A GROUP of lucky Tavistock school children will be experiencing a taste of Asia next week, as they take part in a ground-breaking restaurant experience.

The year 6 children from Tavistock Primary School will be spending Wednesday morning at Thariks Indian restaurant in West Street, learning at first hand about the tastes, smells, history and culture of Asian cuisine.

The idea is the brainchild of Thariks manager Alhazul Hoque, who believes the school/restaurant project is the first of its type in the South West.

Alhazul, or Ronnie as he is known, said: 'We want to help the children learn about Indian food and culture — how the food was originally cooked in India, and about the herbs and spices, where they come from and the reasons they are used.

'We use gas for cooking here, but we would like to tell them about the way it is traditionally done in India, using wood and leaves for fire in a hole in the ground, lined with clay.'

Ronnie said the children would be split into five groups, and would be able to make their own naan bread, see how it is cooked, taste different types of curry sauces, see the raw materials and learn about their origins.

Co-manager Nazrul Hoque said they were were drafting in some extra staff from Plymouth for the special day — and that everyone was looking forward to the experience.

'We want to keep everyone busy and interested. They will be able to look at the menu and see where the dishes come from.

'Everyone is happy that they are going to be able to teach the children something new, so they can learn about our culture, and I think it's quite exciting, as no-one has done this in our area before, so they are quite interested to see how it will go,' said Nazrul.

'We wanted to give the younger children the experience as it will be something new for them.'

Nazrul said they had spent some time working with the primary school to make sure the event was suitable for the youngsters. He hoped if it proved successful, they could repeat it with other schools in the area, and possibly with college students as well.