Visitors to the 50th Bristol Harbour Festival this weekend are being advised of the perfect thing to eat to beat the heat – a curry.

Temperatures are set to soar to 30 degrees centigrade – possibly higher – when thousands of people pour into the city for the harbourside spectacular, back for the first time since 2019.

With such extreme temperatures, curry might be the last thing you think of when it comes to keeping your body cool.

But one expert says that ‘fighting fire with fire’ works, and is keen to offer some inciteful food for thought to people heading into Bristol this weekend.

Gauri Renukdas is Director of Tikka Flame, which sits in the heart of the Harbourside area.

She said: “It may be the last food you think of in hot weather, but it’s true that spicy food can help your body cool down in hot weather.

“Curries and chillies can stimulate heat receptors in the mouth, enhance circulation and cause sweating, which is how the body naturally cools down in the heat.

“If you think about it, dishes like the ones we serve at Tikka Flame originate from some of the hottest countries in the world.

“But there is method to that apparent madness. A chilli-laden meal makes you work up a sweat without actually increasing your body temperature, which means your body will end up feeling cooler after consuming a curry.”

Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say, and the Tikka Flame will be open throughout the Harbour Festival so that people can find out for themselves.

The restaurant is setting up an outside bar for ‘grab and go’ drinks and has reintroduced a lunch menu, which is usually on offer between midday and 3pm, as well as its usual full menu of authentic Indian cuisine. The restaurant will actually be open all day, from 11.30am, during the Harbour Festival.

Gauri said: “Your natural instinct might be to reach for an ice cream, salad or watermelon when the temperature soars, but if you want to really beat the eat, then something spicy is just what you need.”