This week I was really quite excited to be attending an event in honour of Dame Stephanie Shirley. She  quite rightly,   was recently  appointed as the governments’ ambassador for philanthropy. I  really do have a lot of admiration for her  and was so humbled to be given the honour of introducing Dame "Steve"  on Wednesday's event.  Coming to London in 1939 from Germany as a child refugee she has  been through a lot. She was welcomed by Britain with open arms, and began making steps towards building her business with only £6, eventually turning it into a multi million pound organisation. She has donated over £50 million to charity, and plans to donate the rest of her wealth before she dies. Her aim as ambassador for philanthropy is to bring attention to philanthropists across the UK, promote philanthropy, and working with the Minister for the Third Sector  to  make it a priority in government to recognise and promote the philanthropists themselves, and furthermore, to improve legislation for  charitable givers like herself.

I also attended an exclusive and thought provoking seminar with fellow Jewel Awards winners from the last 7 years which was followed by a sit down lunch.  I think the discussion was over lunch?  We discussed the characteristics of Asian Entrepreneurs and the impact that they have had on the UK economy. BBC presenter Riz Lateef joined discussion to explore these issues further. The event saw many high profile individuals come together in a relaxed, yet thought provoking environment.

This week was a week of fine dining as I visited two fantastic restaurants. First it was off to Leeds and Bradford to eat at both of the famous Mumtaz restaurants. I had absolutely excellent meals at both and thoroughly enjoyed my evening  day up North. It is really great to see other Asian entrepreneurs excel in business.  Both Rab and Mumtaz Khan are good friends of mine  inspiring individuals and I love what they have done with Pakistani food, turning it into a thriving empire and is a truly excellent entrepreneur. 

Later that week I was off to an exclusive pre launch dinner at ROKA  for their new restaurant in Canary Wharf. Nic Watt is one of the best chefs in the UK and everytime we eat at ROKA, the menu of contemporary Japanese food never fails to set my taste buds racing.

In the news this week Barack Obama went public again on his plans to stimulate the economic recovery. Obama wants to create greater opportunities for small business by allowing them access to capital much easier. The program will focus its attention to trying to increase the amount of money small businesses can get in loans from the banks. It’s really great to see people in the highest of power pay respect and attention to the small business people of today.