Abdul Latif

Abdul Latif, FRSA He was well known for his dish "Curry Hell" introduced in 1987 a curry reputedly so hot (Abdul Latif claimed it was "the world's hottest") that it was offered for free to patrons of his Newcastle restaurant who could finish the entire meal. The dish contained four times the amount of chilli found in a typical vindaloo.

Early life Abdul Latif was born near the city of Sylhet, Sylhet District, East Bengal, Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In 1969, he arrived in the United Kingdom and settled in Manchester; a racist incident one night persuaded Abdul Latif to move north to Newcastle. He was married to Neawarun, with whom he had four daughters and two sons. and free curry for life to rugby star Jonny Wilkinson and football manager Graeme Souness.

In 2004, his restaurant was also listed in Guinness World Records, for the world's longest-distance curry delivery when he delivered frozen vegetable biryani and peshwari naan bread from Newcastle to Sydney, Australia. The delivery was made by motorcycle courier and aircraft and took four days. In 2003, he was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts for "his efforts to make a difference in society".

An early day motion in Parliament proposed by Tim Farron Liberal Democrat MP was tabled on 24 January 2008 to offer condolences to his family and to celebrate "his enormous contribution to the City of Newcastle, the Liberal Democrats and Viz magazine."

On 2 March 2008, a well-attended memorial event was held at Newcastle Civic Centre.