Brick Lane hosted an al fresco street party on Friday as the London Curry Capital 2012 festival finally kicked off ahead of the Olympics.

The event included a cook-off between Brick Lane restaurateurs as well as an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to break the world record for the highest poppadom tower ever. Unfortunately, the poppadams came crashing down just a few inches short of the height required for the record to be smashed.

Residents came out in force to soak up the atmosphere and take in the sights and smells of Brick Lane exactly a week before the Olympics get underway.

Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman also attended before making his way to the Tower of London to welcome the Olympic torch to the city ahead of its tour of the Olympic host boroughs over the weekend.

He said: “It was wonderful to see so many people come out to enjoy the curry cook-off, live entertainment and record breaking attempt to build the world’s tallest poppadum tower.”

The curry cook off was won by Oliur Rahman, a chef from Brick Lane’s Masala restaurant, who served up a king prawn dish from Bangladesh and a chicken curry. Mr Rahman, who lives in Commercial Road, has been a chef at Masala for five years, and said he was “very happy” to have beaten off his rivals to win the contest.

The party also included live music, and a video link allowing people to watch on a big screen as the torch arrived at the Tower of London that evening.