“Oi, Gaz, fancy a vindaloo and some Stellas at that Shah Tandoori place on Albert Street this Friday night, after Beckham bends a screamer round your keeper?” … is a typically British question. In fact, I’ll bet a mango lassi that you’ve asked a similar question.  Whether your name is Arunbhai, Aaron or Erin, if you live alone or with three generations, if you’re a broke student or Richard Branson, EVERYONE loves a curry. Today, a Friday night Indian is as British as strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, the Beatles at Abbey Road, or Jeremy Clarkson insulting minorities on Top Gear: Surely the British don’t hold racist attitudes towards Indian food?  Guruji of Immigration, Mr Nigel Farage, even claims that Britain’s adoration of Indian cuisine represents our nation’s multiculturalism. Ermm about that Nige …

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In actuality, the tale of Indian food in Britain is far darker: Attitudes towards the cuisine are marinated in racism.  The following exhibition shall explore: Racist attitudes towards the cuisine from 1810-1980s, how Indian restaurants prospered from racist attitudes between 1980s-2000s, and the positive multicultural legacy of Indian food today, questioning whether an unwanted taste of racism still lingers.

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Racist attitudes and Indian food have a love-hate relationship, like Rachel and Ross, Corbyn and Abbott, or Rahul and Simran – See Fatema Aunty, my generation have watched Shahrukh’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.  I want to make you question whether racist attitudes – and culinary responses to them - were partly why the British became a nation of ‘Curry Munchers’? If the UK’s love of Indian cuisine was built on racist attitudes, can Indian food genuinely represent British multiculturalism?