Good Curry Guide - Pat Chapman

Author's product rating:   

How useful was it?	Very useful
Would you read it again?	Absolutely

Advantages:	Full of useful info for the curry lover
Disadvantages:	Flimsy, info not always 100% accurate

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Is there a book in your house that is really loved? One that is dog-eared from so much use; one that is picked up and opened at any page; one that can be dipped into at random and still really enjoyed.

In our house that book is Pat Chapman's "Good Curry Guide". Now sponsored by Cobra beer, the Good Curry Guide was first published in 1984; the 2007 Guide that I am reviewing here confusingly claims to be both the eighth (stated on page 13) and the ninth (stated on page 18) editions. I am unable to give a definitive answer, suffice to say the book is re-published every three years or so and is eagerly awaited in our house.

Quite simply, the book is a guide to the best restaurants serving curry in the British Isles (so it includes the Republic of Ireland); it is important to describe it thus because it lists not only Indian restaurants but Bangladeshi, Thai, Nepalese and Malaysian restaurants, for example. It includes top end restaurants that would probably say they serve Indian cuisine rather than just "curry" but the real focus of the book is the traditional "curry house".

The reason we love the "Good Curry Guide" so much is that it is written almost entirely by people like ourselves - curry enthusiasts who would go out of their way for a fix of good curry. The guide does not use professional paid critics but encourages readers to send in reports and even provides a template for reviews at the back of the book. It does not matter if the restaurant you wish to review is already listed, in fact it's probably better because multiple reports will better help the editorial team give the best representation of the restaurant in the book.

The editors send an annual questionnaire to each restaurant mentioned in the guide and if a restaurant fails to return the completed questionnaire three years running they are removed from the guide. When readers submit reviews, the editors also contact the restaurant prior to publication to verify certain factual information such as location, the costs of basic menu items (popadom, pilau rice, a beer) and opening hours. All of this means that the information listed is pretty accurate although there are always some errors - hardly surprising since the book is only published every three years. However, despite having informed them of a change of name and a change of style from a order-from -menu restaurant to an all you can eat buffet of one local restaurant well in advance of publication, the wrong information appeared two editions running.

The listings are organised according to location and the sections are: London, England (listed by county), The Isles and Islands (Channel Islands, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man), Ireland (Northern Ireland and Eire), Scotland and Wales. Within each section the restaurants are listed alphabetically. It is every easy to locate the information you want and to make it extra-simple, there is a full index of restaurants by name at the end of the book.

A typical entry will give the name, address and telephone number of the restaurant followed by a couple of lines on the history or general location. There might be a bit about the style - cafe style, formal tradtional "curry house", interesting decor, background of the chef, etc.

Then comes the information about the food. This bit is written as a mixture of facts and comments from reader reports; my partner was delighted that several of his reports were used in the 2007 edition. Finally there is usually an overall verdict on that restauarant. A typical entry might read "Busy Friday evening but still service very good with a bit of joyful banter with the staff. Chicken Zafrani good, Chicken Patia very tasty. One of our party changed order to Chicken Tikka once seeing one arrive in next table; never seen one like it and wonderful flavour! Light and fluffy nan breads. Very enjoyable experience in a 'not too cramped' atmosphere". (The Raj in Wendover in case anyone wants to know).

Some entries are rather less useful with comments like "Safe-bet curryhouse. Show the manager this Guide and you may get a discount."

Some entries have the most fascinating (to the curry lover) information. For example - did you know that there are some 1,000 Indian born Jews living in the Hendon/Golders Green area of london? One of them, Nathan Moses, runs a Kosher Indian restaurant, "The Kavanna" in Hendon, where the chefs have to adapt traditional Indian recipes to make them comply with the rules of Kosher food.

Those interested in more than merely eating this food of the gods will find some interesting reading at the begnning of the book with articles that have been inspired by the cuttings service the editor subscribes to. In this edition there is an entertaining article on the inclusion of the word "balti" in the Oxford English Dictionary and another on the health benefits of eating curry, amongst others.

The book also has a useful A-Z of curry related terms, foodstuffs and cooking techniques as well as an excellent guide to the cuisine of the Indian subcontintent. Did you know that the majority of Indian restaurants in Britain are Bangladeshi-owned and that the staff don't particularly like the fare they serve. For them it is purely a business thing. Recently (to my approval since the food is excellent) Bangladeshi owners have changed direction and are starting to actively promote themselves as such and are serving Bangladeshi rather than Indian cuisine. Recommendations of restaurants are given for the more unusual cusines such as Afghani, Moghul or Goan.

The editor, Pat Chapman is a true curry afficionado and is also the editor of the "New Curry Bible" - which has over a hundred curry recipes, a useful glossary and lots of wonderful photographs.

Cobra Beer is the Guide's sole sponsor and so special mention is always made if a restaurant listed serves Cobra. However, the book relies on other advertsing as well as the profits made from sales of the book to keep things running. Normally I get fed up with excessive advertising but i seem to quite enjoy it in the Good Curry Guide, it can be as interesting as some of the entries and the photographs featured in the adverts are mouthwatering. Still, it has to be said that given that the recommended retail price is £14.95, the proportion of adverts to entries does seem a little excessive.

Restaurants that return the questionnaire and are lucky enough to get an entry in the Guide are sent a wall certificate and a window sticker to display at the premises so you can be hopeful of getting a good meal if you go to a restaurant with these in the window.

On top of this the Guide runs an annual awards event when the best restaurants in a variety of categories (according not only to style but also location) are celebrated and can then use the commendation in their advertising. There is a more general Top 100 list in addition to the individual categories.

I guess it's pretty clear that I love the Good Curry Guide. We travel quite a bit and have found it invaluable in finding somewhere new to try. We have also gained a lot of fun from submititng our own reviews and having the pleasure of seeing excerpts in print (that was until I found out that I was being referred to as "Chutney Mary" by my other half - Chutney Mary is a celebrated Indian restuarant in London).

However, there are a couple of negative points I feel should be highlighted. I have mentioned that the sporadic issuing of the new edition can result in errors being made. I have also mentioned the high level of advertising. But my biggest gripe is that the cover is too soft and the pages are qute flimsy given that thhis is the sort of book you would probably want to pick up quite often and maybe even take away with you when travelling. I can envisage some pages becoming loose before the next edition comes out.

Then the exact release date of the book can be hard to ascertain and is often delayed. We ordered an advance copy from Amazon and the date was several times put back - torture for us!.

And finally, you may find that there aren't many restaurants listed in your area or an area you would like to see entries for. The solution is simple; submit your own. Do not be concerned if you do not hear from the editor. My partner heard nothing and only knew he was included when the 2007 Guide finally arrived. All contributors are listed and you may now and again receive goodies from the editor - usually promotional items that have been sent to the editor.

Overall, Pat Chapman's "Good Curry Guide" is an invaluable reference book for anyone who loves curry and especially for curry lovers that travel arounf Britain. The beauty of the Guide is that readers can help to shape the Guide to see it evolve as they would like.

ISBN 978-1-84454-311-3

472 Pages