BRADFORD’S curry industry is worth £500million to the city’s economy, according to the founder of the World Curry Festival.

Zulfi Karim said Bradford was the hub of the ‘Northern Curry House’ in the north of England.

He said the curry industry in the UK was worth an estimated £4billion, and added that a quarter of that could be attributed to businesses in the north of England - with £500million in Bradford alone.

Mr Karim said: “We estimate the ‘Northern Curry House’ to be worth around £1billion. The ethnic food sector in the north of England has been growing for the last decade, with some of the largest Asian restaurants in the UK based in Bradford.”

Mr Karim said restaurant chains such as Akbars, Aagrah, Jinnah, My Lahore and EastZEast were just a few of the success stories.

“A great deal of their achievement is due to the nation’s growing appetite for world foods, especially among the younger generations,” he said. “While the demand for Asian style ready meals within supermarkets has fuelled the growth of brands such as Mumtaz.”

Grand Master Chef Hemant Oberoi - who is in charge of the food at tonight’s World Curry Festival opening gala dinner at Bradford Cathedral - has described Bradford as “the city with the best curry houses this side of Mumbai”.

To celebrate all that is good about Bradford’s curry scene, the World Curry Festival has teamed up with Welcome to Yorkshire to create a Spice Trail, aimed at inspiring people to try something new or perhaps be reminded of a dining gem. It will recommend some of the best places in Yorkshire to get a spice fix.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Yorkshire is well known for its vast array of wonderful cuisine and one of the foods that has definitely helped put Yorkshire on the culinary map is curry. The World Curry Festival is fantastic for tourism, attracting more than 50,000 visitors from as far and wide as Malaysia, Pakistan and India, as well as chefs, exhibitors and business leaders.”

The two-week-long festival gets into full swing tomorrow with street food stalls in the city from 11am to 7pm, and a Faith in Food event at Bradford Reform Synagogue from 7pm to 9pm. Tickets for the latter are £5.