MORE than 120 free meals from a much-loved Middlewich restaurant were sent out to the town's dedicated NHS staff as a thank you on Sunday.

Chimichangos, in Wheelock Street, has kept its kitchen open during the pandemic to offer a takeaway service, in line with Government guidelines.

Owner Jason Tanfield – commonly known as Chef Pedro by regulars – decided he wanted to do something to support our NHS heroes after receiving a letter sent from Government to all takeaways, thanking them for keeping Britain fed.

So the Chimichangos team cooked and delivered 127 free meals – all including chicken fajitas, mac 'n' cheese bites, beef chilli and rice, diced spicy fried potatoes and onion rings.

Jason told the Guardian: "I just thought we were not really as deserving of praise as the NHS staff, so I wanted to do something for them.

"Everyone loved it, I have had so many messages thanking us and telling us they really liked it.

"A few people moaned about it, saying we should be doing it for all key workers, but we just couldn't do it for everyone as there would have been thousands of meals.

"We would have loved to have done it for all NHS staff but we had to stick to Middlewich ones, though we did a few of our regular customers from Winsford as well."

Jason's busy team spent Sunday afternoon preparing all the food, before boxing it up fresh and getting his four-strong delivery team to take out 12 boxes at a time.

Northwich Guardian:

And the generosity from Jason does not end there, as Chimichangos will give a 20 per cent NHS discount when the restaurant reopens following the coronavirus crisis.

Jason added: "Thank you for all your hard work and please take this as a little token of our appreciation."

While the dining tables are empty for now, Jason and the Chimichangos team are keeping busy during the pandemic.

Jason added: "I am OK myself. I have got my dogs, I take them on walks during the day, and I have managed to get to the wholesalers that are closing quite early.

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"We are doing a heck of a lot of takeaway orders at the moment. Obviously we have had to change to stay open and keep the staff in work.

"We have also expanded the menu as we know not everyone wants Mexican food. A lot of takeaways have closed in Middlewich so we are offering a wider range now – half roast chickens, rib eye steaks, barbecue chicken, we are trying a few new things."