Bajloor Rashid

Background

Rashid was born in Balikandi, Maulvi Bazar, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

Career

From 2006 to 2012, he was the president for the Bangladesh Caterers Association United Kingdom. In 1978, he came to the United Kingdom to further his education. In 1980, Rashid opened his first restaurant Curry Garden, in High Street, Dover. This gained him prominence in the early 1980s as a young entrepreneur in the curry industry, which led him to join the Bangladesh Caterers Association United Kingdom, the largest body of curry restaurant owners.

Rashid has also been involved in property investments owning commercial buildings.

In 1993, he also got involved in a wholesale business, selling rice and spices. From 2006 to 2012, Rashid served as the national president for the Bangladesh Caterers Association.

He established the Bank Central Asia Awards and under his presidency (2007-2011), there were five annual awards. As a result of this the Bank Central Asia Awards gained industry recognition.

In April 2008, Rashid was at the forefront of the Trafalgar Square demonstration, which was attended by tens of thousands of people.

This led to a debate in the House of Commons about immigration rules. The demonstration was aimed at drawing government attention to the problems the curry industry had over skilled chefs being included in the shortage occupation list of the United Kingdom Border Agency. He is also a senior director of the British Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce which was created in 1991.

He is a chairman or director of 20 companies.

In September 2013, he was elected as Chairman of the Progressive Life Insurance Company. In 2014, he became president of the United Kingdom Bangladesh Catalysts of Commerce and Industry.

Rashid now owns three restaurants in Ashford, Whitstable and Wingham. In 2012, he sold one of his restaurants in Southgate, North London.

Rashid has been involved in assisting the plight of communities affected by some of the world"s worst natural disasters such as Cyclone Sidr. for his services to the catering industry.

Achievements

• In 2012, Rashid was appointed a Member of the British Empire (Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2012 New Year Honours. for his services to the catering industry. In 2012, the BlackBerry (British Bangladeshi) Power 100 List, ranked him as one of the top ten most influential BlackBerry individuals in the United Kingdom. The following year he was awarded first place in the Community Personality category in the BlackBerry Power 100 Awards 2013. He has been recognised in the BB100 Awards 2016 in the Networks and Associations category. The British Bangladeshi Who"s Who, has listed him a number of times in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014 for his work in catering and communications. In 2015 he was listed for his work in the Business & Community sector by them. In 2014 he was given an award by the BlackBerry Who"s Who in recognition for his outstanding contribution. Channel South Television awarded him Business Personality of the year in 2013.

Membership

Rashid is known for building up a substantial support network of agencies, working closely with the United Kingdom Government, members of Parliament, UKBA, MAC and the Police. He is a member of various community organizations. In 2012, Rashid was appointed a Member of the British Empire (Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2012 New Year Honours.