23rd to 29th November in Support of Oxfam with projects in South East Asia.
The 23rd of November sees the start of National Curry Week. Hundreds of Indian restaurants across the country will be participating in various themed events to raise money for Oxfam.
Restaurants choose the way they wish to be involved - which could include:
- TAKE THE PLATE PLEDGE - Designate a particular dish on your menu or design a new one to be your ’special dish’ for National Curry Week. Give us details & we will make sure the media in your area know all about it and promote it on this website. All we ask is for you to donate £1 per plate of that dish sold from 1st November to the end of National Curry Week on 29 November.
- Hold a special Curry Evening during National Curry Week and donate the proceeds to Oxfam.
- Make an attempt at “The World Poppadum Tower Record”
- Enter the XXXMints “Can You Handle the Heat” competition for the hottest curry with the final at World Food Market 26/27 November. Closing date 31 October.
- Enter the “New 60 Year Dish” competition to find a successor to Chicken Tikka Masala whose origins are 60 years old this year.
- Liaise with your local school for them to have a ‘mufti’ day during National Curry Week to raise funds for Oxfam and promote the cuisine in their canteen.
Sponsoring restaurants include the Brilliant in Southall, Cafe Rasoi in East Sussex and the Moti Mahal in London. Click here to see their profiles.
Click here to see a full list of participating restaurants accross the UK.
The appointed charity for National Curry Week 2008 and National Eating Out Week 2008 is Oxfam. Oxfam has worked in South Asia for more than 50 years. The focus of our programme in this region is to help both the poor and the vulnerable, and the funds raised during National Curry Week will support the following projects (for further information click here):
The River Basin Project (Bangladesh, India, Nepal)
The Ganges/Brahmaputra River Basin is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world. Many of the 180 million people who live here are poor, and during the rainy season are frequently overwhelmed by floods and other life-threatening extremes of weather.
Each year millions face losing their homes, crops, animals, livelihoods, and even their lives in floods caused by the monsoon rains, which fall from June to September. During this time, the region receives more than 80 per cent of its annual rainfall.
The River Basin Programme, which was launched in 1999, helps to reduce homelessness, casualties, and the loss of possessions and livelihoods that occur during the monsoon floods. It also helps ensure that people’s lives and their abilities to earn a living are disrupted as little as possible.
The programme provides safer places for people to shelter during floods, as well as boats and safe roads for reaching the shelters. Food storage, clean drinking water and good sanitation are provided and are available all year round.
Other projects include; The ‘We Can‘ Campaign to end all violence against women in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Information on all these is available on the website. All funds raised go direct to Oxfam and all participating restaurants will be listed on www.nationalcurryweek.co.uk and details of money raised and events held.
Restauarnts can register online or by email to groveint@aol.com
