A Bradford restaurant owner is calling for more training for curry chefs to spice up a staffing crisis.

There are more than 200 restaurants in Bradford and we are now scoffing more curries than fish and chips.

But Bradford's title of Curry Capital could be at risk because of a staffing shortage in curry houses.

Restaurant owners claim the shortage is down to a lack of training courses and a general reluctance among young people to enter the restaurant trade.

The Guild of Bandladeshi Restaur-ateurs is now barring new curry houses from opening and is calling for "training centres of excellence".

Chairman Enam Ali said: "The market is not only growing, it is becoming more sophisticated. It is demanding higher levels of skills both in the kitchens and front of house."

Mohammed Aslam, managing director of the Aagrah chain of restaurants, has been forced to recruit chefs from overseas.

"Because the industry is growing, there is a shortage of skilled chefs," he said. "We have experienced that - and I don't let my chefs leave!

"We have been in the business for 25 years and have trained many staff ourselves. There needs to be more specialist courses to train chefs."

"We have had to get a couple of chefs from overseas. "But you have to train them in hygiene and other things, even if they come from 5-star hotels."

The Nawaab restaurant in Bradford runs its own training courses.

Spokesman Mehboob Hussein said: "There should be specialist courses but it's better to train a chef in a restaurant because menus differ."