Prasad Dhaneshwar, chef/proprietor of Dunfermline’s award-winning Indian street food restaurant, Dhoom, has once again honoured his long term charitable commitment to donate £750 to a different local organisation every single month.
Marking the latest batch of donations, totalling £5250, some of the recipients gathered at the ‘Streatery and bar’ this week to meet Dhaneshwar and Dhoom’s staff.
These beneficiaries included include two local Diabetes Charities – Type 1 Warriors Fife, and the Aidan Sutherland Foundation, a charity set up in memory of Aidan Sutherland who died aged 20 following complications with Type 1 diabetes.
Other recipients were the Lomond Cricket Club, the only cricket club in Fife for girls; Charity Squeeze, which has offices in Fife and Dundee, supporting people suffering from short term financial hardship; and the Revive Well-Being Hub, which provides a safe space for local people to come and relax with a cup of tea, while accessing information and services which support mental health and well-being.
The last two groups to benefit were LADAMA, the Lochgelly & District Amateur Musical Association, and the Food Shack Fife, which supports people struggling with the cost of living.
“It’s once again our absolute pleasure to gather representatives together from all of these latest charities and community groups, and present them with some very special cheques to help them in their aims,” said Prasad.
“Giving back to the community is what we’re all about here at Dhoom. It’s so important to us to recognise and reward the people who are involved day to day running these charitable and community groups – they do such a great job.
“We know that the money will be put to extremely good use. We will continue to do this as we have a routine and method in place to raise these amounts,” he added.
His ongoing contributions to local charities have resulted in Prasad being nominated for the title of Community Champion in the forthcoming Courier Food & Drink awards.
“I’m very humbled by the award nomination,” he said, “but we don’t do this to win awards. It is something that we very much enjoy doing.
“Giving back and being thankful is extremely important to our culture. We will continue to look for worthy groups and organisations that need our help.”
Back in the Dhoom kitchen, Dhaneshwar is also continuing his commitment to regularly shake up the menu, periodically shifting its focus onto a different regional cuisine of the Indian sub-continent. This week, his staff are preparing to launch a new menu based on street food from the Punjab.
