Siraj Ali

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title: "Siraj Ali" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1954-births", "living-people", "bangladeshi-emigrants-to-the-united-kingdom", "british-restaurateurs", "bangladeshi-businesspeople", "british-philanthropists", "school-governors", "people-from-stanford-le-hope"] description: "Bangladeshi-born British restaurateur and philanthropist (born 1954)" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siraj_Ali" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Bangladeshi-born British restaurateur and philanthropist (born 1954) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Siraj Ali
image_size	220px
native_name	মুহাম্মদ সিরাজ আলি
native_name_lang	bn
birth_name	Muhammad Siraj Ali
birth_date
birth_place	East Pakistan
occupation	Restaurateur
years_active	1979–present
spouse	Begum Momtaj Khanom
children	4
website
::

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Muhammad Siraj Ali (; born 24 November 1954) is a Bangladeshi-born British restaurateur and philanthropist.

Career

In 1979, Ali bought the New Curry Centre in Stanford-le-Hope. At the time, Ali's family was the first Bengali family in Thurrock, Essex.

Ali runs the Maharaja restaurant in South Benfleet, Essex. Since 1991, the restaurant has held charity nights, raising close to £2 million for hundreds of charitable causes, including the Multiple Sclerosis Society, NSPCC, British Red Cross and Breast Cancer Awareness, amongst others. Ali has been involved in the Indian catering industry since the 1970s, with a career spanning 40 years.

Ali is the founder chairman of both the Thurrock Bangladesh Welfare Association and the Thurrock Islamic Educational Cultural Centre. He is the general secretary of the Castle Point Bangladeshi Education and Cultural Centre, as well as governor of the Hajji Soyed Ali Primary School and the chairman of the advisory committee of the Essex Bangladesh Welfare Association.

He is chairman of the Interim Committee Arbitrator and former treasurer of the Balagonj Education Trust, which aims to provide life skills and education to disadvantaged children in Bangladesh. He is also vice-chairman of The Bangladeshi Catering Association (Essex region).

Awards and recognition

In 2009, Ali won the Channel S Award for years of charity work in south Essex. In 2011, he was awarded the British Bangladeshi Who's Who 'Outstanding Contribution' Award for his long standing contribution to the hospitality and catering industry.

In 2009, Ali was the joint winner of the Bangladesh Caterers Association's 'Caterer of the Year' for the South East. In 2015, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Curry Life magazine.

Personal life

Ali lives in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. He is married to Begum Momtaj Khanom, and they have one son, Ansar, and three daughters, Shahena (who is a celebrity television chef on The Food Channel), Shareena and Jasmine.

Ali has arranged around 200 charity events per year for 20 years, raising around £600 to £1,500 an event. It is estimated that he has helped raise £3 million for charity.

References

References

1. (8 November 2015). "Q&A with Siraj Ali: Meet the man who brought Indian cuisine to Thurrock". Thurrock Gazette.
2. McNally, Alex. (25 April 2009). "Restaurant boss Siraj praised for community dedication". Echo.
3. (19 October 2011). "Bangladeshi restaurant entrepreneur honoured". [[Manchester Evening News]].
4. (25 October 2011). "Restaurant owner awarded for work in catering". Echo.
5. (25 October 2011). "Restaurant owner awarded for work in catering". Halstead Gazette.
6. (January 2010). "A "Currysmatic" Bangladeshi Caterers Association Annual Dinner". [[Tandoori Magazine]].
7. (July 2008). "British Bangladeshi Who's Who". British Bangla Media Group.
8. (October 2009). "British Bangladeshi Who's Who". British Bangla Media Group.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::