Panache Elgin chef named best in the country at Asian Restaurant Awards in Edinburgh

A curry chef who has been named the best in the country has revealed the secret behind his award-winning success.

Jabir Hussain, of Panache in Elgin, was named Asian Chef of the Year at the Asian Restaurant Awards in Edinburgh.

The Asian Catering Federation, which runs the awards, sent industry experts to Panache last month to judge Jabir’s cooking.

They judged his food based on creativity, originality, presentation and taste and were clearly impressed as he was named winner in a highly competitive category.

“I was overwhelmed to be honest with you,” Jabir said.

“It’s unbelievable and it’s a big one for me personally because it’s for my work as a chef because obviously Panache has won many awards as a restaurant.

“I really couldn’t believe it because they tasted my food and picked it as the winner against some really top chefs from across Scotland.”

The 34-year-old specialises in East Indian and Bengali cuisine and has more than played his part in helping Panache become one of the most popular eateries in Elgin.

The restaurant itself has racked up numerous honours over the years including being named the country’s top curry restaurant on multiple occasions, most recently in April this year.

But some of Jabir’s earliest memories are of his older sisters and mum cooking in the kitchen - an experience he still leans heavily on as a chef today.

That experience sparked a career which saw him move to Elgin to work at Akash in 2009 having started as a chef at his family’s restaurant in Birmingham prior to that.

In 2018 he took charge of Akash and changed its name to Panache.

It has gone from strength to strength ever since and Jabir’s food is a firm favourite among locals and visitors alike.

“My secret? It’s probably just my passion for cooking,” Jabir said.

“I’ve been cooking from a really young age and I really enjoy creating new things and trying things that are a bit different. I love sharing that with people as well.

“I’ve worked with a lot of different chefs as well which has really helped I think.

“We also try to cook to customers specific requirements. Whatever they require and maybe we can do something a little bit different for them.

“Different people like different things whether that be more spicy things or more mild things.”

Jabir says he wants to build on his latest success and by doing so, demonstrate the quality cuisine on offer in Moray.

“I think it’s great for Elgin as well,” Jabir added.

“A small business doing well against people in big cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow.

“We’ve competed with them for a long time now so I just hope I can keep up the good work and I’ll do my best to do that.”