Background
Latif was born near the city of Sylhet, Sylhet District, Sylhet Division, East Bengal (now Bangladesh).
Latif was born near the city of Sylhet, Sylhet District, Sylhet Division, East Bengal (now Bangladesh).
He was well known for his dish "Curry Hell" introduced in 1987 – a curry reputedly so hot (Latif claimed it was "the world"s hottest") that it was offered for free to patrons of his Newcastle restaurant who could finish the entire meal. The dish contained four times the amount of chilli found in a typical vindaloo. In 1969, he arrived to the United Kingdom and settled in Manchester, however after a racist incident during a night, it persuaded Latif to move north to Newcastle.
Latif"s first job on Tyneside was as a waiter in a restaurant owned by a relative in Whitley Bay.
In 1977, Latif established his restaurant, the Rupali, in the city centre of Newcastle. The restaurant was later renamed Curry Capital.
Latif offered free curry for five years to all service men and women who had served in Iraq, and free curry for life to rugby star Jonny Wilkinson and football manager Graeme Souness. In 2004, his restaurant was also listed in Guinness World Records, for the world"s longest-distance curry delivery – when he delivered frozen vegetable biryani and peshwari naan bread from Newcastle, England to Sydney, Australia.
The delivery was made by motorcycle courier and aircraft and took four days.
He featured regularly in the cult adult comic Viz, providing the staff with free curries and relishing the publicity, despite their portrayal of him as a "curry mentalist". Latif purchased the deed to the honorary title of the Lord of Harpole for £5,000 in 1994, and proudly branded himself as Britain"s first Bangladeshi Lord of the Manor. He ran a website called The New Lord, where he offered souvenir merchandise, seasonal messages to his fans, publicity services and a motivational Digital Video Disc. In 2003, he was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts for "his efforts to make a difference in society".
On 20 January 2008, Latif died of a heart attack at his home in Newcastle"s Gosforth area.
On 2 March 2008, a well-attended memorial event was held at Newcastle Civic Centre.
