Oli Khan

MBE, FRSA, PHF
Born
অলি খান

28 November 1973
Rajnagar, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh
NationalityBangladeshi
British
Culinary career
Cooking styleIndian/Bangladeshi cuisine
Fusion cuisine
Current restaurant(s)
    • Surma Takeaway
    • Spice Rouge
Award(s) won
    • MBE
    • BCA Caterer of the Year (2015)[1]

Oli Khan MBE,[2] FRSA[3] (Bengali: অলি খান) is a British-Bangladeshi chef and restaurateur. Khan operates the restaurants Surma Takeaway and Spice Rouge in Stevenage.[4][5][6]

Khan and the team of Surma Takeaway Stevenage hold the Guinness World Record for cooking the largest onion bhaji.[7] He received his MBE (Member of the British Empire) title at the Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020.[8]

Early life

Khan grew up in the Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Rajnagar region of northeastern Bangladesh. He moved to the UK with his mother and siblings to join his father in late 1980s.[9] His father Late Alhaj Ayub Ali Khan was an businessman and runs several family business of curry houses in Kent, in Bedfordshire and in London.[6]

Career

Oli Khan Meeting Price Charles III
Khan receiving his MBE from King Charles III

Khan opened his first restaurant, Tandoori Knight, at the age of 17.[9] At the age of 23, he opened Kismet, his first curry house, with his brother-in-law in Linlithgow in 1995.[6] Khan sold Kismet and moved south of Linlithgow after his father's death from cancer.[6]

Khan eventually became the owner of some curry houses in Stevenage and Luton.[6] Surma Takeaway was opened in 2002.[10] Stopsley Surma was also opened, and Spice Rouge, which was formerly the White Hart pub until Khan bought and converted it into a curry house in 2010.[5]

Khan served as the BCA's Senior Vice President and Secretary General at different points in his career.[2] He has also held the positions of London Regional President and Director of the UKBCCI.[11]

Prior to the UK's withdrawal from the EU, Khan spoke to several media outlets such as CNN,[12] Al Jazeera,[13] The Independent,[14] and the Wall Street Journal[15] about the crisis faced by British curry houses and the potential effects of Brexit on the curry industry.

In February 2020, Khan and his team at Surma Takeaway also broke the Guinness World Record for largest onion bhaji.[16] It weighed 175.48 kg (386 lb 13.8 oz).[17]

Khan previously served as the Senior Vice President and as the Secretary General of the Bangladesh Caterers Association UK.[18][13]

Khan has participated in the British Curry Festival in Bangladesh and India.[2] He has been nicknamed the "Curry King" by various media outlets.[19]

Khan has written for publications such as The Guardian[20] and Society Today.[21]

Philanthropy

In 2020, when Khan won the Guinness World Record, for the largest onion bhaji, it was used to feed more than 500 people, including 300 homeless people in London and the proceeds from the event were donated to the East London Mosque Trust.[17][22]

In 2022, he donated dried food to around 2,000 people in his hometown of Rainager in Bangladesh during Ramadan.[23]

Awards

At the Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020, Khan was awarded with MBE honours for his services to the hospitality industry and his charity efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK and abroad.[24]

Affiliations

Khan is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).[3] and is President of the Bangladesh Caterers Association UK.[25]

References

  1. ^ "BCA Caterer of the Year 2010 nominees announced". bighospitality.co.uk.
  2. ^ a b c "Chef Oli Khan awarded MBE". November 24, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Sarkar, Smita (April 30, 2020). "Lockdown Diaries: Oli Khan's Surma Takeaway to distribute thousands of free hot meals to frontline workers in the UK".
  4. ^ Pritchard, Oliver (August 28, 2015). "Stevenage chef says new rules are a 'recipe for disaster' for curry houses". The Comet.
  5. ^ a b Moore, Malcolm (January 8, 2016). "The great British curry crisis". Financial Times.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Who killed the curry house? | Bee Wilson". the Guardian. January 12, 2017.
  7. ^ Reynolds, Charlie (May 20, 2020). "All the incredible world records that have been achieved in Herts". HertsLive.
  8. ^ Brewis, Harriet (October 9, 2020). "The Queen's Birthday Honours list 2020 in full". www.standard.co.uk.
  9. ^ a b Curry Life.
  10. ^ "Oli Khan Wins Major Curry Life Award". www.ukbcci.org.uk.
  11. ^ "Oli Khan – UKBCCI Director creates new world record with his team". www.ukbcci.org.uk.
  12. ^ "Britain's curry chefs spice up Brexit immigration debate". CNN. 11 June 2016.
  13. ^ a b Shackle, Samira. "British taste for curry has changed, but appetite remains strong". www.aljazeera.com.
  14. ^ "Half of Britain's curry houses risk being shut in the next decade". The Independent. February 23, 2017.
  15. ^ Chaudhuri, Saabira (June 2, 2016). "U.K. Curry Industry Battles for 'Brexit' as EU Debate Gets Spicy". Wall Street Journal – via www.wsj.com.
  16. ^ "Largest onion bhaji". Guinness World Records.
  17. ^ a b "Bhaji for UK homeless".
  18. ^ "Naan starter: UK curry restaurants feel betrayed by Brexit". 31 March 2017.
  19. ^ "Luxury Hospitality Magazine October 2015 by Lapthorn Media - Issuu". issuu.com.
  20. ^ "I swallowed the Brexit lies. Now I regret telling curry house workers to vote leave | Oli Khan". the Guardian. February 15, 2019.
  21. ^ "UK's Hospitality Sector Needs a Vaccine of Hope – Society Today".
  22. ^ "Chef feeds hundreds of homeless people with world's largest onion bhaji". The Independent. February 6, 2020.
  23. ^ Kay, Jaimie (2022-02-14). "Herts chef's 2-year journey to make the world's 'largest' onion bhaji". HertsLive. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  24. ^ Barrow, Georgia (October 26, 2020). "Pride of Stevenage Awards 2020 recognises work in community throughout coronavirus pandemic". The Comet.
  25. ^ https://bca1960.com/
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