Mr. Forhad Hussain (Tipu)

@ Press & Publication Secretary, BCA1960

FROM THE EDITOR
FORHAD HUSSAIN TIPU
Bangladesh Caterers Association (BCA) is celebrating
its 16th year of these prestigious industry awards
today. This year’s theme is – ‘Celebrating Success &
Inspiring Others’ a theme that is close to my heart and
the mission of BCA.
Tonight’s event will be the first time that BCA will be
meeting since the sad passing of Queen Elizabeth II
and the organisation will pay tribute to the late
Monarch and show respect for her service. At this time,
BCA also gives its alliance to the new King and
welcomes King Charles III.
This has been a tough period, full of transition and
uncertainty for the country. BCA, welcomes the new
Prime Minister, Liz Truss and is looking forward to
engaging with the new
government, to highlight the issues affecting the UK’s
curry industry. BCA has been encouraged by the Prime
Minister’s plans, to relax immigration rules, to boost
the UK economy, which has been something that the
organisation has been campaigning on pre-pandemic
and pre-Brexit.
BCA being part of the UK’s hospitality industry and
welcomes the freeze on alcohol duty but was deeply
disappointed with the lack of new measures to support
struggling restaurants and takeaways. BCA says the
measures in the mini-budget contained nothing new
to combat soaring costs of energy prices, and raw
materials, or restore consumer confidence as the curry
industry continues to reel from the pandemic.
BCA welcomes these interventions announced in the
mini-budget, however, in the absence of a long-term
solution, these support packages must be evaluated
by the government on an ongoing basis. BCA will
continue to lobby the government to ensure that the
needs of its members and the curry industry are
prioritised on their agenda.
This year has been tough, changing the way we live,
breathe and eat, living so much uncertainty with an
ongoing war in Ukraine, the knock-on effect of cost of
living, inflation, and, recently, new price hikes in utility
bills, what will our new PM do to combat the economic
recovery? Our industry is resilient and fought back
throughout the pandemic and we will adapt and rise
to the challenging times ahead.
The BCA Award Ceremony is about showcasing a
group of passionate curry connoisseurs, with the vision
to cherish the flavours for generations to come.
We thank all shortlisted finalists, colleagues, clients,
sponsors and stakeholders for being part of the
prestigious recognition event and making it
memorable from start to finish.