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Army chefs cook up a spicy feast
From Alberta to Brunei and from Helsinki to Afghanistan, madras was munched, vindaloo devoured and £18,000 was raised for the Army’s National Charity.
The ABF’s spicy new fundraising initiative, the World’s Biggest Curry Lunch, has been a roaring success in its first year. Generously sponsored by Cobra Beer, the event invited everyone across the UK to host a curry lunch for family, friends and colleagues in our Big Curry Week of 16 April 2007, to raise badly needed funds for the ABF.
Over 3,300 free fundraising packs were distributed, providing exclusive recipes, vouchers and other goodies to help 40,000 participants plan their events.
The Army and civilian friends turned out in force, in garrisons and operational theatres across the world, as far afield as Afghanistan, Iraq, Belize, Brunei, Cyprus, BATUS in Alberta, British ex-pats in France, Germany, Gibraltar, the Military Attaché in Helsinki, Malaysia, Nepal, Northern Ireland, Oman, United Arab Emirates, the Falkland Islands and Washington DC. All over the UK, Army units took part, embracing the Regular Army, TA and the Army Cadet Force.
Army Chefs at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan cooked six enormous curries for 2,800 multinational troops in two specially welded troughs, to raise money for the Fund.
The project also seized the imagination of the general public, with Girl Guides and members of the Women’s Institute sharing Curry Lunches across the country.
Dependent on voluntary donations, the ABF must currently raise £6 million this year to continue its vital work with the Army family. This exciting new initiative has been launched in the face of increasing demand for support from the Army family, particularly in light of the number of recent operational casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.
You can email us your stories and/or pictures of your Curry Lunch to appear on our Curry noticeboard below. Don't forget to come back next year to join in with World's Biggest Curry Lunch 2008!
