Aktar Islam at Kanishka

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A multiple award-winning chef, Aktar Islam is the Chef Patron of Opheem, Birmingham’s first Michelin-starred Indian restaurant and the only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in the UK outside London. The restaurant was also awarded a second Michelin star earlier this year, making it the city’s only two Michelin-starred restaurant and one of only four two Michelin-starred Indian restaurants in the world.

Born in Birmingham to Bangladeshi parents, Aktar’s hospitality career began during his teens, when he worked in his father’s restaurant. It is here that he found his love for cooking and decided to pursue his career further, eventually becoming one of the UK’s most exciting chefs.

At Opheem, Aktar pushes boundaries with Indian flavours, using a mixture of traditional and contemporary cooking techniques to create a truly unique modern Indian cooking style with a strong focus on exceptional produce. Aktar also takes great pride in using Opheem as a platform to create opportunities for young individuals from Birmingham.

Aside from his restaurant work, Aktar Islam has also become a regular face on TV, having been crowned champion by Gordon Ramsay on Channel 4’s The F Word, as well as having won the fish course in the final of BBC Two’s Great British Menu, and appeared on MasterChef: The Professionals, Market Kitchen, Saturday Kitchen, The One Show and more.