Mohammad Ajman Miah ( bn, মোহাম্মদ আজমান মিয়া),

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

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(born 28 March 1959), better known by his nick name Tommy Miah, is a

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

i-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

, owner of the award-winning Raj Restaurant and founder of the International Indian Chef of the Year Competition. He is often recognised as the "Curry King" in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

Early life

Miah was born in a village in South Sylhet Mahakuma, Chittagong Division,

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

(now

). He arrived at the age of 10 to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England, with limited knowledge of English. He became interested in food and cooking due to which he began by working in the catering industry. He began by starting his own small takeout restaurant at the age of 17. Throughout the years working with hard work and determination, led to success in his business.

Career

Miah established himself in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and founded the award-winning Raj Restaurant. In 1991, he founded the International Indian Chef of the Year Competition, to promote innovation and quality in Indian cooking, which attracts 5000 entrants from around the world. The competition also consists of an event to raise funds for the Sreepur Village Orphanage in Bangladesh. He was chosen to head the first

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan ...

Food Festival in Delhi. He was also selected by the Bangladesh Foreign Office to represent Bangladesh, cooking typical Bangladeshi staple dishes. With his status being as a celebrity chef, including having his own television show in Bangladesh, and with the experience of international dining and catering, Miah has established the foundation of the Tommy Miah Institute of Hospitality Management, which is an institution which trains Bangladeshis in the international hospitality industry. In Bangladesh, Miah's recipes for of any types of cuisine such as Bangladeshi,

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and

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meals can be requested through text message from any

Banglalink Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd., d.b.a. Banglalink ( bn, বাংলালিংক; previously Orascom Telecom Bangladesh Ltd.) is a Bangladeshi telecommunications company headquartered in Dhaka. It's the third-largest mobile networ ...

mobile phone. He also owns the Original Raj Hotel in

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...

and The Heritage Restaurant in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

, Bangladesh. Miah's achievements includes, delivering a curry lunch-box to 10 Downing Street for the then Prime Minister John Major's 50th birthday, producing the world's largest curry which was large enough to feed 10,000, promoting innovation and quality in Asian cuisine, developing dishes for high class manufacturers, writing cooking books, and he was the first to make Indian meals available on flights worldwide. He has sponsored for many charity groups both in Bangladesh and Britain, which includes, '

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

,' ‘Shishu Polli,' ‘Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed' and the 'ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital.' Tommy Miah runs food hygiene classes for refugee camps in Bangladesh, and also sponsors foreign students to study in the UK.

Awards and recognition

In 2004, Miah was elected a fellow of Royal Society of Arts. Tommy Miah In 2017, Miah was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for his services to the hospitality industry and charity.

References

External links

*
Tommy Miah
on '' British Bangladeshi Who's Who'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Miah, Tommy 1959 births Living people British Muslims Bangladeshi emigrants to Scotland Bangladeshi emigrants to England British chefs Chefs of Indian cuisine British restaurateurs Bangladeshi businesspeople People from Moulvibazar District Members of the Order of the British Empire Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom