On Tuesday, Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw ordered the closure of the restaurant “for not following law and instructions” after it promoted a dish named Kurdistan with a staggering price tag of around $87,000.
Hamid Ahmad, the owner of the punished restaurant, defended his creation of the meal, saying it was an effort to secure a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
“They only looked at the price; they did not look at the positive aspects,” Ahmad told Rudaw, claiming that he was planning to arrange a special event for “the son of a martyr” and that this would be a one-off.
“I did something for the Kurdish people; I didn't do it for my name,” Ahmad noted.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Governor Khoshnaw said what the restaurant did was “something that was unacceptable for the mainstream,” emphasizing that “no one can use the name of Kurdistan for their product.”
He noted that the public was provoked by the overpriced meal.
However, he clarified that this does not mean permanent closure of the restaurant, adding that the owner has to no longer offer the meal and publicly apologize for the action in order for his business to be reopened.
The businessman has decided to remove the meal from their menu but does not find a reason to apologize for his alleged attempt to add the name of Kurdistan to the Guinness World Records.
Dilnya Rahman contributed to this article
