Bury St Edmunds chef Abdus Shahid is promising to cook up a treat when he flies to India

next month for the Taste of Britain Curry Festival.

Abdus, who runs the Valley Connection restaurant in Bury St Edmunds, is one of seven

curry chefs who will be introducing Indian diners to British curry during a ten day residency

at the Park Hyatt Hotel, Hyderabad, India from 12-21 June 2014

Highly acclaimed Michelin Star chef Dominic Chapman will be joining Abdus and the rest of

the team. Dominic will be serving up a ‘Best of British’ menu while his fellow chefs focus on

curry.

Abdus said: “It is great to be flying the flag for British curry because that is what it is

nowadays - a national favourite. It’s evolved its own style and it will be great to see what the

Indian community think of high street classic like Chicken Tikka Masala.“

He has even won the good wishes of PM David Cameron and local MP David Ruffley who

said: “I am delighted that Abdus Shahid has been nominated. I enjoy meals at the Valley

Connection on a regular basis and the range of flavours and tastes he generates in his

cooking in extraordinary.

“It is wonderful that Curry Life organises this global festival to celebrate and promote the

culinary skills of British curry chefs.

 “The UK certainly has excellent talent in producing some of the best Asian cuisine and this

is exemplified at the Valley Connection in Bury St Edmunds and cooking skills of Mr

Shahid.”

PM David Cameron added: “I send my very best wishes to everyone involved in this year’s

'Taste of Britain Curry Festival'. I’m delighted to see that more than 200 years after the first

curry house opened in Britain our unique brand of Asian cuisine is now being sought in the

countries where it originally came from.

“In recent years curry has become part of the British identity - a firm favourite that is

enjoyed by more than two million people every week. But it’s so much more than just good

food. It’s about talented restaurateurs and chefs; it’s about hard- working families; it’s about

enterprising small businesses that provide tens of thousands of jobs and it’s about bringing

in billions of pounds into our economy.”

Syed Ahmed, Festival Director and Editor of Curry Life Magazine, which organises the

event, said: “Curry is as British as strawberry jam and cricket and we’re keen to promote

that to the rest of the world, including India.”

We are lucky to have a chef like Abdus and a superb indian cuisine restaurant in Bury St Edmunds.