Abdul Latif

Abdul Latif
Abdul Latif: bought a manorial title

Restaurateur who claimed to sell the world's hottest curry but preferred to eat fish and chips

Abdul Latif, who died on Sunday aged 53, was a restaurateur in Newcastle-upon-Tyne where he claimed to serve the world's hottest curry.

He offered his famous blistering dish - called "Curry Hell", and likened to molten lava - free to any customer who could finish it.

Abdul Latif
Abdul Latif: bought a manorial title

This was entirely typical of Latif, a colourful entrepreneur whose talent for self-promotion was matched by the intensity of his curries. Whereas the average vindaloo might contain a teaspoonful of chilli, Latif's recipe called for four times that quantity. It was served (as one wag noted) with rice, chips or bread, and a fire extinguisher. To the amazement of Latif and his staff, a man from Manchester set a record by polishing off a Curry Hell in 90 seconds.

Latif found his way into the Guinness Book Of Records in 2004 for the world's longest curry delivery when he arranged for a frozen vegetable biryani and peshwari naan bread to be delivered from his restaurant in Newcastle's Bigg Market to Sydney, a distance of nearly 11,000 miles. The order was placed by a Geordie expatriate, Rachel Kerr, who took delivery on Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Such was the renown of his restaurant, the Rupali, that it was featured in the adult cult comic Viz.

One of six children, Abdul Latif was born on December 15 1954 near the city of Sylhet in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). He arrived in Britain in 1969 and went to work in Manchester, but an incident during a night out - when someone called him a "Paki" - persuaded him to move to Newcastle.

On Tyneside Latif worked as a waiter in a relative's restaurant at Whitley Bay. He opened the Rupali in 1977, but found the going tough for the first few years. Once established, however, his restaurant went on to win a number of awards.

In 1987 he introduced his Curry Hell Challenge. "There's no secret to making it so hot," he explained, "it's just a process of cooking the crushed chilli seeds in cold water." But his deceptively simple method produced formidable results. Only two or three diners in 100 managed to finish the challenge.

In 1994 he purchased the manorial title Lord of Harpole (a parish in Suffolk) for £5,500, describing himself as the first Bangladeshi Lord of the Manor. By using the title he raised thousands of pounds for Tyneside charities; for a fee, he would allow his restaurant's clients to don his manorial robes and crown.

Latif was surprised to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2003 for "his efforts to make a difference in society". On joining the ranks of figures such as Charles Dickens and Benjamin Franklin, he mused that no one coming to Britain from overseas should feel like an outsider: "My being made a Fellow of the RSA is proof that ethnic minorities are part of this society."

In 2004 Latif passed his restaurant to one of his sons after the business failed to pay a VAT bill and went into liquidation. He explained that the company had struggled since the 9/11 attacks, often catering for just a handful of customers a night. The establishment was relaunched as the Curry Capital.

Latif revelled in publicity stunts, offering free curries to pregnant women, Jonny Wilkinson, Graeme Souness and members of the British armed forces on leave from Iraq. His own personal favourite food was not curry, however, but fish and chips.

His death, apparently from a heart attack, was said to mark the end of an era. "Our annual Christmas curry (table for 57 booked every year till 2012) will never be the same," lamented one customer, "without the Lord telling us to be quiet, charging us too much for our beers and then letting us do a conga through the kitchen."

Latif also served mulligatawny soup in steel ashtrays.

Abdul Latif is survived by his wife, Neawarun, their four daughters and two sons.