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Sanjay Aggarwal’s now-booming business was based around a family heirloom: a 100-year-old spice mill. He started selling spice blends with his mother in 2012 almost by accident. “It wasn’t meant to be a business,” the 40-year-old admits. “It was only started as a retirement hobby for my mum. What started off as a silly little idea, so to speak, just grew. We started online and moved after a few years to selling in shops.” Spice Kitchen has been wildly successful, and now Aggarwal is adding another string his company’s bow by writing a cookbook. Above all the success, he’s really just appreciated spending time with his 72-year-old mother, Shashi. “She’s incredible – she’s a whirlwind. She was born in Kenya and raised in India, so she’s got a really eclectic mix of culture. And she’s a real spice expert – we’ve got a 100-year-old spice mill in our family that’s travelled the world and I’ve got it here now; we started the business using that.” Aggarwal says it felt “natural” to work with his mother, after helping his parents run their Birmingham shop when growing up. But he’s “learned loads” from her during their new venture. “It’s certainly made me realise how entrepreneurial my mum is, how creative she is… I’ve been really impressed by how similarly we think.” He says: “We’re certainly closer for it. It’s got the ups and downs and challenges that everything has, but we’re still talking!” While there are plenty of flavour-packed Indian dishes in the new cookbook – including coriander and tandoori fishcakes, chickpea curry and tarka dal – the recipes have a decidedly global outlook. Think fish tacos, jerk-inspired pork, crispy duck with pancakes – and Aggarwal credits this to growing up in the diverse city of Birmingham. “I was born and brought up there, so for me, that was all I knew. But for my mum, it was very much a big influence on her,” he explains. When she came to the UK as a young married woman, “her cuisine and culture was all very Indian” – something that soon changed. “My mum has really seen that development of food and culture, and that cosmopolitan nature of Birmingham. It’s had tidal waves of immigration – my mum being one of them from India – and from West Africa and Asia and all different places. She’s witnessed that, when she came to the UK.” Aggarwal recounts how in the early days of living in Birmingham, Shashi would grind her own spices – you couldn’t buy blends at the time – which “reminded her of home and made her less homesick”, but then her palate expanded. “She’s vegetarian, but got to try all these amazing different sorts of vegetarian food from all around the world, be it Middle Eastern, Chinese or Japanese or whatever. Some of those things weren’t accessible when she first came, but were as time went on – and my mum’s very experimental. “She’s a real foodie. She loves trying new things and experimenting – probably more than anyone else I know. I think she’s quite unique, because I think a lot of people from cultures where they’ve got a really strong food culture – certainly like Indian culture – a lot of my aunts and uncles, they don’t really eat or experiment outside of Indian food. They find it quite scary, not very flavoursome, or quite bland. But my mum really gets it – she’s got a really deep palate, and she can really appreciate different cultures.” This love of different cuisines means both mother and son are quite free with the way they cook– and they want other people to be the same. For example, if you’re making a frittata and you don’t have any Italian seasoning, Aggarwal says: “Try it with Mexican [spice blends], try it with jerk and you could still create something amazing. Don’t be afraid to experiment.” One of the more unusual combinations he’s tried? Mexican spices in a shepherd’s pie: “It actually tastes amazing in there. We’re just trying to get people to be a bit more free thinking and adventurous. What’s the worst that can happen?” Aggarwal says he’s often asked how to make an “authentic” dish – a question he struggles to answer. “It’s very difficult to understand what they mean by that – what is the meaning of authenticity? I’m a second-generation British-born person… Food has evolved over time. We wanted to make sure the dishes [in the cookbook] were authentic in terms of linking back to the original recipes and what they’re all about, and especially the blends being as authentic as possible – trying to respect the tradition. “But we’re also trying to say, we can only take our take on things. I can take my take on things and my mum can take her take on things – and things have changed over time.” That’s why Aggarwal advises against getting “too hung up on authenticity, because there is no way of achieving it”. Instead, he recommends taking a dish you like and “play with the flavours a little bit” to “make it your own”. ‘Spice Kitchen’ by Sanjay Aggarwal (Quadrille, £22).

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Julie Rikelman, the attorney who argued on behalf of the Mississippi abortion clinic before the Supreme Court in the case that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, has been confirmed to a federal appeals court judgeship.

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A video claiming to show food going to waste at Starbucks has gone viral, despite the company previously pledging to donate all unsold food. Aidan Stockin, who works at the coffee chain, alleged that throwing away “perfectly good food” has become common practice at Starbucks. In a clip that has been viewed 2.2m times and liked by more than 189,000 viewers, the 23-year-old showed food waste allegedly left over at the end of his shift. “It’s not just one restaurant, it’s all of them,” the biology student from Massachusetts told NeedToKnow.co.uk. “I’ve worked in several over the past seven years and every single one says that they have a food donation service, then turns around and throws out a substantial amount of food daily. “It made me feel sick to be forced into throwing out so much perfectly good food when the homeless shelter is 10 minutes down the road.” In the video, he began by showing a shopping cart being filled with different packaged food items. He then revealed another trolley filled to the brim with pastries, before showing a picture of all the alleged waste in total. Users have taken to the comments to share their reactions, with many left upset and confused. “Nooo why can’t they donate it,” one viewer asked, while another said: “I would legit cash app you right now for those chocolate croissants.” “Just call your local Salvation Army to pick it up,” someone else suggested, while another viewer claimed the food waste should be “illegal”. In 2016, Starbucks announced its “FoodShare” programme, where it said it would donate unsold food from 100 per cent of the US stores. In 2020, it was alleged that Starbucks locations were throwing away unsold food, as investigated by the New York Post. According to Aidan, food is allegedly still being thrown away in 2023. Referring to the incident in the TikTok, he said: “The exact same scenario happened with our savoury sandwiches two days prior, in which two full carts were thrown away. In total, five carts were thrown out in less than three days. “I felt trapped and conflicted because if it were up to me, I would have loaded the food into the back of my car and drove it straight down to the homeless shelter.” Jam Press contacted Starbucks for comment. A company spokesperson said: “At Starbucks, our goal is to donate 100 per cent of approved to donate food, including perishable items like salads and sandwiches, furthering Starbucks resource positive commitment to reduce waste by 50 per cent by 2030. “Since 2016, Starbucks has been committed to supporting hunger relief through its innovative Starbucks FoodShare food donation program in partnership with Feeding America, Second Harvest Canada and other hunger-relief organisations. “Expanding our efforts to rescue food and divert from landfills is key to helping us reach our aspirations. We have developed a process which enables us to donate our fresh, ready-to-eat food items in addition to the pastries that we have been donating for years. Our commitments and FoodShare programming are carried out in company-owned stores. We encourage our licensed store partnerships to include Starbucks donations in their existing food waste reduction and donation programs.” Read More How can you save money on your wedding food? Woman praised for telling guests not to eat the food at her sister’s wedding 7 TikTok food hacks that actually work Schoolboy almost dies from swallowing magnets for TikTok challenge Woman shares honest review of New York City apartment TikTok mom slammed after making 5-year-old son run in 104 degree heat

The construction manager for the beleaguered American Dream mall and entertainment complex in New Jersey’s Meadowlands is suing

“Aussies know a road warrior when they see one,” Ukraine’s Defense Department said earlier this month in a

A celebrity chef has “banned” vegans from his restaurant after reportedly receiving a negative review from a customer who criticised the lack of plant-based options. On Tuesday, Chef John Mountain revealed on the Facebook page for his restaurant Fyre that the eatery would no longer be catering to vegan diners. According to Mountain, the decision to ban vegans from the Perth, Australia, restaurant was due to “mental health reasons”. “Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons),” the post on the restaurant’s Facebook reads. “We thank you for your understanding. Xx.” The post also included the caption: “Yep. I’m done.” and the hashtags #vegan, #not, #pleasegoelsewhere, #veganfreezone, and #nomorevegans. The decision allegedly stemmed from a bad review posted by a vegan customer, with Chef Mountain telling PerthNow that a customer had reached out to him to ask if there were any vegan options at the restaurant, and that he’d promised he would accommodate her. “A young girl reached out to me and said she was coming to the restaurant… and asked if there were vegan options,” he said. “It was my only shortfall… I said I would accommodate her, I said we had gnocchi, vegetables… and that was that.” However, according to Mountain, who previously starred on the BBC show Great British Menu, he’d forgotten about the woman’s request when she came to dine on Saturday, as he’d been busy catering a private party. “Saturday came around and sadly I’d forgotten… I had a private party I had to cater for,” he told the outlet, adding that his sous chef had reportedly reprimanded him for “not telling them about the vegan customer”. According to the UK-born chef, the woman wrote a complaint to the restaurant on Facebook the following day, in which she’d criticised the $32 vegetable dish that had been her “only option”. The woman’s message also reportedly read: “I think it’s incredibly important nowadays that restaurants can accommodate everyone and to not be able to have actual plant-based meals shows your shortcomings as a chef. “I hope to see some improvements in your menu as I have lived in Connolly for quite some time and have seen many restaurants come and go from that building and none of them last. If you don’t get with the times, I don’t hold out faith that your restaurant will be the one that does.” The restaurant reportedly addressed the woman’s complaint in a response of its own, in which it noted that it tried to “accommodate everyone” before encouraging the customer to “feel free to share your sh**ty experience”. “Thanks for your negative review… please feel free to share your sh***y experience and I look forward to not seeing you again. How very childish. You and all your vegan mates can all go and enjoy your dishes in another venue, you are now banned,” the restaurant’s response read, according to PerthNow. Although Chef Mountain admitted he’d said he would accommodate the woman and then “didn’t,” she’d made the complaint “personal”. The chef also claimed that, as a result of the woman’s complaint, his restaurant was flooded with negative one-star reviews on Google, which he said “really hurts the business”. “F*** vegans seriously… I’m done. At the end of the day, it’s not what I want to do, they can f*** off,” he added. Mountain reiterated the sentiment while speaking to 7News, with the chef telling the outlet: “F*** vegans, I’m done with them.” Mountain also claimed that customers should “know what they’re getting from me,” as he has previously written a cookbook titled Pig. “I once wrote and sold a book called Pig which had pork recipes. People know what they’re getting from me,” he said. “I understand where vegans are coming from but my job is to make food taste as good as I can and I can’t always cater to everybody’s dietary requirements.” On social media, the chef’s ban on vegans has sparked an intense debate among customers, with some praising Mountain and Fyre, while others have condemned the decision. “Bravo! Good on you mate, great stance. It’s nowhere near where I live but I will definitely come to your restaurant now,” one comment under the Facebook post reads, while another person wrote: “Can’t wait to try this place, just booked a table! Looking forward to a nice piece of rare steak.” The restaurant has also received a flood of positive reviews on its Facebook, where many have praised both the food and the staff, while others have applauded the restaurant’s “principles” and “ethics”. “Outstanding chef. Great rules and ethics,” one review reads, while another recent review states: “Great staff, great food and a chef with principles.” However, the restaurant has also continued to face criticism over Mountain’s “ban” on vegans, with one recent review reading: “You can’t call yourself a chef if you can’t even cook veggies. Owner is very arrogant and can’t take criticism.” “Discriminating and refusing vegans into his venue, all for a complaint for not following an agreed vegan option. How disgusting,” someone else wrote. The restaurant’s alleged ban on vegans comes after a vegan landlord in New York City recently went viral after requesting that only tenants who follow a plant-based diet live in the building. The Independent has contacted Chef Mountain for comment. Read More Vegan landlord seeks tenants for $5,750 New York apartment with period features. Meat eaters need not apply Vegan family asks neighbours to close their windows when cooking meat Former vegan says meat ‘saved her life’ after diet ‘made hair fall out’ Missing Glastonbury? Here’s how to have a festival feast at home Four berry sweet recipes that go beyond strawberries and cream Can you whip up the perfect burger in just five minutes?

The infamous College World Series Jello shot contest record should be questioned.

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China is bracing for more extreme weather in coming days, bringing further risks to grain production across the

UK food price inflation may have passed its peak, with two separate surveys showing an improvement. The market