Homegrown chillies and other spices are to be cooked up as part of the World Curry Festival which comes to Bradford this weekend.

Organiser Zulfi Karim has enlisted the help of the Prism Independent School and its City Farm project in Girlington . Youngsters have spent the summer growing a variety of vital ingredients that will be used to spice up the event in City Park .

Mr Karim told the Telegraph & Argus that the local produce would be turned into curries – a part of the project he was very proud of.

He said: “Our focus this year has been about community and volunteering. We are a not-for-profit organisation and people are giving all their time voluntarily. This is a free event and we are making sure that our traders are keeping the prices realistic.

“Not only have the young people at City Farm been growing produce for us, they will be able to sell it in our pop-up shop and have been involved in helping in the organisation of the event itself.”

Paul Kilgallon, volunteer co-ordinator at the Prism Independent School, said the young people had not only been involved in the growing of ingredients but they have also been involved in helping prepare the venue for the indoor cookery demonstrations – the former Tulsi restaurant in the Centenary Square building.

The festival will begin on Friday at 11am.

Bradford restaurant boss Omar Khan is the latest addition to the line-up of chefs who will be showcasing their skills and dishes at the event.

These include l Mohammed Aslam, the managing director and executive chef of the Shipley -based Aagrah group of restaurants l Kaushy Patel, the founder and executive chef at Prashad in Great Horton , which was named Gordon Ramsay’s best Indian restaurant in 2010 l Anjali Pathak, whose family is behind the Patak’s brand of curry sauces and pastes l Stephanie Moon, the Craven-born chef who has appeared on BBC2’s Great British Menu l Gurpareet Bains, 2011 English Curry Awards chef of the year and creator of the world’s healthiest curry l and Barrington Douglas, the man behind the award-winning Caribbean restaurant in Huddersfield, Discovery Bay.

In addition, Bradford College’s chefs school will also be taking part and there will be curry and comedy with Celebrity Masterchef finalist, writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli.

Mr Karim added: “We are trying to develop the World Curry Festival into a world-class event.”

A variety of street theatre will also be taking place around City Park and there will be family activities on offer too.

The full programme is available at worldcurryfestival.com.