Heavenly fare at Bengal Paradise

 On the A1000 somewhere between Potters Bar and Hatfield, earth bound diners can find a taste of heaven. Bengal Paradise Indian restaurant is situated in the midst of sublime Herefordshire countryside with panoramic views over a pastoral idyll complete with grazing cattle, woods and greenery. The venue lives up to its name. With a cool, whitewashed exterior, the frontage looks almost tropical with exotic palm trees, lush plants and water features. Even the striking stainless steel sculpture: a bending coconut palm complete with coconut, suggests forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden.

Arriving on a quiet Sunday lunchtime, the atmosphere is so peaceful we instantly feel the outside world and all its pressures slip away.  We take a seat in the comfortable waiting area at the bar as members of staff go quietly about their business preparing for the evening onset of customers. Our sense of relaxation only increases as co-partner Shahin Ansar Ali arrives and tells us to chill out, take our time and … enjoy. Shahin should seriously consider another career as a hypnotherapist; by the end of our three hour gastronomic session, his calming influence leaves us so relaxed we’re almost sliding off our luxurious leather chairs like two blobs of mellifluous jelly.

But perhaps Shahin should hold off the second career as he is doing just fine in his current role of master chef extraordinaire. He and his business partner Shiraz Miah (Raj) took over the premises of former Italian restaurant, Villa Rosa, just eight years ago and business has, if you’ll pardon the pun, gone skywards. 

The 100-seat plus restaurant caters for a mature and affluent clientele. With customers numbering several directors of Arsenal football team and a sprinkling of stockbrokers, Hatfield could be described as a catchment area for the well heeled and famous and the interior of the restaurant reflects this. Light, bright and airy, witty touches lift the décor from blandness – pastel colours contrast with large, chocolate, shell-shaped booths, beige, tan and rust coloured seats. Sixties style bucket seats and cheeky pop art orange seating is counter balanced by classy and elegant table settings. A conservatory area with a circular table under the octagonal skylight is especially popular with customers who vie for a seat by the windows, overlooking the acres of surrounding land owned by the Royal Veterinary College.

Shahin who lives in Stratford, has been working in the restaurant trade since 1987. None of his close family was in the restaurant business, although he did have two cousins in the trade. After working in East London, Wembley and then Kent Shah’s entrepreneurial spirit took over. “I knew I had to open a restaurant,” he said. “It was something that automatically came into my mind because I knew I could do anything I wanted in my own kitchen and, once I had gained the experience, I was confident enough to make my own mark.” Hertfordshire was a very good area for Indian restaurants with several iconic establishments in the area breeding a higher standard of cuisine than elsewhere. Shah had already run two businesses when, out of the blue, he received a call from former colleague Raj, who suggested taking on the former Villa Rosa. “This was a big gamble,” says Shah. “After his call, I left my other business to open the restaurant. Many people said it was a ghost town and that we could only survive six months but now we’ve been here for eight years.”

It was true that in the early days, the restaurant posed a bit of a challenge. In the middle of nowhere, it was run down outside, although the on-site parking was a definite plus. However, the new venture had a considerable asset in the form of Raj, a popular local with a reputation for good cuisine that preceded him.  With Shahin’s unique culinary talent and some well placed marketing, things began to take off.

“The way we did food was different,” explained Shah. “We make our own spice blends; we use good quality produce and mix our own spices and herbs which creates our distinctive flavour. We get supplies locally and support the local farmers.”  The restaurant even has its own vegetable patch with fresh herbs and oregano and tomatoes are grown. 

Now, with a star studded clientele ranging from David and Victoria Beckham (Victoria’s family lives nearby) to SimonCowell, Simon Pegg and the entire ensemble of JLS, the considerate approach of staff and customers at Bengal Paradise has turned it into something of a refuge for celebrities.

Disappointingly, Beckham is in Paris at the moment so we can’t look forward to him making a sudden appearance. But, never mind - Shahin repairs to the kitchen to personally imagine, concoct and create our meal from what he calls his “brain menu” as opposed to the one printed out in front of us. Already familiar with Shah’s cooking from the Taste of Britain Festival in Slovenia, we know that he is one of the best chefs we have had the pleasure to meet, but we can’t wait to see what he has to offer.

True to form, our starters arrive with Michelin style presentation: Shahin’s special pickles of Mango, coriander and Tamarind are fresh and delicious. We have Monk fish on a pea puree with yoghurt lamb on the bone and steamed king prawn with a coriander and homemade yoghurt and garlic sauce, also a spiced potato cutlet and artily placed vegetable spring roll. Shahin believes that first impressions are important and the number one rule is that a dish has to look good. He certainly has an artistic flair but that comes second only to the quality of the food. 

Our main courses of Bengal Supreme piece of chicken stuffed with minced lamb, garlic, ginger and royal cumin on a bed of chick peas, plus Salmon Makhoni, marinated in yoghurt, served with melted cheese and cream and a special concoction of pilau rice.  Nan breads are delicately sized, light and fluffy, rather than the usual size 10 sandal shaped pancakes of bread which are usually left finished. A full range of freshly cooked, homemade desserts is available and the pistachio kulfi icecream was one of the best in Curry Life history.

If we hadn’t partaken of the food from Shahin’s “brain menu” the table menu for diners at Bengal Paradise offers an exciting mix of old favourites and specialities. Duck Shashlik with green and red peppers, tomatoes & onions barbequed in the tandoor sounded tempting as did the Shorisha mix of assorted seafood cooked with mustard seed, fresh garlic and ginger or the fresh Tandoori trout. With a well established Five Star status for food and hygiene, and a wall full of press recommendations, the quality cuisine speaks for itself.

Live entertainment takes place around once a month with Bollywood nights or Jazz music. Shah tells us that he doesn’t usually charge customers for the music as the event itself pulls in extra customers. One thing Shahin likes to do is communicate customers and if he’s not in the kitchen, you’ll find him mingling with guests, listening to their feedback.  “If diners haven’t seen me for a while, they’ll sometimes start texting me to ask where I am,” he laughs.  In fact they’ve even been known to drag him on to the dance floor.

For us, the thought of energetic manoeuvres is vaguely disturbing. Because in the midst of green and pleasant land and after such a meal, we’re feeling distinctly mellow – in fact you could even say we’ve been transported to Paradise.

Bengal Paradise, 3 Great North Road, Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 6LB  Tel: 01707 651444

Shahin Ali (3rd left) with (from left to right) Mo Gherras and Dominic Chapman of Royal Oak Paley Street and Atul Kochhar of Benares

The Magnificent Seven: They Came, They Cooked, They Conquered!

 

 

They may sound as if they’ve stepped out of a Spaghetti Western but the ‘Magnificent Seven’ who took Slovenia by storm at the recent Taste of Britain festival were no gun slinging cowboys – they were an elite posse of chefs – and they were armed with curry powder.

Mohammed Azad from Cafe Saffron in Shrewsbury, Shah Ansar Ali from Bengal Paradise, Suhel Ahmed from Aroma Spice in Hampstead, Syeduz Zaman Kamran from India Lounge in Wigan, Juber Ahmed from Fetcham Tandoori in Surrey, Allam Shah Ullah from Cutlers Spice in Sheffield, and Kaysar Ahmed from Zeera Restaurant in Potters Bar, were selected from hundreds of chefs to showcase the best of British Indian cuisine in Europe.

They were then jetted over to sub zero temperatures in Slovenia, accompanied by some of the restaurant owners.

And, despite having to contend with some of the heaviest snowfalls Slovenia’s capital city of Ljubljana had seen for years, diners not only thronged to the festival to sample the chefs’ curry dishes ... they kept coming back for more.

But there was not only food on offer; visitors were also able to experience a unique programme of events ranging from spectacular banquets to traditional Bangladeshi dancing and cookery demonstrations which took place throughout the week.

The Taste of Britain Curry Festival was organised by Curry Life, the British Embassy Ljubljana UK Trade and Investment and Hotel Park with the aim of promoting the curry industry, chefs and restaurants in Slovenia and Central Europe.

The launch took place on 21 February with a two-day trade exhibition at the prestigious Cankarjev Dom. Industry icons such as Eurofoods, Kingfisher Beer Europe, East End Foods Plc and The Authentic Food Company were able to showcase their wares and meet key wholesalers, restaurateurs and distributors. Delegates attending from ten European countries including Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia, had a unique opportunity to forge links and explore possibilities for future trade and development.

The day of networking was followed by an exclusive Evening Reception hosted by HE the British Ambassador in Slovenia, Andrew Page, when invited guests could mingle in a more relaxed atmosphere before sampling a wonderful banquet of more than 50 fusion dishes prepared by the seven master chefs.

Speaking at the Press Launch led by Festival Organisers Syed Belal Ahmed and Syed Nahas Pasha, the British Ambassador HE Andrew Page and Urša Malovrh, Manager of Hotel Park, Mr Ahmed recognised that the festival had been only possible with the support of the Ambassador and his team and the owners and staff of Hotel Park.

He said he had fallen in love with Ljubljana after the festival in 2012 when the team was given such a warm welcome: “Last year’s event had such an impressive response from the city and beyond I think people realised what they were missing out on,” he said. “There is huge potential for ethnic food in Slovenia and I hope this event will initiate more curry houses over here.”

HE Andrew Page also remarked how the success of last year’s festival inspired him and his team to work with Central European network countries to bring buyers from further afield. “There is a lot of potential for British companies to get a foothold in these untapped markets,” he said. He reminded the audience that 60 years ago when the recipe for Coronation Chicken was created to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne, curry was almost unknown. “Now, two thirds of people in Britain who go out for a meal go for a curry,” he said.

Urša Malovrh manager of Hotel Park commented on how pleased Hotel Park was to host the Taste of Britain Curry Festival once more: “We were amazed at how popular and successful the festival was last year – people came from all over the country and even from other countries, to try a taste of curry,” she said.

Currying Favour at Hotel Park

 

The festival relocated to Hotel Park until 27 February where diners were able to sample a buffets and a la carte dinners cooked by the Magnificent Seven. Dishes included signature dishes of Naga Chicken Balti, Spicy beef cutlet, Dal Gosht and Allo Chop, not forgetting the British favourites of Chicken Tikka Masala and Balti. Many VIP guests attended such as the Indian Ambassador in Ljubljana and his family who commented on the variety and quality of cuisine on offer.

The chefs also took part in various cookery demonstrations including one for teachers and pupils of the British school. Having created something of a media sensation, they were feted by local and national press and TV.

But it wasn’t all hard work – the intrepid seven also had a chance to grab a quick sightseeing tour of Zagreb in Croatia and Venice in Italy as well as taking in some of the local attractions in the beautiful capital city itself and, of course, shopping.

At the end of the festival it was apparent that Slovenians had taken the chefs to their hearts. But did they think Indian food was something that could become more popular in the country?

“Yes, I like spicy food and this curry is special,” said Marko, a visitor from Ljubljana. “At the moment there are only two Indian restaurants in Ljubljana and I would really like to see more opening up. We like to try different foods and it would be good if we could try a selection of everything.”

“We’ve tried green or red Thai curries before but we have never experienced food this hot – but it’s really good!,”added his companion.

“I have eaten curry before in the UK and I loved it,” commented Bojan who had stopped off at the hotel on his way to Maribor, “So to find it here in Ljubljana was a big surprise. For me, anything that may help bring curry to Slovenia should be encouraged and embraced.”

Jana Verk, Head of UK Trade and Investment at the British Embassy who played a key role in organising the events said she was absolutely delighted as to how the festival had gone: “All the hard work has paid off. The chefs have performed magnificently and it has been a pleasure to work with such a friendly and enthusiastic team,” she said. “I hope that events such as this will help to bring more ethnic food to Slovenia.”

“It was great to showcase our cuisine to such appreciative customers,” said Allam Shah Ullah, chef of Sheffield’s Cutlers Spice. “We’ve received a fantastic reception and we’re all extremely proud to  have been selected to represent Bangladeshi and Indian food in Europe. Who knows? Maybe soon curry will be as popular in Slovenia as it is in the UK.”