A tandoori chicken skewer was used to stab a hungry restaurant patron after he complained that two hours was too long to wait for his order, a court has heard.
Sydney chef Mati Rahman, 43, is accused of piercing the hand of Jamil Hossain with a tandoori skewer at his wife's Lakemba restaurant Red Chilli in Sydney's southwest on March 31 last year.
A TV interview Mr Hossain, 43, did soon after the incident was played at a hearing at Burwood Local Court on Wednesday.
Mr Hossain said in the interview he and his friends were very hungry when they ordered food at the Indian restaurant at 9pm.
But their order didn't arrive after more than an hour.
When they inquired about their meals, they were told that it would take another 30 to 45 minutes to which one of his friends said "that's too long".
This is when Mr Hossain alleges Rahman got angry and told them to get out.
"He said `get out or I'll kill (you) one by one'," Mr Hossain said.
He said a fight then took place outside the restaurant where Mr Hossain alleges he was protecting his friend from being stabbed in the stomach when the metal meat skewer went through his left hand.
"When I saw the blood I felt dizzy and I fell to the floor," he said.
But Rahman, who has pleaded not guilty to reckless wounding, says he is the victim.
Rahman has told the court that he never stabbed Mr Hossain, and was himself set upon as he prepared curries near a 200-degree tandoori oven.
He said that the group of men had become agitated after having to wait for their meals.
Rahman said he repeatedly told them to be patient but Mr Hossain and another man had approached him with their complaints as he worked alone in the kitchen.
He said the men then attacked his restaurant with chairs and mops and the sharp edge of a mop is how Mr Hossain injured his hand.
He required eight stitches.
Magistrate Margaret Quinn will hand down her verdict on March 21.
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