In August, Walkers will introduce Madras Curry crisps throughout the UK, based on a dish served at Radhuni in Loanhead, Scotland’s current Curry Restaurant of the Year.
It will be part of the crisp company’s campaign to recognise restaurants which have gone to great lengths to help their local communities during the pandemic.
Radhuni is the first Indian-Bangladeshi restaurant in the UK to receive the accolade. Last year it raised £10,000 for the NHS and served thousands of free meals to front line workers.
“Over the past 18 months we have seen that, no matter what, loved local restaurants like Radhuni are there for us,” said a spokesman for Walkers, best known for its advertisements fronted by former football star and TV presenter Gary Lineker.
“Now we want to support and celebrate it.“
All purchasers of these special crisps packets will receive a £5 voucher from Walkers by selecting the restaurant named on the pack.
Radhuni’s managing partner Habibur Khan, who at the age of 23 in 2019 became the youngest winner of a major British Curry Award, said the approach from the crisps giant came out of the blue.
“We’re thrilled to have provided the inspiration for this new crisp flavour and been recognised for the passion we’ve always had for the local community,” he commented.
He paid a special tribute to his father Matin, who runs Itihaas restaurant in nearby Dalkeith, as “my mentor and the backbone of our group”.
Habibur, whose face will be included in the Walkers Crisps’ TV advertisements on its ‘local champions’, went on to praise his staff for all the work they put in during the pandemic to help keep the business going and ensure the people of Loanhead still had their taste buds satisfied.
He added: “Thanks are also due to the staff and drivers who delivered those meals during lockdown and to our loyal customers.
"We could not have achieved this latest success without them.”
Throughout the pandemic, Radhuni has tried to support the local community, providing free meals to key workers and fundraising for charities such as Children 1st.
A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, The Midlothian Advertiser.
