Bradford’s Prashad Restaurant Plays Key Role in Staggering Supersized Samosa Set to Smash Guinness World Record

In the heart of Bradford – the Curry Capital of England, Colin Burt, Chef Trainer at Bradford College, has announced that he intends to smash the Guinness World Record for the largest supersized vegetable samosa in the world, working in partnership with award winning restaurant Prashad. No previous Guinness World Record is held for the biggest samosa in the world – Colin Burt, Prashad, Kiplings restaurant and a team of Bradford College students will set a new precedent! The man-sized starter will put Bradford firmly on the international map, as Colin and his team have ambitious plans to cook and carry the record breaking samosa on a specially created ‘samosa settee’ through the streets of Bradford, on the 22nd June to coincide with Positive Bradford Day. This announcement comes after Mr Burt broke the Guinness World Record for the biggest bhaji in the world in 2011 working in partnership with critically acclaimed restaurant Prashad. A staggering 3 sacks of potatoes (60 kg),1 sack of onions, (25 kg), 30 bags of peas (15 kg) 12 bunches of coriander, 300 chillies and 250 bottles of rapeseed oil (250 litres) (donated by Pride Oils of Westmill UK) will be used to make the epic samosa, with a selection of secret spices added to the special mix. Prashad and Kiplings have joined forces to specially perfect the pastry recipe for the colossal snack. Colin Burt plans to tip the scales with a gargantuan samosa that weighs a whopping 115 kilograms and measures a staggering 1.5 metres in length, 90cm wide and bulging up to 35cm in the middle. It will take eight men to lift the giant sized snack into a special cooking vessel. Colin enlisted the help of the Engineering Department at Bradford College, when he realised there was no conventional cooking equipment big enough to house the belt busting samosa. The Engineering Department came to the rescue by creating a cooking vessel big enough to fry the world beating starter, which Colin and the team have fondly named ‘Big Bertha’. A special rack, ‘sky hooks’ and specially made triangular ramps have also been designed to lower and raise the monster samosa in and out of the boiling oil. A special samosa settee was also created by the Construction Department to parade the gargantuan samosa around Centenary Square. With over 250 bottles of rapeseed oil used to cook the super-sized snack, Bradford College Health and Safety officials were called in to avoid a towering inferno sweeping through the seven story Westbrook building, where the record attempt will take place. Colin explained: “Lowering the ‘Beast of Bradford’ into the boiling oil has to be done gently to avoid the oil bubbling up. Even ‘Big Bertha’s’ capacity might be tested to the limit during this process. It’s at this point that the greatest danger lies. If the hot oil should spill out onto the boiling rings, which have five bottles of butane gas attached to them… well you can imagine it could be rather unpleasant to say the least.” This is the latest in a string of ‘curry loving initiatives’ to emerge from the Hospitality and Travel Department, which included hosting the national finals of the UK’s Junior Curry Chef Competition earlier this year. The College also hit the headlines when it came to the rescue of the curry crisis, with a range of innovative courses that focus on specialist qualifications in Asian and International cuisine. Commenting on the world record attempt, Bobby Patel, Operations Director at Prashad and distinguished Associated Patron of the IFA said: “Prashad is absolutely delighted to be working with Bradford College’s International Food Academy once again on another fantastic initiative. As the Curry Capital of the UK, Bradford is already leading the way and to add this record to the giant bhaji record achieved last year would be tremendous. We are privileged to be a part of the record attempt and to play a part in spreading the word about our City and our wonderful cuisine.” Gordon Ramsay described the food at Prashad as ‘Extraordinary’ and ‘The best vegetarian cuisine he had ever had’. Commenting on the world record attempt, Chef Trainer Colin said: “The beast of Bradford ‘sky hooked’ in Centenary Square is creating lots of excitement for everyone involved in the world record attempt. The monster samosa will be paraded around the square in its settee before being ceremoniously weighed and measured in front of independent witness David Ward MP. We hope it will be a day to remember and put Bradford firmly on the map.” The Lord Mayor of Bradford has also been tipped to witness the attempt to smash the current world record. Hayley Lomas, Head of the Hospitality and Travel Department at Bradford College concluded: “All our students are very excited and enthusiastic about this world record attempt.” In a city that is renowned for its rich cultural heritage and multicultural population – a dish that has become a national favourite looks set to unite a nation on Positive Bradford Day.