Iqbal Wahab

Iqbal Wahab, OBE (Order of the British Empire) -

Founder of the Tandoori Magazine

Businessman of the Year 2008, The Drinks Business

Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration, University of East London

Voted Restaurant Personality of the Year by Menu Magazine

Voted one of the Top 10 Restaurateurs in Britain in an Independent on Sunday survey

Retailer of the Year, Pig and Poultry Marketing awards 2009

Director of the Month January 2010, The Director magazine

Entrepreneur of the Year, Muslim News Awards 2010

Chair of the Government’s Ethnic Minority Advisory Group set up to discuss ways to reduce ethnic minority unemployment levels and sits on a Task Force with six ministers to formulate policies to this end

Chair, The Mayor’s Fund for London Business Club

Visiting Professor, London Metropolitan University Business School

..............

........

...

And there is so much more to him!!!!

So, who is Iqbal Wahab?????

Iqbal Wahhab, OBE is a Bangladeshi-born British businessman. Wahhab was born in East Pakistan, (now Bangladesh) and arrived in the United Kingdom at the age of eight months. He was educated in London and is a graduate of the London School of Economics.

After working as a journalist in the national press for three years, in 1991 he set up his own PR firm which specialised in food, drink and restaurants and then in 1994 he launched Tandoori Magazine.

He sold out of the magazine to launch the multi award winning Cinnamon Club in 2001 – a restaurant aimed to change the way of viewing Indian dining. In 2003 he co-authored The Cinnamon Club Cookbook and in 2005 opened Roast.

From 2012, Wahhab became chair of the Department for Work and Pensions' Ethnic Minority Advisory Group (EMAG), set up to discuss ways to reduce ethnic minority unemployment levels and sat on a Task Force with six ministers to formulate policies to this end. In 2012, he was invited to Gordon Ramsay's Bad Boys Bakery lunch at Brixton Prison.

In 2018 he decided to leave Roast so he could focus on other projects.

“Iqbal is a restaurateur par excellence, combining a passion for food with an art for communication, fine attention to detail and sound commercial acumen.”

Mark Price, Managing Director, Waitrose

“National Treasure”

The Times

Iqbal Wahab has gone through tough times to stand where he is today. He should be an inspiration to every restaurateur here. Unfortunately, not many know about him in the country of his origin.

The Dhakaiyya Burger from Madchef

The Dhakaiya Burger on the menu mentions of a meat patty, fried paneer, cheese and mint chutney on the menu. The combination is quite intriguing to any gourmet or gourmand in Dhaka. 
The first impression you get from the menu is that this going to be an American cheesy burger with infusion of spicy and sour flavours of Dhaka. The local paneer in a burger if got right is a sheer treat.

The burger could be a treat to the eyes. Many could actually be totally satisfied with it. The dripping cheese over the patty under a thick fried crumbed paneer with mint chutney in between should be bound to get you tempted to dig in if not completely drooling. 

However, for a food writer and researcher like me, this burger is out of proportions. The key element that this burger is missing is 'Balance'! The paneer is too thick over the patty of that portion, overpowering the core of the burger. The taste shifts from the major protein in the burger to the complementary paneer which should be the condiment here and not the primary 'focus'. The mint chutney was also excessively used and it was more of a coriander chutney than mint, which does not complement a burger so well. This chutney is also too spicy to kill the burger and so needs to served with a light hand. The buns used are just right for this burger though!

The next point of argument could be the assembling. The chutney should complement the crumbed paneer and not the meaty patty. I would have preferred it smothered lightly on the paneer, than being generously dropped over the melting cheese on the patty. 

The concept is interesting but failed to be executed perfectly. The burger is yet filling and has good flavours, which need to be in balanced proportions.