|
Her
father is famous chilled food manufacturer Sir Gulam Noon; her
husband is Arun Harnal who runs the magnificent Bombay Brasserie.
With this sort of pedigree it is unsurprising that Zeen, the creation
of Zeenat Harnal and Nizar Challawala is something very special.
Zeenat began work in the
hospitality industry in 1980 when she entered into a management
trainee placement within the prestigious Taj Group of Hotels in
India. Originally based in Mumbai, Zeenat later moved to Bangalore to
continue her work with the hotel group in the role of banqueting
manager. In 1988, she moved to the UK and took on the position of
Operations Director for her father's company, Noon Products Ltd.
Opened at the beginning of
February in London's Drummond Street, the restaurant, managed by
Stalin Salazar, has been very well received and guests gathered on 11
March to officially launch the new venture. Sir Gulam Noon, Noon to
his many friends, positively glowed with parental pride as he
welcomed guests and introduced his daughter with the usual
embarrassing father's comments.
Pat Chapman, he of The Curry
Club, emphasised the place Drummond Street has played in the history
of the curry industry and gave Zeen the greatest possible accolade by
saying it provided "the best Indian food in Britain".
Leicester MP Keith Vaz assured Zeenat that the many curry fans in the
House of Commons would be regular visitors and the first celebrity he
would introduce to the Zeen phenomenon will be US politician Jesse
Jackson who apparently asked would he "see the Queen"
during his visit to which Mr Vaz commented, "no but we will go
to Zeen".
If the delightful canapés
are anything to go by, the Zeen experience promises to be great
success, even in these difficult economic times. Sir Gulam Noon said
the three things vital to a successful restaurant are quality,
quality and quality and Zeen seems to have this in abudance plus that
vital 'value for money' factor.
Zeen was also
featured last month, click HERE to
go to article. |
