August 27, 2013
The average Briton will spend a staggering £30,000 on Indian Cuisine in their lifetime. Widely accepted as one of the most popular culinary types in Britain, this figure will amaze the millions who do not even earn this sum of money in two years. This figure suggests that some people will spend more money in Indian Restaurants, takeaways and home cooked ingredients that they would on holidays or cars in their lifetime. This sum puts Indian Cuisine as one of the major expenses in life alongside mortgages and having children.
Since the 1500s, there has been a strong link between Indian foods and flavours and the British Isles. Importers and merchants would travel the oceans and seas to access the spices and flavours that Indian Cuisine is widely known for. In the 1900s, this fascination with Indian food increased as an influx of Indian Restaurants took over London and then the rest of the country. Today, there are thousands of Indian Restaurants in the UK.
It is estimated that on average a Briton will spend £31.44 dining in Indian and Halal Restaurants every month according to the Good Curry Guide. Over this same time period, on average we fork out £20 cooking Indian Cuisine at home.
This indicates that Indian Restaurants are one of the few industries that continue to thrive despite the recession that has hit the country so hard. It appears that that the cost-effective and simple pleasure provided by a quality Indian Restaurant is helping Britain through the hard times supplied by the recession. Pat Chapman, author of the Cobra Good Curry Guide – a comprehensive guide to the UKs top Indian Restaurants – echoes these sentiments: “There might be a recession on but that’s not going to stop people visiting quality restaurants and enjoying quality food. We hear talk all the time about the way the sector is struggling but it’s pretty clear people are still visiting their favourite restaurants.”
The guide has been published annually since 1984 when the Indian Cuisine industry was experiencing large growth. The guide has grown and grown and now includes right-ups and reviews of more than 1,000 of the country’s favourite Indian Restaurants. Large cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham feature heavily but the representation of smaller areas is noted and interesting to Chapman.
