hi bobby donot dispair mate we have all been there, just think of haldi he has all that great BIR equipment and he has had loads of demos and he is still disappointed to a certain degree. have you tried the Rajver curry powder using the saffron base jst make up a small amount to try with it, you may be suprised. have you tried bruces base? quite savoury if watered down correctly will still be brownish. for the chilli flavour try adding pureed chillies without the seeds! maybe a tsp per dish, worth ago. remember base sauce is precious stuff having not made the saffron base i don't know what it tastes like so me help is just from my experience. regarding trying to get in their kitchen go for it all you have to do is spend alot of money and go in there on a sunday night/ monday/tuesday their quiter nights and don't forget to explain your predicament and where you are coming from ie not hte HSe or enviroment agency ;D, you can only but try,
regards
gary