09-10-675-Steph:SOCIETE 12/02/14 9:31 Page 9

Giving up the gosht

THE ECONOMIST

Giving up the gosht La dispartition progressive des restaurants de

(gosht plat indien, jeu de mot avec to give, gave, given up the ghost rendre l’âme)

tiny minuscule / icy glacial / remoteness éloi- gnement, isolement / to boast s’enorgueillir de posséder, se prévaloir de / bulwark rem- part / heavily fortement, largement / to toil travailler dur, trimer / habit habitude / to add up to représenter, signifier / trouble dif- ficultés.

2. following à la suite de / to cut, cut, cut back on réduire / eating out sorties au res- taurant / to order commander / takeaway repas à emporter / to struggle être en proie aux difficultés / to swap échanger / ready

i A waiter at the fashionable Namaste Indian restaurant serves up lunch. (REUTERS) meal plat préparé / poppadum petite galette he curry house is a British institu- even the takeaway trade is struggling. A de farine de lentilles frite souvent servie en tion. Every town has at least one. Bal- quarter of curry-lovers say they have apéritif. T later, a tiny village in the icy re- swapped restaurant meals or takeaways moteness of northern , boasts for supermarket ready meals. Spending 3. casual informel, décontracté / to miss man- two. It is also the economic bulwark of on poppadums rose by 40% between 2009 quer, rater, ici ne pas suivre / trend tendance, mode / eatery restaurant / to focus on se a community. Bangladeshis run most of and 2013, according to Kantar World- concentrer sur / diner client (d’un restaurant) the country’s Indian restaurants, and they panel, a research firm. / rushed (gens) pressé(s) / monied (gens) depend heavily on the trade. Fully 42% of aisé(s) / to appeal to plaire à / working-age Bangladeshi men toil in Casual dining restaurants. But changes in eating habits, 3. Indian restaurants have missed the immigration rules and growing aspira- trend for casual dining, says Helena tions add up to trouble for the industry. Spicer, an analyst at Mintel, another mar- 2. Following the financial crisis, people ket researcher. Other eateries focus on cut back on eating out but ordered more particular groups of diners—the rushed, takeaways, says Oli Khan, a Bangladeshi the monied—but curry houses try to ap- who owns four establishments. Now peal to everyone. Rising food and gas h 09-10-675-Steph:SOCIETE 12/02/14 9:31 Page 10

bills are eating into profits. Most are in- bill facture / to eat, ate, eaten into entamer, dependent so reap none of the benefits grignoter, réduire / to reap the benefits recueillir les fruits, les bénéfices / economies of economies of scale. Nor can they run of scale économies d’échelle. big marketing campaigns.

4. to soar grimper en flèche, augmenter consi- dérablement / gold dust denrée rare / foun- der fondateur / award prix / occupation Fully 42% of working-age métier, profession / shortage pénurie, ici recherché / to demand exiger / to rule out Bangladeshi men toil in exclure. restaurants. 5. skill compétence, qualification / to reckon estimer, penser / native ici Britannique / tikka masala sauce douce à base de yaourt et noi- settes / reluctant réticent, peu disposé / trai- 4. And staff costs are soaring. “Chefs have ning formation / apprenticeship (contrat become like gold dust,” says Enam Ali, d’)apprentissage / so far jusqu’à présent / posh chic / traineeship stage / Briton Bri- a restaurateur and founder of the British tannique / to apply postuler. Curry Awards. Importing them has been made difficult. Visa rules mean chefs 6. to fill the gap combler le vide/manque / performance résultats / steadily constam- must speak English and earn at least ment, régulièrement / to improve s’améliorer £20,300 ($32,500) a year. On Caterer.com, / to outperform surpasser, faire mieux que a recruitment site for the hospitality in- / GCSE = General Certificate of Secondary Education premier examen de fin de scola- dustry, salaries for chefs with three years’ rité en Grande-Bretagne (équivalent du BEPC) experience specialising in Indian food / lawyer avocat / too bad dommage. start at £13,500. Chefs are on the gov- SAKE DEAN MAHOMED ernment’s “occupation shortage” list, but fixture élément fixe, ici pilier / high street only if the job demands five years’ expe- rue principale, commerces du centre ville / rience, pays at least £29,570 and is not in Muslim musulman / gentry petite noblesse / Georgian de l’époque géorgienne (début an establishment which provides a take- XXème) / taste goût, ici expérience / spicy away service. That rules out most curry épicé / Blitz campagne de bombardements houses. contre le Royaume-Uni (sept 1940-mai 1941) / to sow the seeds semer, planter les germes (de), initier. Skills 5. Some reckon the answer is teach- ing natives to cook chicken tikka masala. But they are reluctant. The Hospitality Guild runs six-week training courses at Sake Dean Mahomed three colleges that lead to year-long ap- prenticeships. So far just 15 people have Almost 200 years before the Indian gone on to apprenticeships, not all as restaurant became a fixture on the chefs. Ranjit Mathrani, who runs several British high street, Mahomed, a Mus- posh Indian restaurants and a small chain lim soldier, founded the first curry es- of cheaper ones, offers traineeships. Not tablishment in Britain, the Hindoostane Coffee House in Portman Square, Lon- a single white Briton has applied. don. It gave the gentry of Georgian Eng- 6. Nor are young British Asians filling the land their first taste of spicy dishes. By gap. Although still huge, the proportion 1939, there were six Indian restaurants of Bangladeshi men who work in restau- in Britain, but Indians arriving to help rants is falling: in 2004 it was 55%. The with the rebuilding of after the young know that they can do better. Their Blitz sowed the seeds of their obsession. performance at school is steadily im- proving: in 2011 they outperformed whites, getting more good GCSEs, the ex- ams normally taken at 16. They want to Découvrez le reportage vidéo become journalists and lawyers, says Mr sur le site www.vocable.fr et Ali, not chefs. Good for Bangladeshis. Too testez votre compréhension bad for British curry-lovers. ●