A Polish web designer who has lived in Cork for two decades has paid €51 for one of the last tubs of curry sauce from Jackie Lennox’s chipper, which closed its doors after 73 years last weekend.
Seventeen people had competed on eBay for the tub of curry sauce which retailed at just over €2.
Half of the proceeds of the winning bid were donated to the Cork Penny Dinners soup kitchen. The item was sold by a private seller to Norbert Narbut.
Mr Narbut told the Neil Prendeville Show, on Cork’s Red FM, that he was on holiday last week when large queues formed outside the Bandon Road chipper as fast food lovers said goodbye to the much loved establishment.
Members of the public had waited patiently for up to three hours to get their “last supper” prior to the closure of the chipper last Sunday.
Norbert admitted that he could not resist bidding for a tub of curry when he spotted it on eBay.
“I actually got the curry last night. I went down to my local chipper and got chips and some chicken and myself and herself looked at it (the curry sauce) for about ten minutes, and then we ate it.
"It was divine. We had to defrost it. We were on holidays and missed Lennox’s closing down so we didn’t have a chance to get any food whatsoever. I was kicking myself. So when I saw it (the tub) online for sale I said ‘We have to get it.’
"At first we were going to keep it for a special occasion. But we couldn’t. We had to have it.”
Norbert admitted that he was willing to bid up to €100 for the tiny tub — particularly when he heard that there was a charitable component to the sale.
“The seller wants to stay anonymous. I am originally from Poland. I am in Ireland for about twenty odd years.
"Three to four years after I got here (to Fermoy in Co Cork) my accent switched and when I moved to Cork about five/six years ago I got that Cork (city) twang. I came over with my parents as a young fella. I don’t one bit regret eating the curry. I enjoyed every bite of it.”
Norbert is now thinking about buying another tub of Lennox’s curry sauce which is up for sale on eBay.
“I am considering bidding on it. I definitely won’t pay more than €50. Half of the profits are going to Penny Dinners so sometimes you wouldn’t mind paying extra. The curry (from Lennox’s ) is delicious. We don’t drink or smoke, so the curry it is! This is the last bit of Lennox’s.”
He insisted that KC’s in Douglas would now take up the mantle as the most loved chipper in Cork city.
Norbert also complimented Ireland on the tastiness of its takeaways.
“KC’s is gorgeous. We do have chippers in Poland, but they are not as nice as Irish ones. We wouldn’t have the curry as nice as here and all that. Irish chippers are a bit different. There is a bigger selection.”
