Brick Lane curry houses could ‘go bust’ due to net zero push
The drive to reach net zero has transformed the way most Brits live. But when Brick Lane restaurant owner Guljar Khan opened his first curry house with his brother more than two decades ago, he never imagined that it might one day change the way tandoori chicken is cooked.
Khan has seen his mini empire of 12 restaurants slim down to six due to rising costs. He strikes a particularly despondent tone when asked about how he views the future of the UK’s curry industry.
“I don’t think this industry is going to last that long,” he told City AM.
Should net zero policies recommended by the influential climate change committee (CCC) come into effect, curry houses on Brick Lane fear curry dishes will lose their crisp flavours, costs will mount up and their place within London’s cultural tapestry will be lost.
A report published by the independent body of net zero advisers earlier this year suggested that gas cookers should be phased out as “alternatives” were “readily available.”
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has not adopted the recommendation but further updates on the government’s approach with respect to the use of fossil fuels across households and businesses is expected to be fleshed out over the course of this year.
But the idea of such a net zero policy being put forward has alarmed the head of the Bangladesh Caterers Association, Oli Khan.
Khan has set out on a mission to alert local businesses, warning them to be alert to changes given his recent experiences in dealing with the government.
The UK catering leader attended a meeting with small businesses minister Gareth Thomas in the lead-up to the Spring Statement and has since lost trust in Labour.
A policy to phase out gas cookers would be “disgraceful”, he told City AM, as it would put iconic tandoori ovens used by South Asian restaurants at risk of getting eliminated from the market – and from restaurants.
“Replacing the old way of the tandoori oven is really, really difficult for the people within the industry,” he said.
Net zero is ‘not feasible’
For the most part, curry houses have already transitioned away from coal and into gas. But the next phase of change, prompted by a renewed push to hit net zero targets, could put many of the 12,000 curry houses across the UK under threat.
“It’s not feasible, because you’ve taken a lot of money to change all this. A lot of businesses are already struggling.
“This is a tough time, and if the government puts more pressure on us by doing this, a lot of businesses will go bust.”
As new properties are increasingly fitted with electric hobs as part of the government’s push to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels, chefs and restaurants fear the effects on businesses will not be seen only through results in the wider UK economy but in taste too.
Guljar Khan, who owns Masala Restaurant on Brick Lane, said the change over to electricity would lessen the “authenticity” of Indian and other South Asian restaurants.
“We need flames- live fire,” he explained. “If you go electric, curry is not as tasty.”
Net zero secretary Ed Miliband has faced intense pressure to ease policies and avoid slapping businesses with extra costs to deal with.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s intervention on the small effect costly net zero policies have could influence Keir Starmer and Miliband’s decision-making. An industrial strategy, which is expected to be rolled out within weeks, could set out plans on how energy prices across Britain could be lowered, given that they are more than double that seen in the US.
A spending review this June could also offer small businesses some much-needed support.
A government spokesperson rejected claims that net zero policies were putting UK curry houses under threat and said there were no plans to phase out the use of cookers running on fossil fuels.
“Curry houses can continue to use coal ovens under our plans,” the spokesperson said.
“We are making the UK a clean energy superpower to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets controlled by dictators and replace that with clean homegrown power we control.
“We will also reform business rates to level the playing field on our high streets, recognising small local businesses are the thriving hubs of prosperous, vibrant British communities.”
But businesses lined up Brick Lane are far from hopeful that the ‘90s “golden era” for Indian and South Asian food will return.
“It’s a dying industry,” Masala restaurant owner Khan said. “[The government] don’t give two monkeys about it.”