Community helps restaurant with graffiti clean-up

RESIDENTS in Wiveliscombe have been praised for coming to the rescue of a soon-to-open restaurant which suffered graffiti vandalism.
The Moorkhana restaurant in Silver Street is due to open mid to-late May, offering authentic Indian food cooked from family recipes.
But owners Mignon and Andrew Johnson were shocked to find that under the cover of darkness one night, vandals had graffiti-sprayed every window of the restaurant frontage.
Although some of the graffiti was particularly offensive toward the couple, Mignon – who is an Indian national - did not believe it was racially motivated.
And she praised local residents who expressed their disgust at the incident and who helped to clean the spray paint from the building.
Moorkhana is currently being converted from a former office and has already created an employment boost for the town by recruiting local staff.
Mignon said: “We have been overwhelmed by the kindness of our neighbours after this happened and quite a few of them came along and offered their help in cleaning it up
“It was quite a shock to see what had been done, but we understand that it was probably just the antics of some high-spirited youths who had been to a local party and had too much to drink.
“It has not put us off and work is now back on schedule for us to be ready to serve our first customers during the middle to late part of May.
“We have a CCTV system being installed in the restaurant and we will now adapt this so that if this sort of thing does happen again we will know who has done it.”
Moorkhana is still keen to hear from people who are interested in pursuing a career in the restaurant trade, especially anybody who could assist Mignon in the preparation of her authentic Indian cuisine.
Mignon said: “There is a shortage of curry chefs in the UK at the moment, so this would be a rare opportunity to acquire a culinary skill which is currently in great demand.”
The couple will be offering samples of their restaurant fayre when they take part in the Milverton Street Faire on the bank holiday Monday.
Moorkhana the trading name of The Saffron Kitchen, which built its reputation over the past few years through private party catering and regularly attending farmers’ markets in Taunton, Wellington, Cotford St Luke, Minehead, Exeter, Crewkerne, and Glastonbury, as well as by supplying select delicatessens.
The business has recently also been awarded five stars under the district council’s ‘scores on the doors’ scheme of inspecting food businesses, which means it is rated as having an ‘excellent level of compliance’ and being ‘highly confident in management of food safety’.
Moorkhana will be a family-friendly restaurant where children will be welcome. It also has a function room which can be used by local organisations. Customers will also be able to order takeaway dishes.
Any chefs who would like to work in the Moorkhana restaurant should contact Mignon and Andrew Johnson by telephoning 01984 623648.
More information about Moorkhana is available by visiting the website http://www.thesaffronkitchen.co.uk/.

• Our photographs show (TOP) Andrew Johnson cleaning away some of the graffiti, and (BELOW) some of the Wiveliscombe residents who have been helping with the clean up at Moorkhana. Photos submitted.
  
  

Indian food producer to open restaurant in market town

PLANNING permission has now been granted for award-winning Indian food producer Mignon Johnson to convert empty offices to a restaurant in Wiveliscombe.
The restaurant in Silver Street will be branded Moorkhana, which is the trading name of The Saffron Kitchen range of meals currently produced from Mignon’s home in Lydeard St Lawrence.
Work on converting the premises is due to start in the next few days and the restaurant is likely to be open by the beginning of May.
A special telephone number has been provided to local residents while the work is ongoing in case they need to raise any issues.
Mignon and her husband Andrew have already taken on some staff, but are still looking for more employees, especially kitchen assistants, cleaning staff, and waiting staff, whom they hope will be people who live locally.
The couple are keen to support the Wiveliscombe economy through generating new jobs, continuing to source local produce wherever possible, and bringing more visitors to the town
Samples of the food which can be eaten in the Moorkhana restaurant will be available at the Milverton Street Fair on bank holiday Monday, May 5, which Mignon and Andrew will be attending.
Moorkhana has recently also been awarded five stars under Taunton Deane Borough Council’s ‘scores on the doors’ scheme of inspecting food businesses, which means it is rated as having an ‘excellent level of compliance’ and being ‘highly confident in management of food safety’.
Mignon, who is an Indian national, said: “The Moorkhana restaurant is going to be very different from the type of Indian restaurant people have become used to in this country.
“All of our meals use family recipes which we cook ourselves and that means we will have a select menu and not the seemingly endless choices you find in some restaurants.
“It may surprise some people, for instance, to learn that there is no such dish as chicken tikka masala in India - it is something that has been created over here to suit English tastes.
“As well as serving authentic food just like you would find in India, we hope to educate customers about what they are eating to increase their enjoyment of the food and add value to their restaurant experience.
“Our market research shows we are likely to attract people from a large area of Somerset, so it means there are opportunities for other Wiveliscombe businesses to also benefit.”
Moorkhana will be a family-friendly restaurant where children will be welcome, and it also has a function room which can be used by local organisations. Customers will also be able to order takeaway dishes.
Moorkhana has built its reputation over the past few years by regularly attending farmers’ markets in Taunton, Wellington, Cotford St Luke, Minehead, Exeter, Crewkerne, and Glastonbury, and more recently by supplying select delicatessens.
Anybody who would like to work in the Moorkhana restaurant should contact Mignon and Andrew Johnson by telephoning 01984 656931 or emailing to enquiries@thesaffronkitchen.co.uk.
More information about Moorkhana and its range of Indian foods is available by visiting the websites www.thesaffronkitchen.co.uk and www.localfooddirect.co.uk.

• Our photograph shows Mignon and Andrew Johnson outside the offices they plan to convert into an Indian restaurant. Photo submitted.