Iqbal Wahhab OBE

Iqbal Wahhab OBE

Iqbal Wahhab is Chair of the Quilliam Advisory Board.

Iqbal Wahhab was born in Bangladesh and came to Britain 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 we view Indian dining. In 2003 he co-authored The Cinnamon Club Cookbook and in 2005 opened Roast.

A series of new commercial projects are soon to be launched.
 
Iqbal is 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
 
Arts: 

Chair, Autograph
 
Ambassador, Rivington Place
 
Fellow, Royal Society of the Arts
 
Board Memberships:   
 
Race for Opportunity - Business in the Community

Bright Ideas Trust 

The Mayor’s Fund for London

Awards
 
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
 

"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 of Waitrose on waitrose.com 
 
"National Treasure" - The Times

Iqbal received an OBE in the 2010 New Years Honours list for public service and services to the hospitality industry