Who Was Sake Dean Mahomed? Owner Of First Indian Restaurant In Britain

Sake Dean Mahomed, famously known as "the Shampooing Surgeon of Brighton," became popular for his efforts to break down cultural barriers between India and England. On Jan. 15, 1794, Mahomed made history by becoming the first Indian author to write and publish a book in English.

Mahomed was not just an author or a surgeon, he is also credited with introducing Indian cuisine and Indian therapeutic massages, called shampoo baths, to Europe in the early 19th century. Google honored Mahomed's works with its doodle.

"A man of many talents," is what Google wrote to describe Mahomed, one of the most notable early non-European immigrants to the Western world. Mahomed was born in the eastern Indian city of Patna in the present-day state of Bihar in 1759. After his father died, he lived with an officer from the British Army from the age of 10.

He started his career as a trainee surgeon in the army of the British East India Company and remained with the unit until 1782, following which he moved to Britain.

In 1794, Mahomed published "The Travels of Dean Mahomed," an autobiographical narrative about his adventures in India. In 1810, he started living in London where he opened the Hindostanee Coffee House, the first Indian restaurant in Britain.

The Hindostanee Coffee House was located at 34 George Street — now renumbered as 102 George Street — in Marylebone, between Gloucester Place and Baker Street.

According to Mobeen Butt, founder and director of the Muslim Museum Initiative, which records the history of Muslims in Britain, “there were other restaurants serving 'Indian' food before Sake Dean Mahomed's Hindoostane Coffee House, but his was the first to be run by an Indian.”

However, Mahomed was forced to close the restaurant two years later due to financial pressures.

"The Epicure’s Almanack—an early London restaurant guide—hailed it as a place for nobility to enjoy hookah and Indian dishes of the highest perfection," Google wrote.

Epicure’s Almanack, originally published in 1815 and written by poet and playwright Ralph Rylance, did not give much information about Hindoostane Coffee House's food as it was written after the restaurant had closed.

Rylance reportedly referred to Mahomed as "Sidi Mohammed" in the guide, writing that the restaurant “opened… for the purpose of giving dinners in the Hindoostanee style, with other refreshments of the same genus. All the dishes were dressed with curry powder, rice, cayenne and the best spices of Arabia.

"A room was set apart for smoking from hookahs with oriental herbs. The rooms were neatly fitted up en suite, and furnished with chairs and sofas made of bamboo canes. Chinese pictures and other Asiatic embellishments, representing views in India, oriental sports, and groups of natives decorated the walls.”

In 1814, Mahomed moved to the beachside town of Brighton and opened the first commercial "shampooing" bath in England. This place provided a combination of a steam bath and an Indian therapeutic massage. With testimonials from his patients, Mahomed wrote a book about the therapeutic benefits of the treatment, which he called "shampooing."

This treatment became so popular that he was appointed "shampooing surgeon" to British kings George IV and William IV.

Mahomed died in Brighton in 1851, aged 91 or 92.