A fiery challenge was on the table for one Cannock and Rugeley Mercury reporter as he taste-tested a curry billed as the hottest in the country.

In his three and a half years with the paper, Alex Keller, (24), had never faced anything like the dish that was waiting for him at one of Cannock’s top Indian restaurants.

And the district chief reporter wasn’t prepared to face the challenge alone and drafted in back up from his curry connoisseur dad Ivan.

Together they braved the Bangladeshi dish Naga chicken cooked with Bengali green chillies.

Alex said: “If asked to describe curry, most people would mention the word ‘hot’. But where a restaurant owner and his top chef who have 50 years’ experience between them say a dish is hot, you’d better get out the fire extinguisher.”

With flame extinguishing glasses of cooling Indian lager standing by the intrepid pair took their first tastes of the chicken.

In true daredevil style Alex didn’t hold back, but wondered if he would be forced to flee, seeking a fire engine.

He said: “To get the full effect, I shovelled down mouthful after mouthful of delicious steaming chicken along with forkfuls of basmati rice and salad.

“And although my eyes were soon streaming with tears and my breath was hot enough to ignite whole forests, the tasty spices shone through and immersed my palate.

“I really enjoyed it. It is definitely something that I would order again and even though it is so hot, it’s very tasty. Quite a speciality.”

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