Curry with a conscience as Royston Poppy Appeal gets support from Safwaan during National Curry Week

A young Royston takeaway owner is celebrating National Curry Week by supporting a British armed forces charity.

Safwaan Choudhury, who runs Royston Tandoori in George Lane along with food director Mahbubur Rahman and operations director Syed Miah, has pledged to donate £1 from every order to the Poppy Appeal, as part of his ‘commitment to innovation’.

He said: “National Curry Week – which began on Monday – is an initiative to raise awareness of the issues faced nationwide by the curry industry and in turn raise money for charity.

“It is a very much restaurant-oriented initiative and mostly celebrated in London.

“So sticking to my pledge of innovation, I am going to make use of the project as one of the only takeaways nationwide and the only place locally to celebrate National Curry Week.

“As opposed to raising money for Asian charities – which I intend to do in the future – I have decided to support the Poppy Appeal.”

National Curry Week helps raise funds for the world’s victims of disasters, tackling poverty and suffering.

National Curry Week also gives an opportunity to reflect on the state of the British curry industry. Restaurants across the UK are struggling and fast disappearing. According to research by Cobra Beer, two curry restaurants are closing each week.

Safwaan said: “One of the largest barriers on the curry industry is a major shortage in skilled workforce. The new generation of the British Bangladeshi community are either moving to other fields or lack the skills and attention required in this particular sector of hospitality.

“Many are avoiding the careers of their predecessors like the plague.”