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A curry
chef became an overnight celebrity Down Under after his attempt to
deliver a takeaway to cricket fans was thwarted by customs officials.
Raj Miah,
manager of the Bengal Paradise in Brookmans Park, flew 10,000 miles
to deliver his house specialities to a group of cricket fans watching
the Ashes tour in Perth.
But the
country's strict customs laws, which prevent many foods from abroad
from being brought in, meant he had to relinquish most of the food as
soon as he set foot on Australian soil.
The chef, from
Hatfield, made the 23-hour trip after Barmy Army members Jason Morin
and John Clements - Bengal Paradise regulars - telephoned him saying
they could not get a decent curry Down Under much to the annoyance of
many local restaurateurs.
Reports in
Australian newspapers meant staff at Perth International Airport were
waiting for him when he landed.
Mr Miah said:
"All of the papers knew about it before we even got there. It
was all over the television as well. The guy at customs stopped me
and asked if I was Mr Miah - they even had a photo of me.
"He let
me take some of the food through, but the meat dishes were
confiscated and they took the cardamom and cinnamon sticks."
After three
hours' questioning Mr Miah was given a caution and fined 220
Australian dollars, but undeterred he set about buying new
ingredients and finding a kitchen so that he could fulfil his
customers' order.
He is reported
as saying: "When we arrived at our hotel the lady on reception
kept looking at her paper and looking at me, then she asked if it was
me in the photograph. She offered us their kitchen to use and after
we'd cooked for the boys we ended up cooking for the hotel staff as
well. They all loved it."
Mr Miah was
interviewed by the Australian Sunday Times and the national news on
Channel Nine. He said: "We had a great welcome over there
really. In the end we even got recognised when we went shopping.
"It was
definitely an interesting trip."
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