Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed

Dr Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed (born 23 October 1987) is a British doctor, chef and winner of the BBC's MasterChef competition in 2017.

Her final menu was to prepare a three-course meal for judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace which consisted of:


 * First course: Venison shami kebab with cashew and coriander green chutney, chana daal and a kachumbar salad.
 * Main course: Kashmiri style sous-vide duck breast, with crispy duck skin, freekeh wheatgrain, spiced with dried barberries, walnuts and coriander, a cherry chutney and a duck and cherry sauce.
 * Dessert: Saffron rosewater and cardamom panna cotta, served with a deconstructed baklava, including candied pistachios, pistachio honeycomb, filo pastry shards and kumquats.

Early life
Mahmood-Ahmed was born in Mansfield, Notts and raised in Ickenham, Middlesex.

Career
She was educated at Beaconsfield High School (Grammar School) for girls and studied Medicine at Kings College graduating in 2012. She began her career in medicine as a junior doctor working for the NHS at St Mary's Hospital specialising in gastroenterology. She has subsequently worked at Hillingdon Hospital and Watford General Hospital.

She began cooking at the age of 12 and was heavily influenced by the Kashmiri style of cooking of her maternal grandmother and mother.

Publications

 * Khazana – A Treasure Trove of Modern Mughal Dishes (2018). Awarded Best New Cookbook by The Guardian (2019)

Personal life
Mahmood-Ahmed has been married to Usman Ahmed since August 2013. Her husband is also a doctor, specialising in acute medicine. Their first son, Aashir, was born in October 2014 and their second in March 2020.