Why Anglo-Indian?
In India there is no such thing as 'Indian' food. There is merely a dizzying network of practices, raw materials, religous restrictions, fuel choices, class restrictions, market forces and imperial struggles. India, with a population of a billion people, 15 languages, five major faiths and an area the size of Europe, cannot be said to have a 'national' cuisine. But don't despair, there is 'Indian' food in Britain and it is very much our national cuisine. From Land's End to John o' Groats there are curryhouses even in the smallest villages. Just as an Venetian dropped in the heart of Carroll Gardens might despair at what is called Italian food, a Mumbian might wonder exactly what we were up to.
Our home town of London has had 'Curry' for over 150 years.These original curryhouses were clustered around the dock area in the East End of London, their second wave moved up to the Warren Street area of Central London. It was here that a integral part of the British curry history was created. Newcomers looking to decorate their new restaurants went to the local wallpaper manufacturer, Arthur Sanderson & Sons Ltd, whose special ranges included 'flock' wallpapers. Hence the seemingly obligatory red flock walls.
Curry houses soon moved across the country taking the style with them. Curry now outsells even fish and chips. Simply put, it's Britain's 'national cuisine.'
About Us
The CURRYSOURCE philosophy is to provide simplicity, quality, and care. Variety may be the spice of life, but we find that there is simply too much 'choice.' So with simplicity in mind, we prefer to focus on quality rather than range. Our mark of quality is that we would feed this to our kid, happily. It's got no additives, minimal amounts of raw sugar, and fresh spices. You could cook these dishes if you had a cupboard full of fresh spices, several hours and an 800-degree oven.
We make four different curries chosen to offer the most variety in the smallest range. If you have a particular favorite please tell us and we will see if we can offer it as a 'guest' curry.
Finally, care, we believe self interest is a great motivator. So we started this business to fulfil personal need. We love this stuff and don't see why you shouldn't too.
New British Food
For many years British food has been the butt of too many jokes. Lazy food writers have seen British food as an easy mark. Two World Wars and an overzealous government food policy had almost destroyed British regional cuisine. Local fisheries were abandoned to the French and Spanish in favour of bountiful supplies of deep-sea cod and haddock. European subsides made it more economic to produce sugarbeet than anything else. The food in Britain was generally recognised to be awful.
But in recent years there has been a renaissance in the British food industry. The supermarkets have helped improve the quality and variety of foods available. London now competes on the same stage as Paris and has many multi-starred restaurants. Chefs from all over the world come to Britain to hone their craft. Regional producers have been rediscovered and new manufacturers have opened up in all corners of the Isles. The recent scares of 'mad cow' and 'foot and mouth' have awakened the sleeping giant of popular opinion and it is now virtually impossible to sell GM foods in Britain. The British are tired of having their food 'mucked about with.' In 2002, the U.K. organic market was worth $1.6 billion. We at CURRYSOURCE believe that it is the duty of everybody who can afford to eat better to do so. Increased demand for organic foods will drive down prices and make good quality food available to more people. We at CURRYSOURCE realize that we charge premium prices. But we try to produce the best food we can, not the cheapest.
So come and try some new British food and perhaps sample some of those strange things Brits like to eat: Marmite, piccalilli, oatcakes and shortbread from Scotland, bramley apple juice from Suffolk, baked beans from Heinz.
You never know, you might like them.
