34LimitedEditionEssex
By CLAIRE
BORLEY
M
ANY a chef has dreams
of owning his own
restaurant. But Shiraj
Choudhuray is also a businessman
who relishes the time he spends
cooking in the kitchen.
He has managed to achieve his
aim of becoming a chef while, at
the same time, running his
own restaurant.
And he is succeeding in both
with business partner Razak Amin,
judging by the popularity of the
Little India restaurant in
Little Maplestead.
Was he not daunted at the
prospect of opening an Indian
restaurant in the heart of the
Essex countryside � the middle of
nowhere, according to some
restaurateurs?
"Not at all," responds Shiraj."It is
the middle of everywhere � of
villages and towns and on a
good route between Halstead
and Sudbury."
And Shiraj's reputation spreads
far and wide, even attracting
customers who have eaten at the
family restaurant,Aroma Spice, in
Hampstead, where he was
previously chef.
It is perhaps appropriate that this
restaurant, catering for the English
demand for Indian food, is on the
site of a former British traditional
venue � a roadside pub. The stylish
interior and presentation of
food is definitely contemporary,
although the dishes
cover an extensive range of Indian
food.
Shiraj points out Indian
restaurants mainly serve
food from the Indian sub-
continent, rather than just the
country of India.
"Most Indian restaurants in
England are actually Bangladeshi,"
explains Shiraj.
His menu includes dishes from
Persia (now Iran), Goa, Nepal and
many regions of India, as well as
his native Bangladesh.
He has even created his own
style of Tawa dishes, which use a
special combination of spices and
herbs for food served on a
sizzling plate.
It was Shiraj's love of creating
dishes that led him from the front
of house to the kitchens.
He has worked in several Indian
restaurants, starting when he left
school to run an Indian takeway
owned by his father in Newcastle.
"But I would keep going into the
kitchen and telling the chefs what I
thought of the food and helping
out," recalls Shiraj.
Shiraj has been a chef for the
past 15 years. He has had no
formal training, but he has learnt
is booming
Restaurant business
Lip smacking � Shiraj's Massli Jhal dish
Takeaway worker Shiraj Choudhuray couldn't keep out of
the kitchen, so he became a chef � and never looked back

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