A Bolton caterer says she has been 'amazed' with the reaction to her chicken tikka naan that has gone viral on social media. One photograph of the culinary creation has racked up hundreds of retweets and more than 13,000 likes on the 'Footy Scran' Twitter account.
Food fans branded the naan 'unreal' and one even joked "Suddenly I'm a Bolton fan," in response to the treat, which is served out of the Sushma Snacks stall at Bolton Wanderers' new fan zone - open to Whites fans before and after every single home match at the University of Bolton Stadium. It has proved so popular that it completely sold out within minutes of going on sale prior to Tuesday night's cup tie against Aston Villa.
Business owner and cook Sushma Solanki said she can't quite believe what has happened and has vowed to prepare double the amount for Bolton's next home game. "I'm pretty shocked. Basically a couple of guys have come every week since the fanzone opened and they put a photo on social media," she told the Manchester Evening News .
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"They hadn't tagged me so I didn't see it but when I did look, I think it had 1,300 likes. On Tuesday, I took about 10kg of chicken tikka and it sold out in less than an hour. By the end of the day I was just left with one bag of salad.
"I got home and it had been posted an account called Footy Scran and it's been liked more than 13,000 times, they even messaged be telling me I'd 'smashed it'. It's only chicken tikka naan! It's amazing what's happened."
After going viral, Sushma made headlines in national newspapers and has even been on radio to talk about the meal. "My friend rang me and told me it was in The Sun. I thought she was taking the p***", she laughed
"I've had messages off people asking to take orders but unfortunately I can't do that. I'm going to get over 20kg for the next game though.
"Even the away fans are asking for it. That to me is amazing. It's brilliant for the club and the owners have been so supportive.
"I'm not a big business like Carrs Pasties, I run this thing myself but since this I've had Rochdale AFC asking me to do food, Leigh Centurions Rugby Club and even had pubs asking me to run their kitchen!"
This weekend, Sushma is cooking up some food for the 'Afternoon Tea with a Twist' event, which is being hosted by Lisa Riley, at Bolton Food and Drink Festival. She is also doing a free cookery demonstration. For more details, including how to get tickets, click here.
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