The warming smell of Nariyal curry cooked by an award-winning chef gave busy doctors and nurses a reason to take their meal break.

For Jill Martin of the Town Kitchen cooked up a batch of the same show-stopping dish she served on Come Dine With Me as a surprise treat for overworked staff at the QEQM Hospital in Margate.

The glamorous gran had been preparing since Monday - chopping, weighing and portioning out from 4am each day. Then on Wednesday she drove to the hospital and handed over the food parcels in time for lunch.

See her scrumptious dish in our photo gallery below

The creamy coconut chickenand rice (with vegetarian option) was the exact same recipe Mrs Martin of The Grove, Deal, cooked up with husband Geoff on Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me in 2016 earning them joint first place in the competition.

Cupcakes made by her daughter Jessica of Hotsy Totsy Cakes & Bakes made up the benevolent bundle.

Mrs Martin, who described it as "a moment I will never forget," said: "I was asked by a retired nurse, one of my customers, who came to my door with a very emotional request.

"Her daughter is part of the nursing team at the QEQM Hospital.

"The lady asked me if I would cook for a shift team of 40 doctors and nurses.

"My customer told me how overwhelmed and stressed the staff at the QEQM are and this surprise would lift their spirits and put a smile on their faces."

The retired sales manager for P&O Ferries earned herself international acclaim for her mouthwatering Knockers after she won the World’s Best Pasty Competition in 2019.

Her Betteshanger Big Breakfast Knockers won first prize in the commercial category while her Tilmanstone Toppers - a cheese, potato and onion variation - were declared third best in the world in the same contest which was at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

The creations are part of her Kent Pitts selection, with each being named after the four productive collieries in the Kent Coalfield including Snowdown and Chislet.

This is not the first benevolent gesture Mrs Martin has made through the pandemic.

In December she cooked up a batch of her Knockers and distributed them to stranded drivers queuing at the Port of Dover.

And in 2016 she and her husband donated a home-cooked meal in an auction for Martha Trust.

Keep up to date with Jill Martin's exploits through her Facebook page: The Town Kitchen.

Read more: All the latest news from Margate

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