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7th October 2012
NATIONAL CURRY WEEK STARTS TOMORROW (8-14th October)
TEN CURRY FACTS :
There would be no chilli in curry without the
Portuguese - they introduced chiles to Cochin and Calcat in India in
1501 and by 1543 three varieties were being grown successfully locally.
A style of curry powder existed in UK in
seventeenth century - often know as 'kitchen pepper' and used in
recipes since 1582 with ginger, pepper, cloves, nutmegs and cinnamon.
Chilli is the most popular spice in the world - it
can help combat heart attacks and strokes and extends blood
coagulation times preventing harmful blood clots.
If your mouth is on fire don't reach for the water
or beer - the burnbing is caused by the capsaicin in the chillies and
is only countered by caisin products such as milk or lassi.
Chillies continue to get hotter - The Trinidad
Scorpion Butch T claims to be the hottest around at 1,463,700 just
beating the Naga Viper - and to think most people consider the
hottest Tabasco a killer at 30,000 units.
We all like a curry at home - almost half of Brits
cook curries at home at least once a week and spend, on average,
£30 a month on curry supplies from supermarkets.
We are such poppadummies - in a recent survey 35%
claim to eat more than two poppadoms per person with their curry.
Curry was taken to Japan by the British in the
1870s - it is now one of the most popular dishes in Japan with people
enjoying it over 62 times a year on average.
Sorry, korma does not mean a mild creamy dish for
beginners - it actually refers to 'slow cooking or braising' and
theoretically could be mild or fiery hot.
"That will cool your Biryani down a bit"
- thus goes the line from the old lager add but the dish is actually
not fiery and was designed for the soldiers of the invading
Aurangazeb as a ready-to-eat food in times of war.
National Curry Week run from 8-14th October 2012
with the joint aims of celebrating Britain's 'national dish' and
raising much need funds for the Find Your Feet charity concentrating
of malnutrition and poverty.(www.nationalcurryweek.co.uk)
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PRESS RELEASE (4th October 2012)
CURRY - a very British word
CURRYFICATION - Definition : to impress on others
the importance, enjoyment and benefits of curry.
When Britain's first major cookbook "The Forme
of Cury" appeared in the 1390s 'cury' was the accepted word for
a cooked dish coming from the French 'cuire', so by the time English
merchants sampled their first spicy dishes in the sub-continent, the
word had been in general use for over 200 years. The
word was very similar to local words such as 'kari' and 'karahi' so
the dishes became known as curry and the curryfication of the world
had begun. In the last 400 years curry has not only become Britain's
'national dish' but spread to America, Caribbean, South Africa,
Europe, Australia, Japan and throughout Asia. In Japan curry is one
of their favourite dishes and Germany even has a museum for their
famous currywurst.
15th National Curry Week (8-14 October) will
celebrate this amazing phenomenon in restaurants, pubs, canteens and
at home whilst helping to raise much needed funds to combat
malnutrition and poverty. With over 23 million Brits enjoying curry
on a regular basis each year, organiser Peter Grove is very anxious
to reach them all with the curry message.
"With the help of our partners, I hope we have
covered all aspects at long last" says Grove. With powerful
brands such as Patak's, Asda, Fox's Spices, and Hungryhouse, National
Curry Week is reaching more and more and the inclusion of Lion beer
from Sri Lanka has helped to include the 'Curry Night' pub sector.
When asked what his hopes and aims for this year
were Grove replied "Apart from raising as much as we can for
charity, we want to get the message over to people just what the
health benefits of curry can be. Of course some dishes don't come
under this heading but the large majority with herbs and spices such
as turmeric, chilli, cumin, garlic, cinnamon and asafoetida can help
with so many ailments from the common cold to prostate cancer and dementia".
Hertfordshire County Council are so sold on the
idea that they are organising a week long project for their 50,000
students giving each of their 40 schools a theme kit to decorate
their dining room. Included in this will be a Curry Quiz which is
becoming all the rage for home parties and restaurant gatherings.
If you want to keep up to date with events and
happenings during National Curry Week visit
www.nationalcurryweek.co.uk. "Last year the event 'trended' on
Twitter led by pop star Bruno Mars," said Grove "so we need
every curry fan to tweet #supportcurry to do it again."
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PRESS RELEASE
24 September 2012
Just 2 Weeks to go for National Curry Week 2012
(8-14 October)
National Curry Week first started by focusing on
restaurants to promote "Britain's favourite dish" and raise
charitable funds for the malnourished and disaster stricken on the
sub continent. Gradually with new sponsors Patak's and S&A Foods
with Asda, the message spread to cover the dine at home fans and
still further to takeaway fans with CurriesOnline and
hungryhouse.co.uk. The only area not covered was the thousands of
pubs that run weekly Curry Nights but now, with the help of The
Publican/Morning Advertiser and new sponsors Lion from Sri Lanka with
their famous stout and lager even that will be covered.
Requests are also pouring in for free copies of the
fun National Curry Week Quiz. Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, The
Horse & Groom pub in Milcombe Oxon, Nottinghamshire Youth Service
and Folkestone College already have plans in place.and Hertfordshire
County Council will be organising a week long project for 8th - 14th
October to run in all of their Secondary Schools which will have a
total target audience of circa 50,000 students. They will offer 10
Curry Dishes that they feel would appeal to the average teenager,
promote what they are doing as a County and are going to give each of
their 40 Secondary Schools a Theme Kit to decorate their dining room
during this week.
Elsewhere celebrity chef Tipu Rahman from Tamarind
in Northampton will be attempting to break the World Poppadom Tower
record on 11the October and up and down the country the public and
restaurants will be holding special events to raise funds for charity.
There will even be fun through auction website,
Ebay, as the public can bid for Stony Stratford's Calcutta
Brasserie's Head Chef and a member of staff to cook for them and up
to five guests in their own home. Mo, proprietor at Calcutta
Brasserie said: "We know our head chef is one of the best in the
country and this is a rare opportunity to offer people in Milton
Keynes. We tried this last year and it was a great success and
completely unique experience for everyone."
"This will be the 15th year of National Curry
Week," said founder and organiser Peter Grove, "and 10th
year of Curry Capital of Britain and over the years we have managed
to have great fun whilst raising money for the needy. I hope the
curry loving public will again break all records by celebrating the
week in a restaurant, at work, at home, in the pub or even at the
sportsclub and we look forward to hearing their stories at
www.nationalcurryweek.co.uk."
17/09/12
PUB CURRY NIGHTS ARE THE MISSING INGREDIENT
8th-14th October will see the running of the 15th
National Curry Week to celebrate 'Britain's national dish' and to
raise money for the malnourished and disaster affected around the world.
Over the years the organisers have taken the event
to all corners of Britain with a curry bus, Indian jitnies and a
wealth of stunts ranging from a dress made of poppadoms to attempts
on the World Poppadom Tower record itself. Initially aimed at the
restaurant going market, the event has gradually developed to take in
the takeaway sector with the involvement of partners
hungryhouse.co.uk and the eating in sector with partners Patak's and
S&A Foods with Asda.
"However," comments organiser Peter
Grove, "we have always missed one very important sector - the
pub curry night - and it is time to correct this."
All over Britain thousands upon thousands of curry
fans descend on a local pub, often on a Thursday night, to enjoy the
special offers available on Curry Night. Most pub groups are involved
and many independents meaning there are thousands of outlets offering
this very popular service.
As well as helping curry fans to eat in
restaurants, get a takeaway or dine in, National Curry Week would
like to tell fans where they can find a pub offering a Curry Night so
commencing this year, the aim is to invite these pubs to register
with the National Curry Week website to help compile a national list
that can be promoted to curry fans as yet another way to enjoy their
favourite dish.
"We invite all pubs that run Curry Nights to
register name, address, telephone number and website if any, with a
special email groveint@aol.com so that a list can be compiled. This
will also give added benefits to the pubs themselves with things such
as curry quizzes available free of charge."
Specialist brewer Lion from Sri Lanka, famous for
their stout and lager, have joined with the other partners of
National Curry Week to ensure curry fans have authentic beers
available to enjoy if they wish.
"It is great to have fun and enjoy our
favourite food and drink during the week," concluded Grove,
"but we never forget the charitable objectives so we need to
spread the curry word wherever it will find fertile ground."
VARIOUS DATA FOR CURRY
Basic : There are approximately 9500 Indian
restaurants in UK 68% of which are owned or run by Bangladeshis.
Annual turnover for curry is around £3.5 bn and some 80,000
people are employed in the industry.
23 million people eat curry annually on a regular
basis (more than once a month.
Trade data : Morrisons says sales of spices in
the 12 months running up to September 2010 increased dramatically.
The sale of curry powder was up 169 per cent, chilli powder 144 per
cent, cinnamon sticks 80 per cent, cumin 21 per cent and coriander 13
per cent.
Market researchers TNS tracked products bought by a
panel of 25,000 shoppers and found that consumers were increasingly
flavouring dishes with spices rather than more subtle British and
Continental herbs.
They found that in the 12 weeks to September, sales of
fresh dill were down 1 per cent, fresh basil down 5 per cent, thyme
down 16 per cent and tarragon down 22 per cent.
By contrast, sales of fresh coriander and chillies
rocketed by eight per cent. Lime and lemongrass, popular in the
preparation of Thai dishes, were also up six and 13 per cent.
Trade data : CURRY nights offering customers
all-you-can-eat buffets for £5.99 have helped Whitbread in 2011
stop sales sliding at its pub restaurants.
Up to 80 of the group's Brewers Fayre outlets also run
Chinese and Mexican evenings.
The theme nights helped the firm's 380-strong pub
restaurant chain turn a 1.6% fall in sales into a 2.1% increase in
the past three months.
Event data : UK adults supposedly splash out
£1,145 a head on the spicy dish every year - an astonishing five
per cent of the average salary, according to a new study. And it's
not just feeding our hunger pangs - 20 per cent of Brits reckon it
spices up their sex lives.
General data : These sizzling stats emerged
from a poll of 3,000 hot food fans conducted by global research
company www.OnePoll.com. The research also revealed that over a third
of people admitted having physical cravings for curry and 20 per cent
confessed to getting "cranky" if deprived of their
favourite dish, facts that have been well-known in the industry for
many years.
Almost half of Brits cook curries at home at least
once a week and spend an average of £30 per month on supplies in
the supermarket.
And there's no doubting the nation's favourite main
dish - the good old Chicken Tikka Masala, which is top choice for
both men and women despite other surveys giving Korma and another
Jalfrezi top spot.
Men still tend to opt for hotter varieties like
Madras, Jalfrezi and Vindaloo, while women prefer milder dishes like Korma.
And the cravings start young - with over a quarter of
kids asking their parents for curry to go on the weekly menu.
The nation's 10 top curries:
1. Chicken Tikka Masala 2. Chicken Korma 3. Chicken
Madras 4. Lamb Rogan Josh 5. Chicken Jalfrezi 6. Chicken Balti 7.
Chicken Rogan Josh 8. Chicken Dhansak 9. Prawn Korma 10. Vegetable Balti
New Poppadum Survey 2011
Top ethnic food and drink website www.fedrest.com has
just announced the results of a survey it has been running over the
past year with its readers. The aim was to discover the number and
range of poppadums purchased by customers in Indian restaurants in Britain.
More than two poppadums 35%
Two plain 19%
Two spicy 16%
One plain 14%
More than two spicy 11%
One spicy 5%
Curry continues to be very popular and in National
Curry Week 2011 the event "trended" third in the world on
Twitter led by pop star Bruno Mars. |
