‘I’ll never get over this’: Vegetarian mum bites into chicken in her takeaway curry

Vegetarian Tania Baxter, from Holt, was horrified to find chicken in her curry ordered from Melton Spice in Melton Constable. Picture: Tania Baxter (Image: Archant)

Tania Baxter, from Holt, ordered a takeaway dinner from Melton Spice in Melton Constable on Friday evening, including a vegetarian curry for herself.

The 45-year-old, who has not eaten meat for 10 years, said her friend was reassured the curry did not contain meat when he went to collect it from the restaurant.

But as Miss Baxter took a bite of her dinner back at home, she immediately knew something was wrong.

"I took a mouthful and knew instantly the texture in my teeth was meat, so spat it out straight away," said Miss Baxter, who gave up meat for compassionate reasons. "Then I looked through the rest of the curry and saw these same pieces of chicken."

Animal lover Tania Baxter, from Holt, became a vegetarian 10 years ago. Picture: Tania Baxter (Image: Archant)

Having called the takeaway to complain, Miss Baxter said she was "disgusted" by the response.

"I rang and there was just no remorse, no apology. He said to me three times 'come back and I'll make you another curry', but that wasn't the point.

"The whole experience was completely devastating and I was in tears all night. My 12-year-old daughter's not a vegetarian but was so upset she didn't eat her own dinner."

Miss Baxter's eldest daughter returned to the restaurant to demand an explanation, but failed to improve relations with the owners.

Vegetarian Tania Baxter, from Holt, was horrified to find chicken in her curry ordered from Melton Spice in Melton Constable. Picture: Tania Baxter (Image: Archant)

"They just weren't grasping how upsetting this was for someone who is against slaughter and eating animals," said Miss Baxter. "They just didn't seem to care."

Following the distressing experience, the animal rights activist is determined to warn others.

She added: "What if someone had a serious allergy and they were given the wrong dish? Someone could die because of this. This isn't something I will get over, to go through that and experience that kind of attitude. I will never eat a curry again - I can guarantee that."

Responding to Miss Baxter's claims, Rakib Imam from Melton Spice said: "Someone called to say they had chicken in their vegetarian curry and we have refunded them.

"If there is a mistake, we have to see the curry first and then we can investigate what has happened. The lady said it had chicken in it, but refused to bring it back to us."