The Crown Estate says it needs to refurbish Victory House as the structure is in a poor condition
Ranjit Mathrani of MW Eat, which owns the restaurant that once counted Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi among its patrons, is taking the Crown Estate to court on Nov 4 for refusing to extend Veeraswamy’s lease. Because of their insularity where they do not regard Veeraswamy, an institution of 100 years, also one of the leading gastronomic institutions of Indian food in the world, as equivalent to a French or European institution, is this approach.
LONDON: The founder of Britain’s oldest surviving Indian restaurant, Veeraswamy, has accused the Crown Estate of trying to project European cuisine as “superior” to India’s gastronomic traditions by seeking to evict the Michelin-starred eatery from its landmark Regent Street address in London. Mathrani said. On whether King Charles personally values Indian food, Mathrani said, “Veeraswamy catered for the late Queen Elizabeth II twice at Buckingham Palace.
“Would they have handled this the same way had it been a notable French or European restaurant? “One of the only reasons I can think of is that they do not regard Indian cuisine as being of the same importance, level or sophistication as French food. That was the only time an outside caterer did catering inside Buckingham Palace. We know that she herself valued Veeraswamy and appreciated it, but I can’t speak for the King one way or the other.”