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Black London restaurateurs reveal how their industry needs to change

Black London restaurateurs reveal how their industry needs to change

It’s been almost a month since Londoners first protested the murder of George Floyd by police in the US. Since then, activism on the capital’s streets has been joined by online campaigns, fundraisers and conversations about how we can better support Black communities in the city, including Black-owned businesses. Last weekend saw the launch of the first Black Pound Day and, on social media, activists have shared and re-shared lists detailing Black-owned restaurants for people to support. Most of London’s eateries were shuttered when these lists were first made. But, with lockdown rules relaxing, and many places opening their doors again, it feels like the right time to ask what change this renewed support for Black communities is going to make, and what other shifts Black chefs and restaurateurs hope to see from London’s restaurant scene as we move forward. When Warren Richards first started Café Caribbean as a small Covent Garden outlet in 1993, his friends thought he was ‘mad’ because ‘there weren’t any Black people up there’. Caribbean restaurants were predominantly located in the south or west of the city, in areas where the majority of Windrush migrants first settled in the 1940s. But Warren says that he was determined to show that Caribbean food was good enough to be served alongside French, Italian, Chinese and Indian cuisine, all of which the nation had taken to their hearts, and more importantly, their stomachs. ‘A lot has changed over the years,’ he explains. Warren