An award winning curry chef has been selected to help spice up a food festival in India with his unique dishes.

Tofozzul Miah, who owns The Bayleaf, in High Road, Whetstone, is one of six curry chefs across the UK who will be travelling to Kolkata for the Taste of Britain Curry Festival.

The 42-year-old was picked after The Baylead was named the best south Asian takeaway in London by the Federation of Bangladeshi Caterers and the Asian Catering Federation last year.

He said: “It is a great honour to be selected and I am really looking forward to cooking for a new audience, especially in India which has such great traditional food.

“I love experimenting with food and set myself a target of trying to create a variation on an existing dish or something new every couple of month.”

He will be jetting off to India at the end of the month, in time for the annual festival which takes place on August 23.

During his stay, he will be whipping up his favourite dishes - chicken manchuri and tareko machi, which is a spicy stir fried dish.

He added: “Kolkata is the capital of Bengal culture and it’s going to be a great experience.

“I hope to pick up some tips from the chefs already working in the hotel which I can bring back and incorporate into my cooking.”