Curry house which served fatal nut allergy meal releases apology for death – which includes an advert for its new dessert menu

AN Indian restaurant, whose owner was convicted of killing a nut allergy sufferer, issued a “tasteless” apology – with an ad attached for his new dessert menu.

In an email headed ‘Our Apology’, Emraz Zaman announced ‘Sunny Saturday’ lassi specials were now available at his North Yorkshire restaurant.

Weeks earlier his father Mohammed was jailed after diner Paul Wilson died after tasting a supposedly peanut-free chicken tikka masala from his nearby takeaway.

The 38-year-old suffered severe anaphylactic shock and died moments after taking a couple of mouthfuls of the curry.

He had told chefs to make it nut free because of his severe allergy and the warning can clearly be seen on his meal receipt.

Emraz has apologised for the insensitive email sent on Tuesday.

It read: “We sincerely apologise to all out loyal customers for the recent heavy press surrounding the Easingwold branch and the somewhat disappointing decision for our founding father Mr Zaman.”

Mohammed Zaman, 53, was jailed for six years for gross negligence manslaughter.

He had denied the charges.

The email added: “We are now in the process of launching a new dessert menu and have hired an exclusive pastry chef from London to design this.

“Our philosophy, started by our founder, [Mohammed] Khalique Zaman, was and still is to create real quality Indian cuisine of the highest standard.”

During a two-week trial, Teesside Crown Court heard Zaman, who ran numerous restaurants in North Yorkshire and York, cut costs by using the cheaper groundnut mix powder instead of almond powder in his curries.

He had ignored repeated warnings about the risks to his customers, despite having personal assets of up to £3 million.

Emma Foster, who dined at the Easingwold Jaipur Spice restaurant every week for five years until Mr Wilson died, branded the email “one of the most crass excuses for an apology” she had ever seen and was “not so much an apology as an immediate tout for business”.

She said she was stunned by the statement that the jury’s decision had been “somewhat disappointing” for the restaurateur.

Mrs Foster said: “I am sure it was ‘disappointing’ for Mr and Mrs Wilson to hear of their son’s agonising last moments as he desperately fought for breath on his bathroom floor.

“In the second paragraph of his email he then starts the advertising push that this apology is really all about. Nobody cares about the desserts in an Indian restaurant.”

Hazel Gowland, of the Anaphylaxis Campaign, described the email as “shocking, horrible and insensitive”.

She said: “It is a great concern that those working in Mr Zaman’s restaurants are so keen to play down the impact of his gross negligence which caused Mr Wilson’s death.

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