Patrick Lawrence Chapman (20 December 1940 – 22 July 2022) was an English

food writer Food writing is a literary genre that focuses on the cultural and historical significance of food. It encompasses various forms, including recipes, journalism, memoirs, and travelogues, and can be found in both fiction and non-fiction works. Food ...

, broadcaster and author, best known for founding The Curry Club. He wrote many books about curries.

Early life

Chapman was born in London on 20 December 1940. His father was in the Merchant Navy and his mother was a midwifery training sister at

Queen Charlotte's Hospital Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital is one of the oldest maternity hospitals in Europe, founded in 1739 in London. Until October 2000, it occupied sites in Marylebone Road and at 339–351 Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith, but is now located betwe ...

London, and then ran a maternity nursing home in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

. He was educated at

Bedales School Bedales School is a coeducational boarding and day public school, in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by Amy Garrett Badley and John Haden Badley in reaction to the li ...

, where he spent time on what the school called "Outdoor Work" at the school's farm, working in the piggery and dairy. He took a course at the

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

. He began his career working backstage in London theatres, moving on to

stage management Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

at the

Belgrade Theatre The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building. Background Coventry was the fastest growing city in ...

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. He trained as a jet pilot in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. He then worked for six years on sales and marketing at Lesney Products, going to

night school A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The scuol ...

at Enfield Tech for

Business Studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource manageme ...

and a

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

from the

Chartered Institute of Marketing The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) was founded in 1911. It has over 30,000 members, including more than 3,000 registered Chartered Marketers. CIM offers 130 study centres in 36 countries, and exam centres in 132 countries. In 1952 Prince ...

. He was then accepted as a

mature student An adult learner—or, more commonly, a mature student or mature-age student—is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school di ...

Fitzwilliam College Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

reading

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

. At the same time he started the

stage lighting Stage lighting is the craft of lighting as it applies to the production of theater, dance, opera, and other performance arts.

and sound company, Entec, providing lighting for Cambridge May Balls in 1968, and liquid light shows for

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

in 1970 and 1971. During the 1970s, the company provided lighting and

sound systems Sound system may refer to: Technology media * Sound reinforcement system, a system for amplifying audio for an audience * High fidelity, a sound system intended for accurate reproduction of music in the home * Public address system, an institution ...

for numerous rock music bands. In 1979, Chapman's investor, the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End. It was the location of the first ...

's Harold Pendleton, took over Entec. Chapman moved to

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, and spent the next four years as a consultant to entertainment groups on lighting and sound systems. Chapman inherited a family interest in India, and

curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

in particular. He visited the subcontinent more than 40 times, and set up the Curry Club.

Career

Chapman frequently demonstrated curry, held regular curry cookery courses and took small groups of curry enthusiasts to India to visit a region and sample its cuisine. From 2008, Chapman was an active member of the

Army Benevolent Fund The Army Benevolent Fund, formerly ABF The Soldiers' Charity, is the national charity of the British Army. Since 1944, it has provided a lifetime of support to soldiers, veterans and their immediate families when they are in need. In the finan ...

committee, specifically to help with fund-raising for their annual Big Curry event. For the 2010 National Curry Week celebrations he was commissioned by

Cobra Beer Cobra Beer is a beer brand manufactured in the United Kingdom. The group's primary product is a Beer#"Premium"_beers, premium beer with an alcohol strength of 4.5% by volume (originally 4.8%). The beer was founded in 1989 by Karan Bilimoria, Bar ...

to create recipes which add spice to top British Regional favourite dishes. From 2012 he was a trustee of the Cobra Foundation, an independent charity supported my

Molson Coors Molson Coors Beverage Company is a Canadian-American Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Molson Coors was formed in 2005 through the merger of Mo ...

and Cobra Beer to distribute funds to young people in South Asia by providing health, education, community support. Chapman appeared on British television many times, including on the shows '' Who'll Do The Pudding?'', ''This Morning'', ''

Food and Drink ''Food and Drink'' is a British television series on BBC Two. First broadcast between 1982 and 2002, it was the first national television programme in the UK to cover the subject of food and drink without cookery and recipe demonstrations. Hi ...

'', ''

Great Food Live ''Great Food Live'', formerly ''Good Food Live'', was a British magazine programme hosted by Jeni Barnett and broadcast on UKTVFood part of the UKTV Network between 2001 and 2007. Jeni Barnett was joined every day by a chef co-host. The first co ...

'' and '' Good Food Live''. He had a regular spot on the ''

Good Morning with Anne and Nick In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

'' show.

Awards

On 17 November 2019, Chapman was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asian Curry Awards from the Asian Catering Federation, of which he is the longstanding Chairman of Judges. However, since he was too ill to attend in person, fellow judge George Shaw accepted the award on his behalf saying, "Everyone who works in the curry sector owes Pat a huge debt and never has a Lifetime Achievement Award so been richly deserved." On 22 November 2020 it was planned that Sanjay Anand of Madhu's Caterers and Restaurants would present this Lifetime Achievement Award to Pat Chapman in conjunction with Yawar Khan owner Akash Tandoori Restaurant, Wallington, Surrey and founder The Asian Catering Federation and Awards. The ceremony to present the award was cancelled as restictions on gatherings were in force due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The award was delivered to Chapman's home.

Works

Chapman's first

cookery book A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cours ...

, ''The Indian Restaurant Cookbook'', was published in 1984 and is still in print. Chapman wrote some 36 books, with international sales exceeding 2 million copies. Most are on curry, but some of his other books cover cuisines such as Thai, Chinese, Middle Eastern and International spicy cuisines. His Balti Cookbook was the first on the subject and became a ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' Number 1

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

Books

* 1984 ''Curry Club Indian Restaurant Cookbook'', Piatkus, London * 1985 ''Little Curry Book'', Piatkus, London ** 1986 ''El Librito del Amante del Curry'', Spanish version, pub El Cuerno, Madrid * 1988 ''Curry Club Favourite Restaurant Curries'', Piatkus, London ** 2004 ''Modern Indian Cooking'', republished by John Blake * 1989 ''Sainsbury's Curries'', Octopus, London * 1989 ''Curry Club Chinese Restaurant Cookbook'', Piatkus, London * 1989 ''Curry Club Middle Eastern Cookbook'', Piatkus, London * 1990 ''Curry Club Vegetarian Cookbook'', Piatkus, London * 1991 ''Curry Club 250 Favourite Curries'', Piatkus, London * 1993 ''Curry'', Human & Rousseau, South Africa ** 1993 ''Kerrie'', in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

, Human & Rousseau, South Africa * 1993 ''Curry Club Vindaloo and other Hot Curries'', Piatkus, London * 1993 ''Curry Club 250 Hot and Spicy Dishes'', Piatkus, London * 1993 ''Curry Club Tandoori and Tikka Dishes'', Piatkus, London * 1993 ''Curry Club Balti Curry Cookbook'', Piatkus, London ** 2006 ''Modern Balti Curries'', republished by John Blake, London * 1994 ''Sainsbury’s Balti Cookbook'', Martin Books, Cambridge * 1994 ''Curry Club Book of Indian Cuisine'', US edition, Prima New York * 1995 ''Curry Club 100 Favourite Tandoori Recipes'', Piatkus, London * 1995 ''Pat Chapman's Quick and Easy Curries'', BBC Books * 1995 ''Curry Club Quick After Work Curries'', Piatkus, London * 1995 ''Meatless Indian Cooking from the Curry Club'', Prima Publications * 1996 ''Quick After Work Curries'', US edition, Fisher, Tucson, Arizona) * 1996 ''Curry Club Bangladeshi Restaurant Curries'', Piatkus, London * 1996 ''Curries'' - Masterchef Series, Orion, London * 1996 ''Pat Chapman's Thai Restaurant Cookbook'', Hodder & Stoughton, London * 1997 ''Pat Chapman's Taste of the Raj'', Hodder & Stoughton, London * 1997 ''Sainsbury's Quick and Easy Stir-fries'', Martin Books, Cambridge * 1997 ''Homestyle Middle Eastern Cooking'', Crossing Press, Berkeley, California * 1997 ''Masterchefs'' (Compendium volume), Orion, London * 1997 ''North Indian Curries Classic Cooks'', Orion * 1997 ''Pat Chapman's Curry Bible'', Hodder & Stoughton * 1998 ''Homestyle Indian Cooking'', US edition, Crossing Press, Berkeley, California * 1998 ''Pat Chapman's Balti Bible'', Hodder & Stoughton * 1998 ''Pat Chapman's Noodle Book'', Hodder & Stoughton, London * 1998 ''Classic Cooks'' (compendium volume), Orion, London * 2000 ''Pat Chapman's Vegetable Curry Bible'', Hodder & Stoughton, London * 2000 ''Petit Plats Curry'', French edition, Hachette Marabout, Paris * 2005 ''New Curry Bible'', republished by John Blake * 2007 ''India: Food & Cooking'', New Holland, London

Good Curry Guides

Chapman built up a database on Indian restaurants with a team of some 60 reporters who visited restaurants all over Britain. In 1984, this led to the publication of the '' Good Curry Guide'', a

critique Critique is a method of disciplined, systematic study of a written or oral discourse. Although critique is frequently understood as fault finding and negative judgment, Rodolphe Gasché (2007''The honor of thinking: critique, theory, philosophy ...

of the top 1,000 UK curry restaurants. It has been sponsored by

since 1992, and was cited by the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' for usage of the noun ''balti house'' * ''1984 Good Curry Guide'', Curry Club * ''1987 Good Curry Guide'', Piatkus, London * ''1991 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', Piatkus, London * ''1995 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', Piatkus, London * ''1998 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', Hodder & Stoughton, London * ''1999 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', Hodder & Stoughton, London * ''2000 Cobra Curryholics' Directory'', John Blake Publishing, London * ''2001 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', Simon & Schuster, London * ''2004 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', Curry Club, Haslemere * ''2007 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', John Blake Publishing, London * ''2009 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', John Blake Publishing, London * ''2010 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', John Blake Publishing, London New cover same text as 2009. * ''2013 Cobra Good Curry Guide'', Curry Club Publisher, Haslemere — Complete rewrite.

DVDs

* ''Pat Chapman's Curry Magic'' (2006)

References

External links

An interview with Pat Chapman

Theatricalia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Pat Living people 1940 births People from Ealing People educated at Bedales School Royal Air Force officers Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge People from Haslemere English television chefs English food writers English cookbook writers