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Published on March 17, 2008

 Non-skilled workers and non-English speakers from the sub-continent, wonderful chefs of chicken tikka masala though they may be, are not eligible to come to the UK.

Some observers say the restriction is specifically aimed at Bangladeshi chefs who began entering the country in large numbers a decade ago. Now, with more unskilled workers from Eastern European countries, the UK is limiting its intake from other parts of the world, and adding the requirement that applicants speak English. It is as if they need to speak English to prepare a curry. Cooking is not about diplomacy.

With around 9,000 curry restaurants in the UK right now and insufficient curry cooks, a curry crisis is unavoidable, and it could have a strong impact on and tourism and the world's most

well-known culinary spot. Almost all tourists who come to London like to eat curry, tandoori chicken, rogan josh and daal soup at an Indian restaurant in a convenient location. It is a "must" to complete the UK experience. Depriving visitors of this delicacy is just not a nice thing to do. Only Thai tourists would opt for cherry roast duck in Soho or Chinatown.

New questions are also being raised as to whether chefs from other countries, such as China, Thailand, Japan or others have to speak English too. The language requirement can easily be construed as a discriminatory immigration measure aimed at curbing the influx of unskilled foreign workers. Whatever it is, the UK will suffer long and hard. Once the country loses its culinary excellence, other capitals around the world would be glad to take up the challenges. Paris, Berlin and Madrid have that potential.

According to Enam Ali, president of the UK's Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs, such restrictions only harm the country's reputation and economy. Owners of tandoori restaurants in the UK, who are mainly Bangladeshi, have ways to take care of these workers, mostly from India, Pakistani and Bangladesh. If they show that they can look after the welfare of these workers, they should be allowed to work at restaurants in the UK.

Oftentimes other European countries, the UK not withstanding, have stringent rules and regulations on restaurants, which can discourage foreign investors from coming in along with their chefs.

Indeed, other foreign food outlets in the UK, especially those owned by Thais, are no exception. It took decades for the Thai government to work out details with the UK government to ensure that Thai chefs can work in the UK without harassment. Still, Thai chefs are in big demand in the UK. In the past few years, Thai cuisine has made its mark on the UK food scene.

Currently, it is one of the most popular types of cuisine in the UK, which also boasts Italian, French, Chinese and Indian fare. But tom yum and other dishes are appearing on dinner tables throughout the UK now more than ever before. There are nearly 1500 Thai restaurants, including nearly 400 pubs, mainly in London and Edinburgh, which serve Thai finger-foods such as chicken satays, fried spring rolls, shrimp cakes, etc. In this case, it is not the usual dull oil-soaked fish and chips that draw in clients but exotic Thai appetisers - the English proficiency of the cooks should not be a factor.

Indeed, various Thai culinary schools are offering English-language training to their prospective chefs to increase their opportunities to get employment worldwide. As everybody knows, there is an acute shortage of Thai chefs. At the moment, the country is capable of producing around 800 chefs yearly, which is quite a small number given the rapid expansion of Thai restaurants overseas. The latest statistics show that there are 18,000 outlets around the world.

Enam was complaining that Indian restaurants are unable to recruit non-South Asian chefs to prepare curries because they lack the skills. This is in contrast to Thai restaurateurs who, long suffering from a shortage of chefs, have trained foreigners to cook Thai dishes. Thai chefs can be very expensive.

One can easily spot Mexican, Filipino or Indian chefs who prepare sweet green curries in the US or UK. In a similar vein, several master Japanese chefs in the two countries are from the Isaan region of Thailand.

Make no mistake, while globalisation has created globalised tastes and standard menus for tourists from around the world, the desire to taste genuine dishes made by native chefs has also increased accordingly. The number of restaurants boasting ethnic tastes is mushrooming in Europe, the US and Australia.

These days, clients are willing to pay more money for real and natural ingredients instead of replacements, which are often the norm in dishes cooked far from their place of origin. In fact, it is a common trend in the culinary world for natives to be hired as chefs in order to ensure that fresh and correct ingredients are used in meals, and that is the way to go.

Therefore, curry nations must unite and fight for their right to have their chefs cross borders to serve clients and tourists their delicious spicy dishes. It is quite ironic that the authorities in the UK are keen to kill this golden goose.

Kavi Chongkittavorn

The Nation