In difference there is opportunity
By developing high quality food offerings utilising ethnic cuisines and building strong business format franchises around them, Mahmoods and wok2go are two examples of the successful integration of British multiculturalism and entrepreneurialism
"A look at any of our high streets reassures me. Britain is finding opportunity and growth in difference...the UK's taste for ethnic and hybrid foods is rapidly growing."
Fully 10 per cent of the British population is foreign-born, yet the Tiber still flows calmly to the sea a prosaic shade of green. Despite 60 years of cries that the 'end is near' our nation is responding as it always does in the face of other cultures. By adopting what it likes, and turning it distinctly British in the process.
There is precedent, of course. In 1662, our King Charles II married an immigrant. A Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza arrived on our island with a host of curious, even shocking practices from her home country. For one thing she drank a bitter, stimulating infusion made with the dried leaves of foreign shrubs. One can only imagine what the pamphleteers of the day were saying. While some denounced the foreign queen's 'tea', more tried the beverage and found it to their liking. Today, a cuppa is quintessentially British, while sardines are characteristically Portuguese.
While I cannot fault some of our pundits' concerns, a look at any of our high streets reassures me. Britain is finding opportunity and growth in difference. Two recent clients of FDS-Northern are proof.
Devout Muslims will only eat foods that are permissible according to Islamic holy law. Foods that are proscribed are called Haram while those that are allowed are called Halal (which literally means 'permissible'). For meat to be halal, it must come from an animal that was alive and healthy when it was slaughtered. The animal must have been killed in a precise and humane manner as a religious dedication was made, and its blood (which is haram) must have been drained. Most people aren't aware of the ethical and health benefits of halal meats, but anyone who has tried some is struck by its taste. Halal meat is delicious.
Eating halal is relatively difficult in a non-Muslim country. Religious dedications are not the only practice absent at most slaughter houses. With most meat haram, eating out becomes a limited experience for many Muslim Britons.
Tariq Mahmood and his business partner Mahboob Hussain are typical Britons. They enjoy a good burger, pizza and barbecue chicken, and won't let small matters like "health" or "conventional wisdom" get in the way. In 2001 the Bradford-based pair opened Mahmoods , a comprehensively-branded restaurant offering a fully halal menu of Britain's fast food delights. To their surprise the restaurant was just as successful with the city's student population as it was with Bradford's Islamic population (one taste of their delicious fare and you too will be a fan).
A second Mahmoods opened in the city to keep up with demand, followed by another in Leeds, and now another in Dewsbury. With enquiries and interest coming from all corners of the UK, Mahmood and Hussain knew that franchising was the best way to meet the anticipated nationwide demand for their unique offering while maintaining an unerring commitment to quality. The franchise will not be available until Spring 2008, yet word of mouth alone has Mahmood and Hussain planning for their first franchising class. Mahmoods is a distinctly British invention. What other Western country could produce a profitable franchise based on Halal pizza and burgers?
George Leung was initiated into the rich culinary traditions of China at an early age. His father was a star chef in Liverpool's Chinatown and the owner of five successful restaurants. Reared in his father's kitchens, George was cooking alongside master chefs by the age of 11 and a star chef in his own right by 21. Following in his father's footsteps he opened a series of wildly popular restaurants, but refused to stop there.
Hoping to popularise the authentic flavours of true Chinese cooking, George created wok2go. A health-oriented take-away with high quality standards, wok2go systematised elaborate recipes so that anyone could prepare authentic, fresh and healthy Asian dishes. The tremendous success of wok2go made franchising the most logical way to manage its rapid expansion. Today, Britons are not only eating good Asian food, they are making it, regardless of where they were born. We love good Asian food and we not only found a way to enjoy it, but to make it a profitable business too. Nothing could be more British.
I'd love to buy some of our noisier pundits a burger at Mahmoods and then take them around to meet any one of wok2go's many successful franchise owners. The rivers are foaming all right - but with opportunity and profit.
The UK's taste for ethnic and hybrid foods is rapidly growing. If your restaurant or take-away is riding the wave, contact me without delay. You may be sitting on the next British national dish.
