A CHARITY curry night organised to mark the return of a reality TV cookery show which made a star of a Teesdale chef has raised hundreds of pounds for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
The event, at Spice Island, in Barnard Castle, was organised to coincide with the return for season two of The Chef, which pits top Asian chefs against each other in a format similar to Masterchef.
The first series was won by Spice Island head chef Milon Miah.
He teamed up with Tom Maine, head chef at the Black Bull, in Moulton, to come up with a special taster menu fusing English and Indian dishes as Spice Island joined other Asian restaurants across the region to raise money for the charity set up in memory of Sir Bobby.
The event sold out, with 50 diners taking their seats.
They were treated to miniature popadoms with homemade chutney before tucking into Mr Miah’s signature starter of borta roulette – balls of potatoes, salmon, mixed herbs, cheese and chilli flakes.
Next up was a kingfish steak followed by plum and damson sorbet.
Then came slow-cooked tandoori wood pigeon with mini nan bread and lamb ballotine with spinach and baby potatoes.
This was washed down with mango lassi and finally a sweet of kheer – Indian rice pudding – rounded off the evening.
Spice Island’s Zak Ahmed said the evening had been a great success, raising about £800 for Sir Bobby's foundation, which funds research into cancer.
Mr Miah said he was delighted to support such a good cause.
“I have been a Newcastle United fan for as long as I can remember,” he said.
Although he won’t be returning to The Chef as a competitor, he will be part of the programme, taking his place among the judges.
The programme is made by the Northern Eye production company and broadcast by Channel I Europe, a popular London-based Bangladeshi station which goes out on the Sky platform.
