While today's curry chefs deal with rising production costs, the British public expects prices — just like their bloody imperialistic history — to remain in the past. The familiar aroma of tempered spices and caramelised onions begins to emerge at noon from the Spice Rouge curry house on Stevenage high street, a full six to seven hours before the evening rush begins. The white-tiled kitchen, with food hygiene edicts taped to the walls, is cosy: barely big enough to hold a nine-burner range with a few pans stacked above, a deep-fat fryer, a small tandoor oven, a worktop and a sink. Plastic tubs of Patak’s spices sit on the shelves above the chopping area.
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