What a curry on.
Could Scotland’s other national dish be off the menu?
In an argie bhaji over a skills shortage, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP Lesley Laird has pledged her support to a campaign to stem Scotland’s “curry crisis”.
She met dozens of restaurateurs at Cowdenbeath’s Shimla Palace to discuss a chef shortage across Scotland’s Asian restaurant sector.
Campaign leader Hans Raj Ram, the chief executive of recruitment company Goldstar Chefs, warned a third of 4,000 curry houses across the UK are in danger of closing.
Restaurant owners are claiming a lack of skilled chefs in the UK left them with naan other option but to recruit from outside the EU.
It is said the the crisis is being fuelled by Home Office rules which state skilled non-EU chefs require to be paid a prohibitively high salary of around £30,000 a year.
In addition, a clause prevents professional non-EU chefs working in UK restaurants which offer takeaway, buffet or banqueting services.
The Labour MP said restaurateurs across the country were over-worked and more likely to suffer physical and mental health problems by trying to run their business with too few staff.
With the migration advisory committee, which set up the rules in 2011, reviewing evidence, she said this was a window to effect a change, but it would rely upon the concerted approach of restaurateurs, customers and the supply chain.
“This is a skills issue which is resulting in the closure of many curry houses up and down the country and if not resolved quickly will result in many more closing their doors.”
Fife Council economy spokesman, Labour councillor Altany Craik added: “These curry houses are part and parcel of our local communities.
“Fife Council employability service will reach out to support businesses in the short term but in the longer term a change to the Home Office rules are required if we are to prevent curry houses from closing on our High Streets.”
Thanking Shimla Palace owner Kashmiram Bhandari for his hospitality, Lesley said: “The food was delicious, amply illustrating the skill and experience needed to create complex Asian cuisine.
“The choice to become a chef is often a vocational one and a lifestyle one because of the long, unsociable hours.
“And let’s not forget — if a restaurant serves up fantastic food, customers return, the business grows and the economy benefits as a result.”
