- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Keerthi Mohan
Google on January 15 honoured Sake Dean Mahomed with a doodle for bringing a slice of India to the UK.
The doodle celebrated Mahomed for his first book penned in English almost 225 years ago.
“A man of many talents, Sake Dean Mahomed was an entrepreneur who made a name for himself by building cultural connections between India and England,” Google wrote in a blog post.
“On this day in 1794, he became the first Indian author to publish a book in English and later, to open an Indian restaurant in England—ushering in what would become one of Great Britain’s most popular cuisines,” the post read.
The Google doodle shows portraiture of Sake Dean Mahomed on a bottle surrounded by Indian herbs and spices.
Besides being the first Indian author to publish a book in English, Mahomed, who was born in Patna, is also the first person to open an Indian restaurant in London.
The restaurant, called the Hindoostane Coffee House, was located in Portman Square, London and it was billed as a high-quality dining experience in 1810 by The Epicure’s Almanack, a popular restaurant guide.
Mahomed’s Hindoostane Coffee House was perfect “for the nobility and Gentry,” according to the guide, “where they might enjoy the Hookha with real Chilm tobacco and Indian dishes of the highest perfection“.
Sadly, his restaurant was forced to declare bankruptcy just two years after opening.
