A historic Parsi dinner was held at Mansion House, the official residence and office of the Lord Mayor of London, last Friday evening.
Food was a significant highlight of the evening, with award-winning celebrity chef Cyrus Todiwala crafting a typical Parsi menu.
The dinner was a “feast of memory, a taste of Bombay recreated in the heart of London, reminding us that our traditions travel with us wherever we go,” as described by Bilimoria.
The multi-course meal featured classic Parsi delicacies:
Starter: Patra Ni Machchi, delicate fillets of sea bass wrapped in banana leaves and steamed with a vibrant coconut chutney.
Appetizer: Murghi No Farcho, the community’s signature fried chicken.
Main Course: Jardaloo Ma Gos No Palav, a rich dish of lamb slow-cooked with apricots and served alongside spiced lentils and fried potatoes.
Dessert: Lagunn Nu Custard, the famous Parsi dessert, which was delicately flavoured with rose, cardamom, and nutmeg and topped with a drizzle of nuts.
The historical significance of the dinner stretches back centuries, with the first known Parsi arriving in Britain as early as 1724. A pivotal moment in the Parsi community’s history occurred in 1861, when Muncherjee Hormusji Cama and Dadabhai Naoroji co-founded the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE). This organization is recognized as the oldest Asian association in Britain.
Originally established to serve the spiritual and practical needs of Zoroastrians in the country, the ZTFE has consistently expanded its mission over the years. It has served not only the community but also broader causes, successfully building bridges with other faiths and wider British society.
The event acknowledged and celebrated the substantial contributions the Zoroastrian community has made to the British economy and culture.
It was co-hosted by Karan Bilimoria and the Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King. Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer and the first-ever Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords. The event was notable because it was the first time that London’s Lord Mayor officially welcomed and hosted members of the Zoroastrian Parsi community.
The Lord Mayor of London used his dinner invitation to acknowledge and celebrate the substantial contributions the Zoroastrian community has made to the British economy and culture.
He highlighted their outsized influence, despite their small population: “Though tiny in numbers, barely 5,000 in the UK, Britain would not be the same without the contribution of the Zoroastrian Parsi community. From business to philanthropy, education to industry, the spirit and dedication of the community is felt worldwide.”
The dinner was attended by many distinguished members of the Parsi community, highlighting their diverse contributions across various sectors. Finance and business leaders included Ron Kalifa, managing partner at Brookfield Asset Management and Senior Independent Director on the Court of Directors of the Bank of England; Cyrus Kapadia, CEO of Lazard UK’s Investment Banking business; Sirous Wadia, operating leader at K1 Investment Management, a private equity firm with $25B in assets under management; Percy Marchant, managing partner of St James Global Partners LLP (SJG), an investment advisory firm; Javid Soli Canteenwala, chief financial officer for the UK & EMEA region at Compagnie Financiere Tradition S.A; Zarir Cama, prominent banker who has held several senior leadership roles at the HSBC Group and Perses Sethna, CEO of PRT Partners Ltd, a consultancy.
Bapsy Dastur, group chief legal officer at the Landmark Group, a leading retail and hospitality organization, also attended the dinner. Other community leaders who attended include Malcolm M. Deboo, elected president of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE); Shernaz Engineer, founder of Verity Appointments and chair of the Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce-UK Chapter; Professor Zenobia Nadirshaw, distinguished clinical psychologist with a 45-year career in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS); Rusi K Dalal, who has held several offices at the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE); Perses Bilimoria, visionary environmentalist and entrepreneur and Ervad Yazad T Bhadha, resident priest at the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE) since 2014.
