CHILDREN from Pakefield Primary School have been sampling first hand Asian culture by tasting food and identifying spices in a traditional Indian restaurant.

CHILDREN from Pakefield Primary School have been sampling first hand Asian culture by tasting food and identifying spices in a traditional Indian restaurant.

Teacher Ruth Wharrier approached Mohammed Arif, the owner of the Taj Mahal, in London Road South, three years ago to develop a link with the restaurant as part of a geography topic on India for year four.

And since then the yearly visit, which promotes cross-cultural understanding, has been much enjoyed.

On Wednesday Mr Arif opened his doors to 65 children and invited them to try some of his cuisine.

Many of the pupils had never tried the food before and were interested to learn what sorts of spices were included in the making of the dishes to give them their taste. Afterwards, Mr Arif held a question-and-answer session where youngsters took it in terms to ask him about Indian culture.

Mrs Wharrier said Mr Arif believed that mutual understanding was at the heart of the community.

'The children learn about what it's like for an Asian family living and working in Lowestoft.

'As you can imagine, the children gain more knowledge, understanding and cultural respect than they ever could in class,' she said.

As a follow up to the trip, the pupils will be asked to write about their experiences, design an advert and write an article for the class newspaper.

'However, their memories of the day last much longer and are still talked about months and years afterwards,' said Mrs Wharrier.