When Richard Brown set up an online curry group four years ago, he had no idea just how popular his page would become. Today the ‘Curry Secret’ Facebook page has almost 80,000 members, including prominent authors and bloggers.
Richard set up the ‘Curry Secret’ four years ago during the 2020 Covid lockdown. His day job involves renting out caravans out on the Yorkshire coast. However, his passion is curry; cooking it, eating it and of course promoting it through his popular page, which is inspired by the best selling recipe book of the same name.
Picture: Pukaar News
“I can’t get enough. I’d eat it every night seven nights a week!” he tells Pukaar. “I’ve been cooking curries for the past 30 years – week in week out. With quite a large family, we can’t afford to go eating out so I had to learn how to make my own curry.
“During lockdown when things were pretty dull and nobody was going out, I posted a few videos on Facebook of me cooking curries, and quite a few people started messaging me to say they really enjoyed them,” he said speaking about the origins of the page.
“They said ‘why don’t you start a Facebook group?’ and asked if I could post more videos. They wanted to learn more and cook their own curries, but didn’t don’t know how.”
When he started the page, Richard had between 200-300 members. After being featured on local media, the page grew and grew. Today, the ‘Curry Secret’ has over 78,000 members, with followers from as far as Australia and New Zealand.
Richard Brown lives in Derby and is amazed at the popularly of his page.
“The main purpose initially was just for me to showcase my curries and just see how it went really. I didn’t expect it to get to this level and to attract the kind of people that it’s attracted – authors, bloggers and just some really lovely, helpful people,” he said.
Picture: Pukaar News
As a father of 11 and a grandfather to 10, family is at the heart of everything Richard does. Of course, they get to taste some of his (milder) creations…
“The kids tend not to have so much curry because I like to experiment with hotter ones and things like that. So, it’s generally me, my wife and my eldest that I experiment on!” he revealed.
“Even though I cook from the recipe book, I do try and do my own thing and use my own amounts of spice – sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t. It’s the luck of the draw really.
“My favourite curry is a Chicken Dopiaza – although I’m going to try and experiment with lamb. it’s my go-to curry. I love the flavours – it’s absolutely delicious,” he added.
Another of Richard’s passions is travelling to India, where he can indulge in authentic dishes -curry, curry and more curry!
“I like to go once or twice a year and to experiment with different curries on the menu. One night I’ll go to one restaurant and have a Vindaloo and the next night I’ll try something else and I’ll just keep going until I’ve gone through the full menu,” he said.
“I’ll go to India for a fortnight and have two weeks worth of curry because I love it so much and I’m that passionate about it. For me, no other cuisine quite hits the spot.”
Richard is ambitious about the future of the Curry Secret, and hopes he can increase its following to over 100,000 members.
“I’d like to take it to the next level if I can – a one stop shop where people can get spice kits and things like that…” he reveals.
“There’s nothing monetary about it for me – it’s just me and my passion for cooking a curry. I think if I had my time again, I might have chosen a different career path because it’s something that I love – I love cooking – I love being in the kitchen. But then, if I did it for a career I may not enjoy it as massively as I do…”
To join the ‘Curry Secret’ Facebook page, visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thecurrysecret/
