RESIDENTS and staff at a North Wales care home enjoyed nothing but the best when they were served up a tasty tandoori treat.
For the feast of food plated up at Pendine Park’s Bryn Seiont Newydd care home in Caernarfon didn’t just come from any Indian restaurant – it came from the best one in Wales.
The delicious delights were served up hot from the kitchen at the Caernarfon Tandoori Restaurant in the town.
And, as curry fans will know, the Caernarfon Tandoori Restaurant was named the best Indian restaurant in Wales at a glittering ceremony earlier this year.
That triumph is the second year in a row the restaurant has won the award.
With the restaurant’s manager Fahim Bin Ferdous having a second job as a care worker at the care home, dishing up some of the restaurant’s fabulous fare seemed a great way to celebrate its continuing success – and to give residents a unique treat.
Residents and staff were treated to a variety of delicious Indian food as Fahim arrived with a huge selection of some of the restaurant’s most popular meals.
Among the dishes were chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, vegetarian korma and chicken tikka korma along with a variety of rice dishes.
And to ensure everyone enjoyed the full delights of an Indian meal, Fahim also brought naan breads and poppadoms and chutneys.
The clearly impressed the residents who gave it a go.
Kathleen Taylor said: “I am a vegetarian, so I have gone for that option, and it tastes lovely, it’s very nice.”
John Carson was equally impressed with his chicken tikka masala with pilau rice meal.
He said: “I’ve had curry quite a few times, and I am not an expert, but this is among the best I have ever had, it’s very good. It’s a very enjoyable meal.”
Residents Marie Hughes, Meryl Williams and Caerwyn Davies also enjoyed the food, and a beer if they wished.
Staff members didn’t miss out and they said they thoroughly enjoyed the food.
Care practitioner Audrey Phillips said: “It’s beautiful, absolutely gorgeous.
“We do go to the restaurant in town, mainly for takeaways, and the food is always great.
“It’s good to be able to enjoy the food from the restaurant here, there’s a bit of everything for everyone.”
Fahim, 23, said he was delighted to have the chance to impress the residents he cares for with some of the great food from the award-winning restaurant where he works.
And he said he was thrilled the restaurant had retained its best in Wales title.
Fahim said: “We are very proud to have the title of best restaurant, and to have it back to back.
“And I must thank our customers for supporting us.
“We have many regular customers, we are packed on Friday and Saturday nights, and know them by their first names, and they know us by our first names.
“I love being able to bring the restaurant’s food to the care home, it’s a special thing to do and everyone seems to have enjoyed it.”
Fahim started at Bryn Seiont Newydd in October 2022 and had come to the UK from Bangladesh.
He works three days a week at Bryn Seiont Newydd and the rest of the week at the restaurant.
Starting off as a waiter, he was later promoted to manager at the award-winning Caernarfon restaurant.
Home manager Sandra Evans said the staff were always pleased to be able to offer the residents something special.
She said: “We like to spoil our residents and to have food from the best Indian restaurant in Wales here for them to enjoy is wonderful.
“Fahim and all our staff do everything they can to help and support our residents all the time and treat them to special occasions.”
The tandoori taster session is another highlight in a special year for Pendine Park which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Mario Kreft MBE and his wife, Gill, launched their first care home in 1985, after struggling to find suitable accommodation for their grandparents.
Now, four decades later, the couple operate nine care homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon, with 440 beds and more than 860 employees.
