Anyone who's been to a Dishoom (whether that be in London or Birmingham) will have no doubt tried the house special, the bacon naan. This week, this breakfast time treat has stirred up some pretty strong emotions in its most loyal fans after Marks & Spencer posted one of its most recent recipes.
The supermarket uploaded a snap of its new bacon and egg naan roll to social media this week and has since faced backlash over copying claims. One follower commented that the breakfast creation was “a straight rip off”, while another cross fan said “Shame on you… there will only ever be one bacon naan and that’s the original and unbeatable [one from] Dishoom”.
With over 500 comments on the picture, Dishoom has since been alerted to the dupe, and responded on the original Instagram post to say, “After weeks of sitting on the fence, we’ve finally decided we’re Team Cuthbert…”. The tongue-in-cheek jibe comes in relation to M&S seeking legal action against Aldi who recently launched a birthday cake called Cuthbert similar in looks to the Colin the Caterpillar cake Marks & Spencer is famous for.
Mark's & Spencer's new bacon and egg naan roll
It is thought that the initial post from M&S announcing its new bacon and egg naan didn’t credit Dishoom as its inspiration, but a tag has since been added. Adding further context, the small chain restaurant has since responded more formally on Twitter with a string of messages, saying:
“They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and we were, of course, a little taken aback to have inspired such an esteemed establishment.
"It has since become clear that this recipe is now being used, without any credit, across numerous paid advertising platforms – and for all our flippancy, in honesty, it hurts. After a year in which our cafés have been mostly closed, a year when we’ve spent many months (and countless sleepless nights) perfecting our first-ever meal kit to be able to bring this much-loved dish to the doors of patrons nationwide, it hurts all the more."
Dishoom then addressed M&S the supermarket directly, saying, "this isn’t just a bacon naan roll, this is the Dishoom Bacon Naan Roll, and it means a great deal more to us than you know."
Dishoom ends the thread by inviting M&S to donate some of its advertising budget to charity.
Looking to get your hands on the original? Head to Dishoom in King's Cross