An American chef has come on a busman's holiday to Bradford after getting a taste for curry watching the hit movie East Is East.

Tim Bonner, 42, originally from California, was so impressed by the film, featuring Spen schoolboy Jordan Routledge, he decided to spend his vacation learning about Asian cuisine.

He has been taken under the wing of Indian master chef Mumtaz Khan at his Great Horton Road restaurant.

Tim, who cooks for 5,000 people every day at the company where he works in Dublin, said: "It all started when I saw East is East and realised Bradford was the curry capital of Britain.

"I had a little knowledge about curry but it wasn't something I'd be confident cooking so I thought this would be a great chance to learn.

"I just jumped in the car, drove to Holyhead and over to here." Tim has since been mastering his masalas and perfecting his poppadoms at the Mumtaz restaurant. He said: "What I've learnt under Mumtaz is if you understand the basics then it's easy to cook. Curry is shrouded in mystery about how you prepare and cook everything. But he's demystified the whole process.

"He's opened up a whole new world for me. The whole experience in Bradford has been fantastic."

He was put in contact with the restaurant after contacting Bradford Council and the city's Chamber of Commerce about his desire to widen his culinary expertise. Managing director of the Mumtaz group, Dr Gul-Nawaz Akbar, said his visitor had been doing so well they had offered his dishes to customers and asked for their comments.

Dr Akbar said: "He could have gone anywhere but he chose Bradford, which backs our argument that we are the curry capital of the UK.

"We've taken him on board with pride because I think it's good for the city if he goes back and says 'I learnt how to make curry in Bradford'."

Tim said: "As soon as I get home to Dublin everyone is expecting me to whip up a fantastic curry. And I think now I might be able to."