Students frying papadoms
The city’s favourite curry chef Paul Babra couldn’t resist cooking up a treat for pupils and staff at The Canterbury Academy to celebrate the spring harvest.
Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi, is the harvest festival of the Punjab region of India, and is a Sikh holy day. It was celebrated on Wednesday, April 13.
The street food specialist now has a base at the academy, where he passing on his culinary expertise to trainee chefs at the school and hopes to set up a community café to offer spicy delights to the general public.
Paul served up a vegetarian menu that included papadoms, cumin pulao rice, chickpea masala and spiced Bombay Potatoes at the school’s U Café.
The curry chef said: “I wasn’t expecting a large number of people to come to the café but more than 150 turned up.
“It must have been the aromas and the excitement about free food that encouraged so many people to come along. It was a great occasion and there was a fantastic atmosphere.”
Phil Karnavas, executive principal of The Canterbury Academy said: “It’s fantastic that we have the skills of Paul Babra to draw on at the academy and there is no doubt that his food was a hit with pupils and staff alike.”
