Curry house with one Indian chef wins two Michelin stars
A BIRMINGHAM curry house that has a single chef from India among its 15 kitchen staff has become the first in the UK to be awarded two Michelin stars.
Opheem opened in 2018, offering “progressive Indian cuisine”, and counts Michael Bublé and Gary Barlow, the singers, as regulars.
It was among six British restaurants to be given two stars at the Michelin Guide’s annual awards ceremony this week and the first in the UK’S second city. It also became the first Indian restaurant in the country to be awarded two stars, alongside Gymkhana in Mayfair, west London, which won the accolade at the same time.
Aktar Islam, the restaurant’s head chef and owner, said he does not subscribe to the notion of cultural appropriation when it comes to preparing fine food, adding that it should have nothing to do with “ethnicity” or “the colour of your skin”.
“We’ve got a very colourful team, people from various backgrounds and the only commonality is our love for food, and our love for delivering good experiences for our guests,” he said.
“We’ve always had these issues of cultural appropriation in the industry, and I’ve always argued against that.
“As long as someone is passionate about food from any part of the world, as long as they love what they’re doing, then it should be celebrated.
“There are people out there who may not be from your ethnic background who love and revere your food so much that they want to take it on board themselves and dedicate their life to it.
“It should never be something looked at in a negative light.”
Mr Islam draws inspiration from other cuisines, even shunning the traditional Indian tandoor in favour of a Japanese charcoal grill called a konro.
While Opheem reflects the “culinary heritage of the Indian subcontinent”, it also prides itself on celebrating British food. Orkney scallops and Cornish monkfish feature on its 10-course, £125-per-person tasting menu.
“All our core produce comes from independent British producers, that’s very important for us, Apart from spices, which we can’t do anything about, everything else we try to source as locally as possible.”