0:00:06 > 0:00:08WEST INDIAN RAP PLAYS
0:00:19 > 0:00:24Now here's a statement of fact - Britain loves ethnic food,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27from kormas to kebabs, from Korean to Mexican,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30the Brits have taken world cuisine to their heart...
0:00:31 > 0:00:34..with one massive exception.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35PHONE RINGS
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Hello. Misery's West Indian Restaurant.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43My name is Rodney P
0:00:43 > 0:00:47and I must show you a delicious food culture that's right here
0:00:47 > 0:00:51under your noses in the UK, but which most Brits are missing out on.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Curry mutton, which everybody knows about curry mutton,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58curry chicken, brown stew chicken, oxtail, mannish water,
0:00:58 > 0:01:03traditional jerk chicken, yam, banana, ackee and saltfish.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05I'm a chicken dumpling man.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08And we call it hard food for a hard-working man.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Every year, at the Notting Hill Carnival, Brits go through
0:01:11 > 0:01:13jerk chicken and curry goat and rice
0:01:13 > 0:01:15like it's going out of fashion, but then...
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Now, either of you guys ever eat any West Indian food?
0:01:21 > 0:01:22Erm...
0:01:22 > 0:01:24- I've never heard it before. - Not often.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26We'd love to if there was a takeaway round here.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28When was the last time you had a takeaway and what was it?
0:01:28 > 0:01:30- Burger King. - Fish and chips.
0:01:30 > 0:01:31South Indian curry.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33- Oh, it was actually pizza. - Very rarely.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35- Pizza. - The Spice Village in Tooting.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37- OK, so you like Indian takeaways? - Indian curries.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42So, why hasn't the ethnic-food-loving Great British public taken to
0:01:42 > 0:01:45curry goat and rice or ackee and saltfish in the same way
0:01:45 > 0:01:48that they have to baltis, kormas and kebabs.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51'Is this a genuine multicultural mystery?
0:01:51 > 0:01:53'I decided to put that question
0:01:53 > 0:01:55'to writer and food connoisseur Adam Coghlan.'
0:01:55 > 0:01:59So...so, Adam, tell me, I know you're a foodie guy.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01You love food, you write about food -
0:02:01 > 0:02:04why do you think it is that the British public
0:02:04 > 0:02:07ain't caught on to West Indian and Caribbean food in the same way
0:02:07 > 0:02:10they've caught on to, say, Indian and Chinese?
0:02:10 > 0:02:11Chicken tikka masala
0:02:11 > 0:02:13- isn't eaten in India. - Right.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17I mean, it's a Westernised, dumbed-down version of what might be
0:02:17 > 0:02:21eaten in India and, similarly, sweet and sour chicken, you know, that...
0:02:21 > 0:02:22I'm not sure that's enjoyed by...
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- Right. - ..people from Shanghai to Beijing.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27And there isn't really a Western version
0:02:27 > 0:02:30of curry goat and rice or jerk chicken.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Perhaps to get them to try it in the first place,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35it might need to be a dumbed-down version of the authentic thing.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37All right, so you're saying, going for the mass appeal,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39maybe we should sweeten the pill
0:02:39 > 0:02:42a little bit for, you know, the uninitiated.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44All right, so tell me what the Caribbean takeaways
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and Caribbean restaurants are missing out on.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49I know, that, like, eating out and takeaway food
0:02:49 > 0:02:52- is big business in Britain. - Yeah, I mean,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54I think the British... the takeaway industry in Britain
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- is about £30 billion. - Say again?
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Yeah, big money, 30 billion and I think the average Brit spends
0:03:01 > 0:03:07over £1,000 a year just on takeaway, so it's a huge market.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08Can I have a samosa, please?
0:03:08 > 0:03:10"Some more, sir?"
0:03:10 > 0:03:11LAUGHTER
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Ya nuh even order yet and ya want some more, sir?
0:03:14 > 0:03:16LAUGHTER
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Do you sell... Do you sell chapatis?
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Chips with patty?
0:03:20 > 0:03:21LAUGHTER
0:03:22 > 0:03:23Chapati.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Oh-h, cha-patty!
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- You see the patty there... - BOTH: Cha!
0:03:30 > 0:03:33'Adam might have a point about West Indian restaurants
0:03:33 > 0:03:36'needing to translate their dishes for the British palate...'
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- Hello, Rodney. - Good?
0:03:38 > 0:03:39Long time, little brother.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Yeah, man, I'm good, I'm not too bad, not too bad.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43- Still here? - Yeah, man, I'm still here, man.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47'especially given how much money people like Chris,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50'the owner of Calabash in South London, are missing out on.'
0:03:50 > 0:03:52So, what's up, man, where you been?
0:03:52 > 0:03:54All right, well, you know what? I'm thinking...
0:03:54 > 0:03:57- Uh-huh. - ..you know the takeaway industry
0:03:57 > 0:03:59in the UK is a huge
0:03:59 > 0:04:02- multibillion pound industry. - Sure.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Do you feel, like, Caribbean food
0:04:04 > 0:04:06and West Indian food is getting its fair share of the pie?
0:04:06 > 0:04:07- No. - No?
0:04:07 > 0:04:08- No. - Why not?
0:04:08 > 0:04:10How can we redress that?
0:04:10 > 0:04:12How can we get some money back home here, Chris?
0:04:12 > 0:04:14- The first thing... - Mmm?
0:04:14 > 0:04:20..that stagnant the Caribbean thing is the marketing.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22So, how do you feel in terms of marketing, then,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25say, things like the names of some of the dishes,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29things like mannish water, cow cod soup, how do you feel about maybe,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33you know, thinking of a different way of branding the dish or the meal,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35finding a new name for it, do you think that would help?
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Cos, you know, people might have issues with the title.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Ye-es, but the thing about it is,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44- what it is is what it is. - Right.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47You understand what I'm saying? So it have to be natural.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50It doesn't make sense to try to give it a different name.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55You know, we're speaking purely about taking this food to the marketplace
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and making it as successful as the competition,
0:04:58 > 0:05:02say, a chicken tikka masala or a chicken chow mein.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07Everybody cook different and that's where you have a little problem.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09- Yeah. - Do you understand what I'm saying?
0:05:09 > 0:05:14Because you will eat from that Caribbean restaurant
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and you're kind of happy,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21you go to another Caribbean restaurant and eat, you're not happy.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24So what you're saying, it's about the consistency in the recipes.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Like if you go to McDonald's, every Big Mac tastes like every Big Mac.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- Same one. - Right.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31It's just a consistence of everything.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36OK. Traditionally, you know, the Caribbean, the recipes,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38every household would put a little twist on it of their own...
0:05:38 > 0:05:40- Definitely. - ..and would bring that
0:05:40 > 0:05:42into the takeaway field, but really what we need to do
0:05:42 > 0:05:44is keep a consistent recipe across the board.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- Across the board. - Yes, I hear that, that makes sense.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49That's not something I really thought about before,
0:05:49 > 0:05:50you know, but it makes sense.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Do you have any fish soup?
0:05:54 > 0:05:56We have fish, but we're out of soup.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57LAUGHTER
0:05:57 > 0:05:59The kettle just boiled.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00RAUCOUS LAUGHTER
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- Playing devil's advocate here... - OK.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10..you know, Caribbean takeaways and restaurants have a reputation,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13shall we say, for not having the best customer service?
0:06:15 > 0:06:16- No. - No?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18- No. - You see, I'm asking you that
0:06:18 > 0:06:20as a question, not as a statement.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22I know, I know, I know, I know, I know.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24I wouldn't say yes to that at all.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27It's... To your mind, that reputation isn't deserved.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Caribbean shops, the customer service is good and we've come a long way
0:06:31 > 0:06:34from the days of little corner shacks selling some home-made food?
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Yeah, more refined. It's more refined, you know.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Is that pickup or delivery?
0:06:39 > 0:06:40Hold on.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Charlie, do you want to go delivery?
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Where there?
0:06:45 > 0:06:46Where there? LAUGHTER
0:06:48 > 0:06:49It's around the corner.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52Then why them not come and get it themselves?
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Tell them to come here. What are they thinking, am I an idiot?
0:06:56 > 0:06:58No, we're not doing deliveries today.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04'The reputation for bad service might be undeserved,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07'but it seems like we could use a few new ideas to bring the punters in.'
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Someone once described food and music to me as the two great levellers,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13so if anybody...
0:07:13 > 0:07:15You give anybody a good plate of food,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18they will instinctively react in a certain way, as they will
0:07:18 > 0:07:21if they hear a great tune, you know, they'll start tapping their foot.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22- OK. - It's the same sort of thing.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26So, you're saying a good way to sell the Caribbean food would be a patty,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28a Red Stripe and a little bit of Bob Marley?
0:07:28 > 0:07:31- Yeah? - That may be one way, yeah.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Turn up the volume, yeah.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Indeed, indeed, pump it loud. I hear you, brother.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41'Yeah, that's not a bad thought and one place is doing just that,
0:07:41 > 0:07:45'using music to get a whole new clientele into Caribbean food.'
0:07:45 > 0:07:47So this place, Dub Jam,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51is like a gateway into the world of Caribbean and West Indian food.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly that. I mean, for us, it's the holy trinity.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59For us, it's about mixing the music with the rum with the food.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01So, do you feel like there's a real movement at the moment...
0:08:01 > 0:08:04- Yeah. - ..that is pushing West Indian food
0:08:04 > 0:08:05into some new directions?
0:08:05 > 0:08:08It's been made more accessible and I think once that unlocked,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11people will sit and realise what is out there and hopefully,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13hopefully, you know, spread the love.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Is it authentic Jamaican food, like, is it authentic jerk chicken,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- or is it, like, a UK version? - It's... It's a UK version.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- Right. - I can't claim to be authentic.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Actually, I've been surprised at how much support I've got
0:08:27 > 0:08:28from the Caribbean community,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31- to be quite honest with you, and... - Surprised, why?
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Surprised, because I was a little bit worried
0:08:34 > 0:08:36when I was entering the market, I was a little bit worried that,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38you know, there might be a few cynics out there
0:08:38 > 0:08:41that would think I'm just trying to replicate something
0:08:41 > 0:08:43- and do the food a disservice... - Right.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46..whereas me, it was, like, what was so imperative
0:08:46 > 0:08:49was working on the quality of what I was getting out and making sure
0:08:49 > 0:08:53that I was pushing across the image and the culture in a positive way,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56despite not necessarily being Jamaican.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58I know I'm not Jamaican, I know I'm not from the Caribbean,
0:08:58 > 0:08:59- but for me... - You can be English
0:08:59 > 0:09:02and cook French food and the French can cook Italian food,
0:09:02 > 0:09:03- so we'll give you that. - Thank you.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05You know what? I've noticed
0:09:05 > 0:09:06- while we've been sitting here... - Yep.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08..you've got a big speaker rack,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10reminds me of a sound system in Jamaica...
0:09:10 > 0:09:12- Yeah. - ..but you've got a tap on the end.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14That's for our reggae-infused rum punch.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19We batch-make it, we then send it up into the sound system.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21It then goes round the sound system,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24but then it goes into a chamber where it runs over a speaker.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27It then gets hit by a load of bass where it's then bass filtered
0:09:27 > 0:09:30and then it comes out down the pipe
0:09:30 > 0:09:32- and we pour it into your can. - OK.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34One of the biggest issues we have is when people come in
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and say, "How come this rum punch tastes different from the other?"
0:09:37 > 0:09:39The obvious answer is, "It's a different song."
0:09:39 > 0:09:42The last one was lovers rock and this one's a dub play.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- Exactly, exactly, exactly. - OK, I hear you, brother.
0:09:45 > 0:09:46- I hear you, that's cool. - Yeah.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49So, some people are making moves
0:09:49 > 0:09:53and hopefully it won't be too long before curry goat and rice
0:09:53 > 0:09:56rivals chicken tikka masala as the nation's favourite dish.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59And you don't have to wait for no high-end restaurant
0:09:59 > 0:10:02or even for your next trip to Notting Hill,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06cos, remember, Caribbean food is not just for carnival,
0:10:06 > 0:10:07it's for life.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10# Hey, fatty bum bum
0:10:11 > 0:10:13# A sweet sugar dumpling
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Hey, fatty bum bum
0:10:18 > 0:10:20# Let me tell you something
0:10:21 > 0:10:25# No, not because you're so big and fat
0:10:25 > 0:10:28# Don't believe I'm afraid of that
0:10:28 > 0:10:32# Selfless is no recommendation
0:10:32 > 0:10:35# I'm looking for creation. #