Bradford restaurateur saves 100,000 plastic containers going to landfill

The owner of an Indian street food and craft beer restaurant in Bradford has celebrated a major milestone in his crusade to reduce plastic waste.

Harry Khinda, owner of The Crafty Indian on Bradford Road in Shipley – previously known as the Michelin Guide listed, Zaara’s – introduced reusable steel tiffin tins as an alternative to plastic containers for takeaways in 2020 and has just sold his 500th.

“Before the tiffins, we would use upwards of 20,000 plastic containers and bags every year for takeaway orders,” said Harry. “These days the vast majority of our regular customers own their own tiffins, which they bring with them whenever they order a takeaway. Not only do they reduce plastic use and waste, but they keep the food an awful lot warmer when taking it home.”

The idea for the tiffin’s came from Harry’s dad, Gian Singh. He brought his with him from the Punjab when the family left India for the UK in the 1960s and used it every day to carry his food to work at a piston manufacturer in Bradford. Harry is sure the decades old container is still in a cupboard somewhere in the family home.

Tiffin tins, which are tiered steel lunchbox containers, are used to transport food – hot or cold – and can be unstacked and eaten straight out of, so saving on dishes for takeaway diners. They’re still extremely popular in India and have proved a real hit with those who use The Crafty Indian ones.

Josephine Booth, the buyer of the 500th one sold by Harry, said: “The tiffin’s look great, keep your takeaway really warm – all the way back home to Otley in my case – and, as Harry says, they’re helping to play a part in reducing plastic waste.”

Meanwhile, Matt Thompson, who along with his partner, Claire Wallis, bought the 501st and 502nd on the same evening, added: “This is the first time I’ve been to The Crafty Indian and it’s been great. The food’s fantastic, the craft beer selection really does make a change from the usual choice of Kingfisher or Cobra and I just couldn’t leave without buying a couple of tiffins. I’ll definitely be popping in with them on the way home from Bradford City matches from now on.”

Harry sells the tiffin’s for £18, but they start paying for themselves from the very first takeaway order – with customers using them getting a 10 per cent discount.

“If you do the maths, it only takes ten £20 takeaways before the cost has been covered by the tiffin discount,” added Harry. “It really is a win-win situation for the customer, the planet and The Crafty Indian – as they’re a real talking point, so much so that we’ve sold some on the back of someone seeing them in a friend’s kitchen.”

Harry and his family opened their Bradford Road restaurant in 2007 as Zaara’s. A traditional Indian restaurant, it went on to gain a great reputation – earning a listing in the Michelin Guide for six consecutive years from 2010 to 2016. In 2019, Harry felt there was a change in the way the market was going and rebranded and reopened as The Crafty Indian – a street food and craft beer restaurant that is now very much a destination for discerning diners as well as the local population.

“The menu’s smaller than a traditional Indian restaurant, and the dishes may not be easily recognisable, but they all have one thing in common – once eaten they aren’t forgotten. Everyone has their favourite and all of our regular customers have tried everything many times over.”