A dad in Greater Manchester decided to give something back to his local community during lockdown by cooking and delivering curry to his neighbours, rustling up 80 portions of the stuff and leaving it on their doorsteps.
Tom Marsden wanted to come up with a good deed after a friend left Prosecco and flowers on his doorstep, which made him realise just how much a simple gesture can help lift spirits during the pandemic.
Tapping into his love for cooking, Tom decided to pay it forward by making a huge batch of chicken curry, along with a spinach, potato and chickpea version for the local veggies and vegans.
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After heading to Macro, where he splashed out £150 on all the ingredients, takeaway trays and brown paper bags, it took Tom just under two days to get everything cooked and portioned up in time for Friday night - when he knew families might be missing their favourite takeaway meals.
Tom told LADbible: "It all stemmed from a friend of ours. A couple of weeks ago she dropped a miniature bottle of Prosecco and a bunch of flowers off at our front door. She did it for about 10 of our friends, so it was just a random act of kindness when everyone's a bit down and gloomy.
"I do actually really enjoy cooking, and I thought about how on a Friday night everyone's struggling to get a takeaway.
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"I went to Macro and bought trays and brown paper bags to deliver it in. I put rice in and naans, and I just dropped them at the doors and left them a text saying, 'you've got a little pressie'!
"I made enough curry for 80 people - 20 families in total. I did a basic chicken curry and a spinach, potato and chickpea curry for the vegetarians and vegans."
Believe it or not, Tom, who runs a teaching supply agency, also managed to make it happen while still working full-time, as he's not being furloughed until next week.
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He continued: "I didn't realise quite what a mammoth undertaking it would be. I started cooking on Wednesday night - I made the base curry sauce on Wednesday night, and then I was still going on Friday lunchtime.
"But we got them all out in the end!"
Tom and his wife Katy (who had been chief taster throughout the cooking process) delivered the curry to their neighbours just in time for a Friday night feast.
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He added: "In total, what with buying all the trays and the bags and stuff, it probably cost about £150. But then you've fed 80 people, when each family would have probably spent £20, so it was a bargain really."
As you'd imagine, the surprise curry delivery was a hit with his neighbours - including the woman who had originally dropped off the booze and flowers, as it turned out Friday was actually her wedding anniversary.
"It was just dead nice really, it was a really nice thing to do," Tom said.
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"I got so many nice texts and my wife got loads of texts yesterday, just people thanking us.
"It was well worth doing - it's nice to be nice at times, isn't it?"
Featured Image Credit: LADbible
Topics: UK News, lockdown, News, Daily Ladness, Community