Korma down! Chef blinded me with chilli powder af ter I said curry was rubbery
A RAGING chef almost blinded a customer with chilli powder after he and his wife complained that the meat in their curry was ‘tough and rubbery’.
David Evans, 46, and his wife Michelle say they politely told their waiter that they were not happy with their meal.
But the remark enraged the restaurant’s head chef, and he stormed out of his kitchen and started shouting and swearing at them, they claim.
When Mr Evans went to the kitchen to demand an apology from Kamrul Islam for bellowing at his wife, the chef hurled hot chilli powder in his eyes.
The incident, which was caught on the restaurant’s CCTV, left Mr Evans temporarily blinded. It happened on Saturday night as the couple, the parents of a West End actress, were eating at the Prince of Bengal in their home town of Tonypandy in South Wales. Mr Evans, a pipe fitter, had ordered a lamb jalfrezi. Mrs Evans, 47, said: ‘He instantly thought he had been blinded. He was shaking in shock, hanging on to the counter being sick, thinking he was going to go blind. It was horrific. He said he’s never had so much pain in his life and was extremely distressed.
‘We were in the toilet splashing water on his eyes until the police and ambulance came.’
She added: ‘What was meant to be a quick meal out turned out to be one of the most frightening times we’ve had.’
But Mr Islam, 46, said he acted in self-defence, fearing an ‘aggressive’ Mr Evans was about to punch him. The chef posted CCTV images of the confrontation on Facebook.
Mrs Evans, a college tutor, insisted her husband used no violence. ‘We told the young waiter that the meat was very tough and rubbery,’ she said. ‘The Indian chef who came to our table was extremely rude and aggressive, and accused us of not wanting to pay for our food. We said we would eat the rest of our food but the meat was really not edible.
‘He started swearing at me. The chef caused quite a scene and was shouting and swearing so David walked to the kitchen door with him asking for an apology.
‘The chef came to the door with a large bowl of chilli pow- der which he threw at David’s face.’ Mrs Evans added: ‘He had numerous eye washes through a drip into his eyes in A&E. The doctor said if he wasn’t treated it would be very dangerous for him. The chilli had even burnt the skin on David’s hands and chest where it had fallen down his shirt.’
Although doctors believe Mr Evans will make a full recovery, he is taking steroid eye drops and will need regular checkups. The couple are the par- ents of West End actress Sophie Evans, 23, who played Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of The Wizard of Oz. She won the role after appearing in the BBC series Over the Rainbow in 2010.
Police said Bangladeshi-born Mr Islam is on bail on suspicion of common assault.
Yesterday the father-of-one, who has run the restaurant for 18 years, gave a different version of events. ‘They were shouting and swearing at me,’ he said. ‘I admit I swore back. But I said I would reduce the bill, which came to £82.
‘Then the woman grabbed my arm and was hanging on to me as she was shouting.
‘I ran into the kitchen to get away from him but he followed me. He was being very aggressive and pushed past another member of staff. He began shouting and pointing at me.
‘I grabbed a handful of chilli just in case I needed to defend myself. I was frightened and threw it at him. Chilli will burn but it is not life threatening. It was self-defence.’
‘He’s never had so much pain’