NGH heroes enjoy curry treat courtesy of mystery donation

An anonymous £600 donation from the husband of a coronavirus survivor has seen NHS heroes fighting on the frontline of COVID-19 at Northampton General Hospital treated to a slap-up curry.

Staff at NGH tucked in to onion bhajis, chicken tikka masala and pilau rice provided by Saffron restaurant in Castilian Street following the cash gift from a man known only as ‘Mr J’.

The mystery man sent the cash in a letter to Saffron, thanking the restaurant for its ongoing support of key workers and asking them to use the money to fund hundreds of meals for staff who saved his wife’s life during a three-week spell fighting the virus at NGH last month.

The letter stated: “My family and I are so indebted to Northampton General Hospital. My wife was critically ill with coronavirus. She is lucky to come back to her loved ones due to the best care and resilience of all the doctors and nurses.”

The first batch of meals was delivered to NGH on Wednesday, May 6, with the packaging donated by online takeaway giants Just Eat.

Naz Islam, managing director of Saffron, said: “We were blown away by Mr J’s generosity and were determined to carry out his wishes to feed the heroes working so hard day in, day out to keep the people of Northampton safe and well.

“It was an incredible gesture by someone with personal experience of just how devastating this awful virus can be.

“Cooking these meals for the staff at NGH was an absolute pleasure and we will continue to support them in any way we can throughout the pandemic.”

Saffron topped up Mr J’s donation to £1,000, meaning NGH staff can look forward to more meals arriving at their workplace in the coming weeks.

During the pandemic, Saffron has celebrated members of the community who have gone above and beyond to help in the fight against COVID-19. Student parademic Lauren Bray and Morrisons employee Kaylee Dawes both won a year’s worth of curry to thank them for their efforts. The restaurant has also donated produce to the Hope Centre and Northampton Night Shelter, both of whom are running short on supplies.

Saffron is currently open for deliveries and collections only. It is offering half price meals to all NHS and emergency services staff. Orders must be placed over the phone and are for collection only.

Free, contactless delivery is available on all full-price orders within five miles of the restaurant.

For more information, please call the restaurant on 01604 630800.