A 68-year-old Bolton businessman and the former head of Leigh-based Indian food company Patak's died after a fatal car crash in Dubai on 23rd January it has emerged.
Kirit Pathak, the former head of curry sauce manufacturer Patak's, lived in Dubai with wife Meena after having sold his family business to Associated British Foods (ABF) in 2007 for a reported £105mn. However, he retained the rights to the brand in India and was made chairman of ABF's combined world foods group.
Patak's was founded and established by Kirit Pathak's mother and father Lakshmishankar and Shanta Pathak in late 1950s, after they arrived in the UK from Kenya, accompanied by their four sons and two daughters with reportedly only £5 between them. They began by selling samosas from their tiny kitchen gradually scaling up his business to an empire worth about £200m. If official reports are to be believed then Patak’s supplied to 90% of Britain's 7,500 Indian restaurants and sold cooking sauces, curry pastes, chutneys and pickles in more than 40 countries worldwide.
In a statement to Manchester Evening News, George Weston, Chief Executive of ABF, said, "From the Board of ABF and on behalf of the Weston family, our deepest sympathies go out to Kirit’s wife, Meena, and all his family and friends at this very sad time. Kirit was a great man who was blessed with entrepreneurial flair, astute business acumen and a passion for authentic Indian cuisine.
"From humble beginnings he and Meena created an incredible business all built on the concept of making Indian-style meals easy and accessible for time-poor people, but what they actually did was introduce a fantastic genre of cooking into millions of homes, transforming it into a home-dining staple.Kirit and his family revolutionised the way we eat at home and he leaves behind a legacy that not only employs hundreds of people but is enjoyed by millions of homes worldwide every day."
Kirit is survived by wife Meena and their three children Neeraj, Nayan, and Anjali.
