IT WAS a takeaway that took all day to make when The Ganges Restaurant in Tavistock cooked up a spicy feast for 190 guests at a birthday party in Lifton on Saturday.

Included in what is believed to be the largest takeaway in the South West was the nation's favourite Chicken Tikka Masala, Dorbari Lamb and Sukha Chicken — and Abul Chowdhury and his team at the Ganges were delighted to do the honours.

Mr Chowdhury said the curries took seven hours to cook and were then driven slowly to Lifton where they were all kept hot in warmers.

'We finished at 6.30pm and it took 25 minutes to drive to Lifton,' he said. 'The restaurant was busy as well that night but it was all nice and calm in the kitchen.

'The chefs are very experienced and are used to dealing with catering parties, even if they are usually much smaller.'

Mr Chowdhury added that there was plenty of food left over. He said the whole experience had been very enjoyable and they would be happy to do it again: 'It was a pleasure to do and we had lovely comments about the food. They said it was beautiful food.'