Curry boss in court for conning his customers

Takeaway owner Vasim Iqbal has been fined after selling a lamb curry – that contained only beef. Right: Armaans Restaurant and Takeaway based in Dewsbury and identify the business from which the beef and lamb had been supplied.

Prosecutor David Stickley told the Huddersfield court that on March 21 a Trading Standards officer carried out a test purchase using the menu displayed on the restaurant’s website.

He arranged to collect the takeaway 30 minutes later and identified himself upon receiving it.

The officer asked to speak to the manager and the chef tried to remove the receipt from the curry.

He attempted to take it away and offered to cook a fresh dish, magistrates were told.

Mr Stickley said: “The food was tested and contained beef not lamb.

“There were no beef dishes on the menu and this suggested that it was knowingly prepared with the intention of passing off the cheaper beef as lamb.”

Magistrates heard that Iqbal also failed to provide information about the food suppliers, which businesses are required to do by law.

Emily Price, mitigating, said that her client accepted responsibility as owner and director of the restaurant for the proper training of staff.

She told the court: “At the time of the purchase the restaurant was going through a period of change and the menu was being altered.

“Beef dishes were being added to the menu and there was a crossover so that the old menu was online and beef dishes were being prepared in the kitchen.

“He isn’t sure how the beef was cooked as lamb but it wasn’t the case that there was a deliberate attempt to sell it as a different product.”

Miss Price added that Iqbal couldn’t provide invoices for his meat purchases because he “wasn’t as organised as he could have been”.

She explained: “He generally makes cash purchases for ingredients and isn’t a regular customer to anyone in particular and uses different suppliers.”

Magistrates fined Iqbal, who has run the business for two years, £500 and ordered him to pay £500 towards prosecution costs.