B'sharath
The Kashmir Curry House, 1970s to present day The Kashmir Curry House in 1991. At that time it was two rooms wide. Now it occupies the corner building and the top floors of what was once 'The Guiding Star' music shop have been demolished. © Picture Sheffield, Sheffield Libraries Back in the 1970's my parents, who originally came from Pakistan, bought The Cherry Pie café on Spital Hill and turned it into the first curry house on Spital Hill. It was just one room, with a pinball machine, basic tables and chairs and a kitchen at the back. No inside toilets or central heating back then! At that time I was still in my teens but I used to help out in the kitchen after school. At first the business wasn't terribly successful. It wasn't until they switched from offering daytime meals to the evening trade that things started to take off. Then we started to develop a regular clientele, filling up once the pubs and night clubs closed. The customers weren't always polite and some didn't have much appreciation of the food but we managed. Back then we used to think that £50 for a night's takings was doing well! When my parents retired, I took the business on full time and have kept the tradition of good food in simple but comfortable surroundings. I've been doing this for over twenty years. We don't have fancy table cloths or piped music but people keep coming back. Now our customers include a whole range of different types ranging from locals to students and professionals from all over the city. Extract from an interview with B'sharath, by Nikky Wilson, for the Burngreave Messenger, March 2005. |