00:16Hello and welcome to Made in Cairns live on KMTV. I'm Fauria Deoyer and this is the show where we
00:22explore the world of businesses and creators throughout the county. This week we are examining
00:27the cultural diversity of businesses in Kent. First this week our reporter Ethan Matiringay
00:33visited the Asian food market in Canterbury to see what it's like running a multicultural shop
00:38as a family in Kent and how their social media presence is impacting their businesses
00:43their business and customers. Let's take a look. The Asian food market offers a wide range of
00:51products and produce from Indian Sri Lankan and Nepali ingredients to Afro-Caribbean foods
00:57and much more. I had the opportunity to speak with the owner Tushy and nephew Nadeesh about
01:04their experience running a multicultural food store. I think it's been very positive like
01:09we've had I think Canterbury is becoming more diverse that's why we've got so many ranges
01:14we've got like Asian Caribbean so I think with everyone because there's so much of a different
01:18market to like this store it's great to see more and more people come in. So we do have
01:24communities from Sri Lanka, India, South India, Pakistani customers, we have customers from
01:31Bangladesh, we have a lot of African customers, Caribbean customers. I'm from Sri Lanka I don't
01:36know those products from those countries so the customer will come and ask for a particular
01:41product. We then try to find where the suppliers are and source them especially vegetables we only
01:47know our vegetables from Sri Lanka and for us to then have the range we have now is from
01:52the customer demand. The increase in customer demand is largely thanks to their social media
01:58pages promoting both their day-to-day business as well as new and existing products within
02:04their store. With the online presence we've got so many more people reaching out and we're
02:10tapping into different different cultures as well. Because we're doing it online it reaches
02:14multiple different people and with that we're seeing people from Dover and Margate all of these
02:20places near to us and they're seeing this place so it helps them not only is it helping us with
02:24obviously business but it also helps them by coming into the store and now they get to see this place
02:29and we get people messaging us being like oh do you have this and this and it's easy for us
02:33to
02:34just quickly reply being like yes we've got this in store or no but we'll try and source it for
02:38you guys and I guess that just helps everyone. Ethan Materinge for KMTV in Canterbury.
02:45Now let's take a moment to delve into the numbers and figures of the impact cultures have on the
02:50county. Joining me this week to bring us the deep dive is Joel Fletcher.
02:59Hi Joel. Hi. So what does Kent's multicultural landscape look like? Well most in the county know
03:06of the world heritage site Canterbury Cathedral but what the religious site people might not know of
03:11is the Guru Nanak Daba Gurdwara in Gravesend, the largest Sikh temple in Europe. Gravesend is home to
03:17the biggest proportional Sikh community in Kent with 11 percent of the population identifying within the
03:23Asian, Asian-British or Asian-Welsh category in a 2021 census. Many Punjabi settled in the town in
03:30the 1950s to work in the local paper milling industry or in construction. To give a few other examples,
03:37Maidstone regularly celebrates the Chinese New Year at the Jubilee Square in Dover. There is the
03:43multicultural festival in June which gives people the chance to hear new music, try new foods, dance and art.
03:49Additionally, Europe's number one Caribbean food festival that is held across the country,
03:55The Taste of the Caribbean, is also hosted in Maidstone and Bexley Heath. The festival showcases
04:00authentic Caribbean food and cocktails, live reggae tribute bands as well as fun fair rides and
04:06activities. And finally last November was the African and Caribbean festive market in Rochester hosted by
04:13the Medway African and Caribbean Association. And how does Kent's geography influence its multiculturalism?
04:21Well Kent's bordering of the English Channel has dubbed it the gateway of Britain with it being the
04:26closest county to Europe and is defined by these ancient sink ports like Dover, New Romney, Hive and
04:33Sandwich. These coastal towns have become hubs for migration and therefore cultural sharing. Kent's vast
04:40size contributes to its cultural variety as well, with it being sandwiched between London, the cultural
04:45hub of the UK and Europe. Some parts of the county are even closer to France than they are to
04:51London.
04:51And we looked at the food shop earlier, how could you tell, could you tell me a bit about the
04:57country's
04:58relation with the multicultural food? Of course. Well the UK is both the figurative and literal melting pot of
05:04different foods with culinary roots from all over the globe. According to a YouGov poll last year,
05:10the biggest cuisine in the UK was actually Chinese, with 45% of its voters having eaten at least once
05:16in over the past three months. Next was Indian cuisine at 39% and Italian at 37%.
05:26Does the country have any favourite multicultural dishes specifically? Perhaps the most beloved
05:32multicultural example at the moment is the teak masala, which while having its origins in Indian
05:37cuisine is also considered quintessentially British. The Glaswegian chef, Mr. Ali Ahmed Aslam,
05:44is widely regarded as the creator of the dish and has become a true symbol of the country's blending
05:49of cultural influences. South Asian cuisine in Kent is extremely accessible, so its popularity will only
05:55continue to grow. Well thank you so much for the insight Joel.
06:05Well now that we've heard some of the statistics, let's hear from some of the residents in Rochester
06:11on how they explore and incorporate different cultures into their lives. I feel there are different
06:18festivals and events that can relate me to a number of cultures. I think it's very diverse here, I like
06:28here.
06:29Most people are interested in food, so you would tend to go to the multicultural food shops.
06:37I do, I really like the new experience that you get. I love food, so I also like trying different
06:43foods from different cultural shops and also looking at the clothes as well.
06:47Yeah, I like the fact that there's different food. I mean British food was notoriously samey.
06:54You wouldn't believe how samey it was.
06:57There's a Thai food place in Dockside, inside or the upstairs that I really like,
07:02their food is just so nice and people there are always really welcoming.
07:05Yeah, the African food shop I think that would probably be one of my favourite businesses,
07:09there's a few of them in there.
07:10No, you can get good British food, but yeah, our diet would be pretty dull without foreign restaurants.
07:18The spirit is the essence about supporting the multicultural businesses.
07:24I think they stop people being like narrow-minded, just focusing on themselves and not really branching
07:30out. I think it also brings a new experience for people to be able to try new things.
07:34They cater for everybody and everybody then feels that they're included in the community, which is important.
07:42Based on what I've experienced here, just over these four years actually,
07:48I think it's quite enough at the moment. I think that, yeah, it's quite diverse.
07:54There's always room for improvement. There are certain shops that you might have so many of that
07:58that we might not necessarily need and we can put up more shops from different cultures.
08:03I think in Medway towns, generally, I think they are well catered for. There's always room for more, obviously.
08:11And finally, our next story took us to Gravesend where we looked into traditional South Asian fashion.
08:18Sanj Batik is a local business that provides traditional dresses and tailoring services,
08:23and their owner, Veena, is the first person in her family to start her own business
08:29after coming to study the UK. Our reporter, Kari Damani, went down to find out
08:35more about how she serves her community.
08:38We spoke to the owner about running her business and the product she sells to her community.
08:43So in this country, I just came in 2009 on student visa and the journey wasn't easy. And I'm the
08:50first
08:50one from my family who is running business as a woman. But I started slowly from my home.
08:57Then I just build up customers. Most of my customers give me this idea to open a shop here because
09:04we're just in front of that temple and most of the community comes here.
09:09The Guru Nanak Dhabha Gurdwara is the center of Gravesend Sikh community,
09:14drawing in people from all over the country for special worship, events and ceremonies.
09:19The temple is funded and taken care of by the local community.
09:24Because in Indian culture, we celebrate so many types of festivals. So every festival,
09:32we need new outfits. And now other community also join us. When you see in April, we celebrate
09:41Vaisakhi here. So most of people come together and everybody wants to join and wear Indian outfits.
09:48And this is the way I think we bring all communities together.
09:52So whoever our customer, they are with me from 12 years, wherever I'm going, they're just following me.
10:00So it was an easy journey. But I think because we have so much community here,
10:05like South Indian and Indian community, but now other culture, other different people also join us.
10:12And people from all over the Kent, Jillygum and Canterbury, people all around are coming to us now.
10:21Veena also showed us some of the dresses she sells here and told us about the other services she offers.
10:27These are, so I don't know, as you guys know, that's called sharara. So we do use this most of
10:34our
10:35weddings, parties, and these are the heaviest ones. You know, Indian functions goes for weeks and weeks.
10:43For every event, we need new outfits. So we do customise as well.
10:48We can do made-to-measure. And most of our outfits comes ready-made. So we do, and we can
10:56make to your size.
10:57And we do Punjabi juttis, Punjabi shoes, Indian shoes, and all the jewellery.
11:04That's Kari Damani from KMTV.
11:07Thank you, Ji. Sashigal.
11:09You've been watching Made in Kent live on KMTV. There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
11:15But don't forget, you can always keep up to date with the latest news across the county by logging on
11:22to
11:22KMTV.co.uk. You can keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and following us on
11:28Instagram.
11:29We also have a range of special programmes in Victor Sports, Kent Students 101, Kent Chronicles,
11:35Kent Film Club, Based in Kent, and The Politics Show. But for me, for now, have a good evening. Good
11:41night.
11:54Good night.
11:59Good night.
11:59You
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