although there are some places like EastZEast who you will find in the centre but they don't market themselves like coconuts and people appreciate them for quality of their food to which is very good.

But I'd say Indians and Bengalis largely dominate the coconut market [MENTION=43583]KingKhanWC[/MENTION]

 

[KingKhanWC]

This happens especially in the areas where they target the goreh primarily, e.g in town or closer to the city centre's or in the affluent regions and to be honest the food quality is awful, they make their money of the presentation, seating and alcohol.

The best food is largely closer to the inner city's although there are some places like EastZEast who you will find in the centre but they don't market themselves like coconuts and people appreciate them for quality of their food to which is very good.

But I'd say Indians and Bengalis largely dominate the coconut market [MENTION=43583]KingKhanWC[/MENTION]

Spot on.

Ths is an interesting article reg the history of curry houses in the UK.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-curry-house-nearly-200-yars-ago-5348139.html

As it mentions most are owned by Bangladeshis and their food varies depending on the owners preference. The truth is most white people have little clue about the food but go to eat for a night out with alcohol. As long as it tastes a bit spicy, they get loads of popadoms and beer/wine they are happy.

Indians and Bangladeshis cater for non-Asians while Pakistani resturants cater for all. When I go to eat in places not to familiar I make sure the food is cooked differently to my taste, usually tell them to make it 'desi' style.

There is also a variant such as Chicken tikka masala which is the most popular dish, I believe orginates from Glasgow. There are some decent places in the UK but when I visit Pakistan, the food is just on another level esp the meat dishes. People in Pakistan dont know how lucky they are when it comes to food. English food can be nice such as fish & chips but in general their food is very bland. When I see English friends on social media putting pictures up of their Sunday dinners, Im like thats starters in my house.

 

[mustang]

From what I've observed Indians in the US tend to be a high proportion of south Indians, whereas initial wave that settled in the UK was north Indians. I believe the south Indians tend to take their vegetarianism more seriously than the northern ones.

Interesting point and I would have thought the same until I had the chance to travel/live in southern India. Southern India actually has more hardcore meat eaters (including beef and pork savants) compared to northern India.

 

[mustang]

My friend, if I was to open a 200 seater restaurant I too would advertise it as Indian/Pakistani..
My perspective would not be from a nationalist point of view but from a business point of view.
The rent and rates alone for the Hoover Building would be in excess of £120,000.00 per year (probably well in excess of this) and I would want to reach out to as many Indians and Pakistani's as possible, especially as its only 12-15 minutes away from Southhall.

Restaurant businesses are fickle as it is. Strong today, out of business in a year
So that's how I would do it. You may disagree.

My friend, if I was to open a 200 seater restaurant I too would advertise it as Indian/Pakistani..
My perspective would not be from a nationalist point of view but from a business point of view.
The rent and rates alone for the Hoover Building would be in excess of £120,000.00 per year (probably well in excess of this) and I would want to reach out to as many Indians and Pakistani's as possible, especially as its only 12-15 minutes away from Southhall.

Restaurant businesses are fickle as it is. Strong today, out of business in a year
So that's how I would do it. You may disagree.

Great point. I love Pakistani cuisine and there are some fine places near where I live (all of them calling themselves Indian/Pakistani-Indian/Indian-Pakistani). From a business standpoint I do not blame them at all. Restaurant as a business segment is statistically the most frequently started AND shut down. Last thing you would want is risking failure thanks to losing customers with a more "pigeonholed" term (pigeonholed for the average American/Westerner who does not know the differences).

To the comment about Cubans calling their food as Mexican - Part of my family is Cuban and I can say that they do not have to do that here in the US because Cubans already have high enough population, have cultural awareness about their cuisine among mainstream folks. So a Cuban restaurant calling it's cuisine "Cuban" still attracts enough customers to be in business. Were it not the case they would happily be branding themselves as Caribbean (not Mexican though).