Tamarind

 

Tamarind

VO
London's restaurants serve a multitude of different cuisines, but what Londoners really want to eat is curry. Michelin-starred restaurant Tamarind has a modern spin on authentic Indian dining, which is how it changed the perception of Indian cuisine in London today.

IV Alfred Prasad (AP)
The perception of Indian food about ten years ago used to be that it's a cheap curry, it's a cheap meal, five quid, a dinner and a bear, and the way the perception has changed, it's been more acceptable for people to pay higher prices at high end Indian restaurants. Tamarind has been around for ten years now - we've just completed a decade of high end Indian dining. As the Michelin stars grow, I think the perception of high end Indian food and the fact that it can be expensive and can be in a very nice setting, people are willing to pay that money. Gordon Ramsey has said that he feels Indian food has been taken for granted for quite some time now, and I agree with him on that front. I think what Gordon was implying is that Indian food is not as simple as it's made out to be at your average curry house, but it's very fine quality food, and needs a lot of skill and expertise.

VOX
Yeah, I think the perception of Indian food has changed over the last few years. More and more of these restaurants, people are seeing it now, as actually the quality of the food and what goes into it as much as just something to have to eat on a night out.

AP
I think Indian food is popular not only in London but also all over, simply because the ingrediants have this feeling of goodness about it. Indian food, most spices such as chili powders used in almost every curry that you have, they do release feel good hormones, and it's not surprising that people get addicted, as we speak, to a curry. I've been now in London for five years, and I find it the best place for an Indian chef at the moment. Indian food is so widely accepted, so popular, and it's absolutely a craze.