Last night Helen and Rafique’s daughter, Sarah Ali -Choudhury, appeared on BBC Inside Out as part of her mission to encourage more women to work in the British Asian Restaurant industry. According to the Office of National Statistics, less than one in five chef positions in the UK are held by women. Sarah believes strongly that women could be the answer to the Indian chef shortage within restaurants in the UK, and sees her mother as her inspiration.
The programme was presented by Sarah and included a visit to the Taj Mahal to find out how her mother Helen has been successfully, for over 30 years, cooking in the restaurant. During the programme Sarah also visited the Indian Restaurant Chillies in Weymouth, a husband and wife team who are sadly struggling to find staff to work in the kitchen, and also Manjus in Brighton. This is a small restaurant where the kitchen is run by all women – Manju who is 82 years old, with her two daughter in laws.
