TWENTY-FIVE new jobs will be created when Britain’s fastest growing chain of Indian restaurants opens in Stretford Mall.

The two floor, 125 cover restaurant, at the front of the mall on Chester Road will bring South Indian cuisine to the busy shopping centre.

Known as ChennaiDosa, the company opened its first restaurant in London in 2003 and this will be its 11th.

General Manager Suresh Baskar and Stretford Mall Operations Manager Mike Russell 

General Manager and chef, Suresh Baskar, said: “We looked at venues all over Manchester, including the city centre, but we felt the Stretford Mall had the right location for us because it has a good car park for our customers and it gives us the opportunity to bring something very new to Stretford with no other restaurants like us nearby. We liked the idea of being in with a community rather than in the very crowded environment of the city centre.

“We are already a very well established brand and people know and love our food so trust me when I say that people will visit from all over to come to our restaurant so it will be a great addition for Stretford.”

Colin McCrory, Stretford Mall manager, said the opening of ChennaiDosa was a very exciting new development and would offer a terrific new restaurant for the whole community.

He said: “ChennaiDosa is going to offer another very good reason to come to the Stretford Mall and offer the community a chance to sample some wonderful cultural cookery.

“It will create a substantial amount of new jobs for the area to add to more than 750 jobs which the mall and its retailers already provide.

“I think it will be a tremendous draw for new and existing customers and reflects the positive developments which are happening at Stretford Mall all as we move into 2012.”

The restaurant chain has a menu heavily influenced by the staple food and flavours of South India, where Suresh is from and learnt his skills as a chef.

One of the main dishes on the menu is dosa, a thin, spicy pancake made from fermented rice and lentils which can be served plain with chutneys or with different types of curry. Customers will also find idly which are small, round steamed rice cakes also particular to the Southern region of India.

Suresh has spent 25 years in the hotel and restaurant industry and trained as a chef while working for the Sheraton hotel group.

Originally from Chennai, the capital city of the Southern Indian state of Tamilnadu, Suresh has worked tirelessly over the last eight years to help build up the business and bring the culinary delights of his homeland to his customers.

He said: “People rely on us for our quality, the wonderful taste of our food and our service and that is why we have been successful and what we are seeking to bring to Stretford.

“For those who already know the type of food we cook, they say it is a chance to taste the flavours of home which makes them very happy.

“But it is also a chance for others to try a different type of Indian food and the feedback we get is amazing.”

source: http://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk / News / Monday, January 30th, 2012