Take Two: Drighlington Primary School students visit Prashad to learn about asian culture and cuisine

This time last year, when we were still newcomers to the village of Drighlington, we were approached by a teacher from Drighlington Primary School called Mr Leigh about the possibility of his year six students visiting the restaurant as part of a topic they were studying on Asian culture. We weren’t sure what would happen when 54 children descended on us but we decided to give it a go and the visit was a great success! So, when we were asked if the students could visit again this year, we were happy to oblige.

Once again, we had a fantastic time when the children visited this morning and they created a great buzz in the restaurant. We gave them the opportunity to try our chilli free bhajis and “ask us anything” – which can be risky! – but this year’s students had as many interesting questions as their classmates from last year.

We talked about Asia and in particular India, Bangladesh and Pakistan where most of the kind of Asian food that is served in the UK comes from. The children learnt that not all spices are hot to taste and they were intrigued by the décor in the restaurant, in particular some of the vintage pieces sourced from India such as the Rajistani doors used to make our bar area. They also learnt how to say “yellow” in Indian and our Head Chef Minal was thrilled when she came out of the kitchen to hear all 60 children chime “Namaste!” at her!

The kids were also inquisitive about how we have turned our passion for Indian cuisine into a business and what our plans for the future are. Once again, they were so well behaved and it was a great feeling to be part of their learning experience. We set them a letter writing task to come up with suggested names for each of our five dining rooms. The student who came up with the winning name for our elephant – Piyara – last year, was invited to enjoy a free meal at the restaurant with their family and we hope to offer the winner the same chance this year. Let’s hope this year’s letters are as lovely as the ones we received after the first visit.