Reflections: Q&A with James and Luke

This week we look back on the series, respond to questions and comments from our listeners, chat with Geeta Ludhra about Southall, and look forward to series 2.

We also hear from Dr, Geeta Ludhra, Senior Lecturer in Education at Brunel University London, as she reflects on her visits to Southall as a child and her grandmother’s Jalebi dipped in milk. 

**Introduction** (0:00 – 2:49) 

(Starter) 

-Luke and James reflect on their podcast journey and the taste for this episode

**Questions and Answers** (2:50 – 28:27) 

(Main) 

-James and Luke answer questions related to the podcast, from their favourite dishes to gender division and decolonisation.

- Geetha shares her reflections on visits to Southall (18:55 – 24:13)

**Technical barriers and last reflections** (31:40 – 37:22) 

(Dessert) 

-James and Luke discuss the learning curve of producing a podcast and some challenges they faced with the technology.

**Closing Remarks and Acknowledgments** (37:23 – 39:10) 

The Migration Menu has been brought to you by James Staples and Luke Heslop, with help from Tina Boulton, Esther Opoku Debra and Vimal Dalal. If you have any questions or comments for us, send them in and we will address them in a future show, you can get in touch at info@themigrationmenu.com.  Or on ‘X’ - formerly Twitter: @migration_menu.   

For a list of academic literature on these topics and more, please see the list of extended bibliography on the references page or click here.  

People

Dr. Geeta Ludhra

Website: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/geeta-ludhra

Anneeka Ludhra –

Website: https://anniradhika.wordpress.com/

Book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dadimas-Celebrating-Grandmothers-Through-Cooking/dp/190799825X

For more information, please visit our website: https://themigrationmenu.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the food came to James and Luke, from Alaisha Kaishyap, owner of the tiffin delivery brand, The London Food Company. An example of the growing band of home cooks catering to hungry international students and others missing the food of home, they are also joined by a group of PhD students to reflect on their own food ways.

**Introduction** (0:00 – 6:24)

(Starter)

-James and Luke introduce Aalisha Kaishyap, who started the London Food Company and is also Brunel Alumni. They outline the significance of the “Dabbawala” and caste.

**Interview** (6:25 – 28:27)

(Main)

-James and Luke are joined by some Brunel Students, as well as Devanshi Chanchani. They discuss similarities between their respective South Asian foods.

**Post interview discussion** (28:28 – 32:04)

(Dessert)

-James and Luke discuss the rise of home cooks and entrepreneurship, they locate it within gender and authenticity.

**Closing Remarks and acknowledgments** (32:05 – 32:37)

The Migration Menu has been brought to you by James Staples and Luke Heslop, with help from Tina Boulton, Esther Opoku Debra and Vimal Dalal. If you have any questions or comments for us, send them in and we will address them in a future show, you can get in touch at info@themigrationmenu.com. Or on ‘X’ - formerly Twitter: @migration_menu.

Menu dishes eaten:

Szechuan Chicken

Karahi Chicken with Jeera Rice

Rogan Josh

Pav Bhaji

To see images for this episode, click here.

Literature mentioned:

Pathak, G. S. 2010. Delivering the Nation: The Dabbawalas of Mumbai, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 33(2), 235-257

Staples, J. 2016. Food, Commensality and Caste in South Asia, Klein, JA. & Watson, JL. The Handbook of Food and Anthropology. Bloomsbury, 74-93.

Sucharita, K. 2023. Home Chefs: Indian Households Produce for the Global Creator Economy

For a list of academic literature on these topics and more, please see the list of extended bibliography on the references page or click here.

Guest speakers:

Aalisha Kaishyap

Devanshi Chanchani

Namarata Harish

Bandana Adhikary

Udita Bose

Ahrabie Kirubasuthan

For more information, please visit our website: https://themigrationmenu.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week James and Luke headed way out west, to Pinner, to visit a new Sri Lankan restaurant called Yako. Following a tour of the Grade II listed building in which they have recently set up shop, they sat down to a colossal meal and to hear the story of Yako’s founder, Darshana Wathadura, A.K.A Dash.

**Introduction** (0:00 – 3:39)

(Starter)

-Luke outlines the significance of the Yako symbol, the restaurant’s namesake.

**Interview** (3:40 – 23:41)

(Main)

-Darshana recounts the difficulties he had with settling in the UK. He also details the importance of authenticity in the success and potential breakout of the restaurant.

**Post interview discussion** (23:42 – 28:44)

(Dessert)

Luke and James discuss the menu items and how 'authentic' they are.

**Closing Remarks and acknowledgments** (28:44 -29:46)

The Migration Menu has been brought to you by James Staples and Luke Heslop, with help from Tina Boulton, Esther Opoku Debra and Vimal Dalal. If you have any questions or comments for us, send them in and we will address them in a future show, you can get in touch at info@themigrationmenu.com. Or on ‘X’ - formerly Twitter: @migration_menu.

Restaurant location: Yako 6 St Anns Road, Harrow HA1 1LG England

Menu dishes eaten:

Ceylon Chinese-Style chicken and sweetcorn soup

Southern Style Chicken Curry

Prawn Curry

Jackfruit Curry

Fish Curry

Seeni Sambal

Poppadoms

Hoppers ?

Pol Sambol

Gotu Kola

Kottu Roti

Menu: https://restaurantguru.com/Yako-Harrow/menu

To see images for this episode, click here.

Literature mentioned:

Daele, W. V. 2013. Igniting food assemblages in Sri Lanka: Ritual cooking to regenerate the world and interrelations, Contributions to Indian Sociology, 47(1), 33-60

Rival, L. 1990. The Social Life of Trees, Anthropological Perspectives on Tree Symbolism, Routledge

Tanaka, M. 1997. Patrons, Devotees and Goddesses: Ritual and Power Among the Tamil Fishermen of Sri Lanka, Delhi

For a list of academic literature on these topics and more, please see the list of extended bibliography on the references page or click here.

Guest speakers:

Lara de Soyza

Darshana Wathadura

For more information, please visit our website: https://themigrationmenu.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week James and Luke are meeting Sujay Sohani and Subodh Joshi, co-founders of Sri Krishna Vada Pau – or SKVP, the acronym given to the chain by the restaurant’s followers on social media. Tapping into the current trend for vegetarian and vegan food, as well as for affordability, the Vada Pau – or the Mumbai burger, as it’s sometimes referred to – celebrates the street food of the pair’s native Mumbai.

**Introduction**(0:00 – 5:06)

(Starter)

James and Luke introduce Sujay Sahani and Subodh Joshi, the founders of Shree Krishna Vada Pav.

**Interview** (5:07 - 24:05)

(Main)

Sujay and Subodh discuss the importance of originality and authenticity in their recipes.

**Post interview discussion** (24:06 – 29:50) ?

James and Luke discuss how SKVP is simultaneously attractive to South Asian as well as British audiences.

(Dessert)

**Closing Remarks and acknowledgments** (29:51- 30:20)

The Migration Menu has been brought to you by James Staples and Luke Heslop, with help from Tina Boulton, Esther Opoku Debra and Vimal Dalal. If you have any questions or comments for us, send them in and we will address them in a future show, you can get in touch at info@themigrationmenu.com. Or on ‘X’ - formerly Twitter: @migration_menu.

Restaurant location: 23 High St Uxbridge UB8 1JN

Menu dishes eaten:

Vada Pau

Chow Patty Chaat

Onion and Potato Bhaji

Sweet Chai

Menu: https://skvp.co.uk/#_menu

To see images for this episode, click here.

Literature mentioned:

Ray, K. 2016. Dreams of Pakistani Grill and Vada Pao in Manhattan: Immigrant Restaurateurs in a Global City, The Ethnic Restauranteur, Bloomsbury

For a list of academic literature on these topics and more, please see the list of extended bibliography on the references page or click here.

Guest speakers:

Sujay Sahani

Subodh Joshi

For more information, please visit our website: https://themigrationmenu.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, James and Luke are meeting and eating with Sanjay Anand, MBE: owner of Madhu’s of Southall, as well as six other restaurants, including Madhu’s of Mayfair at The Dilly. He documents his family’s journey from India to Kenya, where he was born, and on to the UK, where – over the last four decades – he has seen venue managers going from turning their noses up at the aromas of South Asian cooking to begging for more. Madhu’s high chai now outsells its traditional English counterpart in some of the UK’s most elite hotels.

**Introduction** (0:00 – 6:11)

(Starter)

Luke and James describe the historical migration and the integration of South Asians in East Africa.

**Interview** (6:12 – 25:43)

(Main Course)

Sanjay discusses how catering runs in his family. He then goes onto explain how Kenyan influences factor into his cuisine.

**Post interview discussion** (25:44 – 35:36)

(Dessert)

James and Luke outline the importance of authenticity replication in Madhu’s cuisine and how his twice migrant status affects how home is represented.

Anna explains the creation and practice of British citizenship.

**Closing Remarks and acknowledgments** (35:37 – 36:13)

The Migration Menu has been brought to you by James Staples and Luke Heslop, with help from Tina Boulton, Esther Opoku Debra and Vimal Dalal. If you have any questions or comments for us, send them in and we will address them in a future show, you can get in touch at info@themigrationmenu.com. Or on ‘X’ - formerly Twitter: @migration_menu.

Restaurant location: Madhu’s, 39 South Road, Southall, Ealing UB1 1SW England

Menu dishes eaten:

Kadai Paneer

Makhani Dal

Jeera Chicken

Chilli Paneer

Amritsari Machi

Niama Choma

Prawn

Machuzi Kuku

Menu: https://www.madhus.co.uk/our-restaurants/southall/

To see images for this episode, click here.

Literature mentioned:

Lester, A., Boehme, K., & Mitchell, P. 2021. Ruling The World: Freedom, Civilisation and Liberalism in the Nineteenth-Century British Empire, Cambridge University Press

Yanagisako, S. J. 2002. Producing Culture and Capital: Family Firms in Italy, Princeton University Press

Nijjar, J. S. 2021. Baptised by fire: an interview with Suresh Grover, Race & Class, 62(3), 88-101

El- Enany, N. 2020. Bordering Britain: law, race and empire, Manchester University Press

For a list of academic literature on these topics and more, please see the list of extended bibliography on the references page or click here.

Guest Speakers:

Sanjay Anand

Anna Tuckett

For more information, please visit our website: https://themigrationmenu.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, James and Luke go to the heart of Southall. On the first of two visits to Madhu’s, they meet Ash Verma, a business consultant and former civil servant who travelled to the UK from India with his parents when he was just 8-years-old in 1958, and who over the last 50 years or so has played key roles in supporting the regeneration of West London, and the socio-economic development of the UK’s South Asian community. Having grown up in his father’s own Indian restaurant, like other interviewees, Ash is acutely aware of the role food, and the knowledge of food brought from homelands, plays in the migrant’s experience.

**Introduction** (0:00 – 6:18)

(Starter)

James and Luke discuss globalisation occurs within South Asian contexts.

**Interview** (6:19 – 24:10)

(Main Course)

Ash describes how his affinity for food arose from his father’s cooking and the formation of his father’s restaurant.

**Post interview discussion** (24:11 – 29:09)

(Dessert)

James and Luke discuss Ash’s father, placing him in the context of the value of nostalgia in replicating home.

**Closing Remarks and acknowledgments** (29:10 – 29:45)

The Migration Menu has been brought to you by James Staples and Luke Heslop, with help from Tina Boulton, Esther Opoku Debra and Vimal Dalal. If you have any questions or comments for us, send them in and we will address them in a future show, you can get in touch at info@themigrationmenu.com.Or on ‘X’ - formerly Twitter: @migration_menu.

Restaurant location: Madhu’s, 39 South Road, Southall, Ealing UB1 1SW England

Menu dishes eaten:

Kebabs

Samosas

Chops

Tikki

Black lentils,

Spiced chickpeas,

Braised lamb,

Stir fried vegetables

Methi Murgh

Menu: https://www.madhus.co.uk/our-restaurants/southall/

To see images for this episode, click here.

Literature mentioned:

Barber, B. R. 1995. Jihad vs McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism are Reshaping the World, Times Books

Watson, J. L. 1997. Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia, Stanford University Press

For a list of academic literature on these topics and more, please see the list of extended bibliography on the references page or click here.

Guest speakers:

Ash Verma

For more information, please visit our website: https://themigrationmenu.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, James and Luke head to Southall for lunch at Saravanaa Bhavan, an international vegetarian Indian restaurant with branches in 27 countries across the world. They’re going there for lunch with Mukesh Gauthaman, whose ambitious project to reintroduce some of heirloom to his home village in Tamil Nadu and has brought him to the UK to study international business at Brunel. Saravanaa Bhavan offers both work and food from home.

**Introduction** (0:00 – 6:20)

(Starter)

James and Luke introduce Mukesh Gauthaman.

They also discuss how Southall acts as a region of projected homeland for South Asian diaspora.

**Interview** (6:21 – 15:49)

(Main Course)

James and Gauthaman discuss what foods they enjoy, Gauthaman ties this back to agriculture.

**Post interview discussion** (15:50 – 29:14)

(Dessert)

Dr Devanshi Chanchani shares her experiences and views of how Saravanaa Bhavan operates in India and how it has propelled authentic South Indian food into the mainstream.

James and Luke review this and discuss how restaurants like Saravanaa Bhavan showcase localised foods in a globalised way.

**Closing Remarks and acknowledgments** (29:15 – 29:50)

The Migration Menu has been brought to you by James Staples and Luke Heslop, with help from Tina Boulton, Esther Opoku Debra and Vimal Dalal. If you have any questions or comments for us, send them in and we will address them in a future show, you can get in touch at info@themigrationmenu.com. Or on ‘X’ - formerly Twitter: @migration_menu.

Restaurant location: Saravanaa Bhavan, 97 South Rd, Southall UB1 3AG

Menu dishes eaten:

Rasa Vada

White Rice

Hot Idly with Sambar and Chutneys

Business Meal- Limi

Menu: https://saravanabhavanlondon.co.uk/southall/

To see images for this episode, click here.

Literature mentioned:

Baumann, G. 1996. Contesting Culture: Discourses of Identity in Multi-ethnic London, Cambridge University Press

Nasser, N. 2004. Southall’s Kaleido-scape: A study in the changing morphology of a west London suburb, Built Environment, 30(1), 76-103

Srinivas, T. 2015. Everyday Exotic, Transnational Space, Identity and Contemporary Foodways in Bangalore City, Food, Culture & Society, 10(1), 85-107

For a list of academic literature on these topics and more, please see the list of extended bibliography on the references page or click here.

Guest speakers:

Mukesh Gauthaman

Devanshi Chanchani

For more information, please visit our website: https://themigrationmenu.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, James and Luke went to Al Hyderabadi, on the Uxbridge Road, a busy thoroughfare which stretches from Uxbridge all the way to Southall. While Hyderabad – centre of the Mughal Empire in India’s Deccan South – is famous for the biriyani, we discovered that its dishes also owe a great deal to centuries of pan-oceanic trading and migration, and a particular connection to Yemen.

**Introduction**- (0:00 - 7:03)

(Starter)

James and Luke explain the expansive relationship of migration between the Arab world and South Asia, forming rich histories of cultural hybridity creating foods like an Indo-Arabian cuisine.

**Interview** (7:04 – 20:51)

(Main)

Sid discusses how select foods act as a symbol of national and home identity.

Mujeeb explains the Hyderabadi and ancient Mughal connection of the dishes.

**Post interview discussion** (20:52- 27:29)

(Dessert)

James and Luke discuss how Al Hyderabadi replicates Muslim Hyderabadi eating practices, with the menu and commensality reflecting this.

**Closing Remarks and acknowledgments** (27:30 – 28:07)

The Migration Menu has been brought to you by James Staples and Luke Heslop, with help from Tina Boulton, Esther Opoku Debra and Vimal Dalal. If you have any questions or comments for us, send them in and we will address them in a future show, you can get in touch at info@themigrationmenu.com. Or on ‘X’ - formerly Twitter: @migration_menu.

Restaurant location: Al Hyderabadi Mandi Biryani 1074 Uxbridge Road, Hayes UB4 0RJ England

Menu dishes eaten:

Sweet Chilli Chips

Masala Fish

Lamb Mandi

Chicken Biryani

Menu: https://alhyderabadi.co.uk/

To see images for this episode, click here.

Literature mentioned:

Brouwer, C. G. 2004. Pepper merchants in the booming port of al-Mukha: Dutch evidence for an oceanwide trading network. Die Welt Des Islams, 44(2), 214-280

Schoff, W. H. 1912. Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

Mukherjee, A. 2017. Gulf Migration and the Flows of Social Remittances: A Study of Barkas in Hyderabad, Sociological Bulletin, 66(1), 91-103

Willis, J. M. 2009. Making Yemen Indian: Rewriting the boundaries of Imperial Arabia, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 41, 23-38

Osella, C. & Osella, F. 2010. Food, Memory, Community: Kerala as both ‘Indian Ocean’ Zone and as Agricultural Homeland, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 31(1), 170-198

For a list of academic literature on these topics and more, please see the list of extended bibliography on the references page or click here.

Guest speakers:

Siddiqui Mohammed Shoeb

Mujeeb Mohammed

For more information, please visit our website: https://themigrationmenu.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.