LONDON – Can a Brit cook ‘dal tadka’ or ‘murg masala’ to the same taste as any Indian cook? Many British lovers of Indian food certainly can, but now the David Cameron government wants to launch a college to teach Indian cooking to UK citizens so that they get jobs in the 3 billion pounds Indian food industry.
The fact is that many restaurants offering Indian food are closing because of the virtual Home Office ban on hiring cooks from the Indian sub-continent, while there are millions of unemployed Britons, who could be absorbed in restaurants with the right training.
Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, wants to set up the “curry college” to teach the secrets of Indian cooking.
The college is also intended to be a showpiece of the government’s strategy towards integration among communities in Britain.
The proposal, as reported by ‘The Guardian’ daily, has evoked mixed reactions – some have welcomed the idea, while many think it is something of a joke.
It is yet to be approved by Prime Minister David Cameron.
But serious it is, and is in line with the Conservative Party’s policy to cut immigration numbers in a way that Britain does “not need to attract people to do jobs that could be carried out by British citizens, given the right training and support”.
In Pickles’ proposal, the “curry college” scheme reportedly falls under the heading of “increasing social mobility”.
