East meets West: Arbuckles puts halal burgers on menu

American-style burger and steak restaurant Arbuckles in Star City, Birmingham, has become the first western eaterie to adopt the Muslim rules of halal in the UK. Offering steaks, burgers, grills and milk shakes, the Midlands restaurant now serves only halal meats, sells no alcohol, follows strict hygiene rules and has specially screened-off areas.

Arbuckles, which has 12 sites across the UK and is owned by the Nobel House group, started planning the project four months ago after a survey into local eating habits revealed that the restaurant would attract more customers if it adopted halal.

John Collins, chief operating officer for Arbuckles, was pleased with results so far. "We are building trade quite gradually on a weekly basis," he said, "but we have a regular customer base now that we didn't have before."

The National Halal Food Group and the Global Halal Authority, Saudi Arabia, have worked closely with Nobel House to help it gain certification.

Muhammed Z Yaqoob, senior adviser to the chairman of the Global Halal Authority, Saudi Arabia, said the move was significant for the UK's 1.5 million Muslims. "There are a large numbers of Muslims in this country not being catered for and this is an important step-change."

He also said the Authority was in discussions with several other "international restaurant chains".

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 30 October - 5 November 2003