From 23rd February until 29th March 2012, Rich Mix arts centre, itself situated at the top of Brick Lane, will play host to an exciting new exhibition that celebrates the unseen and unsung heroes of Brick Lane’s Curry Mile, its Curry Chefs! In 2010 and 2011, East End culture blog Spitalfields Life published a series of portraits of the curry chefs of Brick Lane, telling the stories of these award-winning chefs accompanied with vibrant images by the prolific street photographer Jeremy Freedman. And the result is a distinguished body of portraiture, recording some of leading culinary personalities of the Bengali community in Brick Lane. The exhibition’s photographs are featured in the forthcoming book, Spitalfields Life published by Saltyard Books (an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton) on 1st March 2012..

This exhibition is a celebration of these proud chefs - "working away like those engineers below deck on the great steam ships of old, they are the unseen and unsung heroes of Brick Lane’s Curry Mile." These are the previously unseen faces and untold stories that reveal the personal narratives of Spitalfields’ Bengali residents.

The exhibition comes at a time when the curry industry has captured the media spotlight. Restaurateurs’ claim the new generation of curry chefs could be at risk due to the government’s tightening of their immigration policy. However, there is no doubt about the ongoing importance of the £3.6 billion industry to the UK. According to Spice Business every week 2.5 million customers eat in one of the 10,000 restaurants employing 80,000 people.

Brick Lane Chefs and Restaurants featured in the exhibition

Abdul Tahid, Chef, Papadoms
Daras Miya, Head Chef, Cinnamon
Dayem Ahmed, Kitchen porter of six months standing and aspiring chef, Shampan
Mr Muhammed Hussiad, Chef, The Shampan
Shaiz Uddin, Head Chef and Monul Uddin, Tandoori Chef
Jamal Uddin, Chef, Bengal Cuisine
Mohammed Salik, Head Chef, Eastern Eye Balti House
Abdul Forhad, Chef, Monsoon
Zulen Achmed, Chef, Saffron
Nurul Alam, Chef, Preem
Rana Miah, Brick Lane’s longest serving Curry Chef
Kholilur Rahman, Chef,
Mizanur Khan, Chef, Aladin
Syed Jahan Mir, Chef, Chillies

Click here for more information about the chefs featured in the exhibition.

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