IT WAS a record-making challenge where table manners were definitely not required.

Seventy people turned out for the Great Poppadom Challenge last night to support Bradford’s bid to be crowned Curry Capital of Britain for the fourth consecutive year.

The event took place at the Aakash Restaurant in Cleckheaton, with the hungry crowd munching their way through 141 poppadoms in 60 seconds – no easy feat when those tempted by a swig of water would have found themselves disqualified.

Restaurant staff briefed those taking part, which ranged from school children to businessmen, residents and customers, in the best technique for eating through a pile of the giant crisps before starting the 60 second countdown.

Bosses at the Aakash Restaurant, which is part of the team put together by Bradford Council to support this year’s bid, put the stunt together in a matter of days and were pleased by the support they got.

Spokesman Azhar Mahmood said afterwards: “This is a fantastic result, we have had the community come together to support this and it has been great fun.”

Sarah Howsen, tourism officer at Bradford council, added: “The restaurants in Bradford work together on this bid. Hopefully the result will be that Bradford is the curry capital again.

“No city had won the title three times on the trot before Bradford, so if we can make it four, it will be totally unheard of,” she said.

The poppadom challenge was backed by the Chamber of Trade and Commerce for Spenborough and spokeswoman Viv Laycock said: “Everyone knows Bradford is the capital for curries, having won three times and it is great to have restaurants like this taking part in the bid.”

While the challenge may have drawn attention to the curry capital bid, it also helped charity, with participants contributing £1 to The Curry Tree charity.

Other events have also been planned to spotlight Bradford’s bid before voting closes.

People have until September 26 to vote for the city they want to see crowned Curry Capital of Britain.

To vote, e-mail votecity@fedrest.com, tweet ‘I vote for Bradford to be Curry Capital #bfdcurry’ to @supportcurry, or visit Bradford Visitor Information Centre and complete a form. The winner will be revealed on October 20.