On Tuesday, January 28, Sattie Persaud and her mother, Sandra Persaud, visited Newtown Police Department and cooked a traditional meal of roti, a type of naan bread, and curry chicken.

Sattie Persaud is the owner of HillTop Kitchen in Sandy Hook and founder of the World Heritage Cultural Center (WHCC). She is also a member of the Rotary Club of Newtown. Helping her in the kitchen at 191 South Main Street Tuesday morning was fellow club director Alex Villamil and Andrea Nardin. The former is the owner of Dolce Italian Ice & Gelato in Sandy Hook.

Persaud and her mother made naan dough from scratch and then coached NPD Police Chief David Kullgren on how to roll out the dough for frying. As Kullgren rolled out the dough, Villamil helped Sandra by oiling both sides of the dough in the pan and cooking it.

Sandra instructed everyone when they pulled the dough out of the pan to fold it and slap it to remove the air inside. Villamil said it was his favorite part of the process.

A few officers started to follow their noses to the kitchen and inspect the scene. They were instructed by Persaud to grab a plate and dig in. Not only did the team prepare fresh roti, the Persauds made a curry chicken with potatoes and red onions to go with the bread.

Officer Stephanie McDermott said, “This is the best it’s ever smelled in this building.”

Persaud demonstrated the proper way to eat the meal, which is to rip off a piece of the bread and using it to scoop up the curry. Officer Hugo Rojas discovered the bread was perfect for cleaning the plate entirely, leaving nothing but a curry stain behind on his paper plate.

Persaud told The Newtown Bee that HillTop loves “coming [to the police station] and bringing food. We thought it would be cool to demonstrate how to make naan. It’s something different and cultural.”

Persaud also told the officers about the Inaugural International Food and Music Festival she is planned. The event is scheudled for Saturday, May 10 at Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Main Station, 18-20 Riverside Road.

She said there will be 30-40 different vendors, and a dance stage will represent at least 23 countries. She hopes to bring more people into the event through WHCC. Persaud explained that she wants to bring “culture to the community.”

Following the meal, Nardin offered gelato to the officers, which was welcome after the hot meal provided by the Persauds.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.