Owner
Nahim Aslam
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Born in Peterborough in 1969, Nahim Aslam spent 7 years of his early childhold in rural Kashmir in Pakistan before returning to the UK. He studied engineering to HNC level before the sudden death of his father forced him to start work full-time in an Oldham takeaway restaurant at the age of 19. This was his first step on a lifelong journey learning about 'Indian' food. It is now his career, passion and way of life. Career : In the early 'kebab shop' years, Nahim worked long, unsociable hours serving takeaway food to a wide mix of people in the local community. This gave him a solid understanding of people's perceptions of the Asian food industry - and a strong desire to change them. He started his own restaurant, Indian Ocean in Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1993 and set about building a business that celebrated Asian food, created a positive working environment for employees and maintained the highest levels of products and services. Nahim constantly searches for ways to improve his own business and recognises that training and development of his staff is the key to success. As a result, he has introduced employee handbooks, proper terms of service and personnel training programmes throughout the business. Many of the region's other restaurateurs and managers were originally trained as Indian Ocean staff - a sign of the quality training provided. Nahim also strives to overcome racial stereotyping and help develop a sense of shared community within local Asian British and English populations. He draws his staff from all areas and has a diverse range of religions represented within the business. He makes regular research visits to the Indian sub-continent to see the tools and techniques used and to broaden his knowledge and understanding of Asian food culture. Other Activities : Nahim understands that entertainment and fun can bring people together and recent Indian Ocean activities have included:
Fundraising events for Oxfam and the NSPCC |
Nahim and team with their British Curry Award |
