A North East food operation has hit a sixer, after successfully providing authentic dishes for an international cricket team.
The Funky Indian Wali, set up by Sunderland-based husband and wife team Kam and Nedhi Chera, has created and delivered traditional Indian food to customers across the region during lockdown.
But the couple had to up their game when they got an unexpected request from Emirates Riverside stadium “the home of Durham Cricket Club“ to cater for Team India during their 14-day visit to the stadium.
The team came to Chester-le-Street as part of their training camp and to play a warm-up game against a County Championship XI, ahead of the five-match Test series against England.
And as part of wanting to make them feel at home, Kam and Nedhi were asked to provide all the food for every meal during their visit.
“It was a huge amount of work,” said Kam “but a great collaborative team effort with venue director Rob Warren and his team at Emirates Stadium.
“But we were incredibly flattered to be asked, as that they had heard about our reputation of providing authentic homecooked cuisine.”
The result bowled over the players so much so that the Funky Indian Wali has been in talks to cater at other dates during their stay in the UK during the test series.
“It was a great honour for us to do the catering but also see it be so well received,” said Nedhi.
As well as offering event and corporate catering, the Funky Indian Wali also runs its own spice subscription club with members regularly receiving spices and recipes.
Rob Warren praised Kam and Nedhi for their efforts: “The brief was for them to look after the team for 14 days while they were here at the ground and although the Indian team changed the brief and requirements several times, the team dealt with this each time in a professional manner and made my job as Venue Director a lot easier,” he said.
“The touring team was delighted with the food as the team at Indian Funky Wali created traditional Indian dishes with their twist on them and the players were so happy with the offering that on some evenings they were asking Kam and Nedhi to deliver food to the hotel.
“I can’t wait to work with the team again and we are already talking to Kam about how we can support each other’s businesses moving forward.”
For further information visit www.thefunkyindianwali.com
