Asian Restaurants have become popular among British citizens; therefore a detailed research into the growth of this industrial segment and an analysis of effect of prevailing macro economic factors on Asian Restaurants will be of great interest to a wide cross section of British society. It has taken a long time for Asian Restaurants to attain their current levels of popularity in UK. Curry was first introduced in British menu at a Coffee House in Norris Street, Haymarket London in 1771.
The first Asian food establishment in UK came up in 1809; it was called the Hindusthani Coffee House and was located at 34 George Street, Portman Square London. This establishment was owned by an Indian named Dean Mohammed who came from Patna in Bihar. The Hindusthani Coffee House became popular for its colonial decor and authentic Indian food. The first Indian restaurant in the true sense of the word was The Shafi which was opened in 1920 by Mohammed Wayseem and Mohammed Rahim.The Shafi proved to be the most influential restaurant and was highly patronized by Indians living in UK and especially by Indian students. (Grove P, Groove C) Many restaurants similar to The Shafi came up in different parts of London, however these restaurants were mostly intended for Indian clientele.
In 1927 Edward Palmer opened the first Indian fine dining restaurant called Veeraswamy’s in Regent Street London.Veeraswamy’s became very popular among Englishmen and was even dubbed “the ex servicemen’s curry club” because of the traditional colonial environment that it provided. Grove P, Groove C) During the period between the First World War and the Second World War, many Indian restaurants were opened outside London mainly at various sea ports of Britain. By 1960 there were about 500 Indian restaurants in UK and the numbers have grown to 3000 by the year 2000. The Indian Curry Industry employed 70,000 people by end of year 2000.
(Grove P, Groove C) Cathay was the first important Chinese restaurant in UK it was owned by Chung Koon. Chinese cuisine attained popularity only after the Second World War.Chubg Koon’s son John Koon was the first to initiate the concept of Chinese take away which attained great popularity and soon every village in UK had a Chinese take away cum fish and chips shop. (Grove P, Groove C) Asian restaurant form an important component of UK’s food industry and therefore the health of this industrial segment is crucial to the well being of the country’s economy. The objective of the project will be to analyze various macro economic factors which negatively impact the Asian restaurants, the report will also endeavourer to suggest remedial actions that may help in restoring the prosperity of Asian restaurants.The topic for the project is “Impact of Macro Economic Factors on Asian Restaurant Industry”.
The Focus of the Project The purpose of the project is to identify various macro economic factors which are adversely affecting the Asian Restaurant Industry in the UK. The apparent problems faced by the industry have been indicated in an article “The big heat; crisis in the UK curry Industry”. The article has brought to light many issues which are of concern to the UK’s Curry Industry or rather the entire Asian restaurant Industry.According to the article Asian restaurants are facing a major manpower crunch as the prevailing immigration standards prohibit acquisition of suitable manpower. Further more the industry is also suffering from inflation in the prices of rice and spices owing to policies that restrict export of these commodities by countries which produce them. (www.
independent. co. uk) Succession is also an issue of concern as children of owners of Asian Restaurant’s are refusing to take up their parents profession and this has caused serious problems. (www.
ndependent. co. uk)The project report will try to probe these problems in detail and thereafter determine the underlying cause for the existence of prevailing trends which are harming the Asian restaurant Industry. Sources Articles from the internet will be used as sources for the project. Information from Online News Sites and online magazines will be used for collecting relevant data on various aspects of the Asian restaurant Industry in the UK.
The following are the primary sources which will be used in the process of writing the project report.
