Dastaan Leeds: Meet the head chef behind the new Indian restaurant who started his career with Gordon Ramsay

The Indian restaurant opened in Adel in July and is the brainchild of two top chefs, Sanjay Gour and Nand Kishor, who have an accolade of awards in London.

Sanjay grew up in Mumbai and his family were strict vegetarians. He didn’t taste chicken until he moved to Goa to study, and had his first pork chorizo sausage after moving to Dubai in 2001.

The 43-year-old told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “I thought, ‘oh my god, this is amazing’.

“Then I got introduced to a crispy bacon sandwich and that’s the best thing in the whole world.

“I went from a very strict vegetarian background, to virtually eating anything now.”

Sanjay landed his first job at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in Dubai, where he met Gordon’s protégée Angela Hartnett.

She later invited Sanjay to work under her at The Connaught in Mayfair and he moved to London around 20 years ago.

“It was a big eye opener,” Sanjay said.

“Back in the day, you were in the kitchen for 7am and you’d finish at 12.30am/1am the next morning.

“You’d work for five days on the trot, double shifts, and then two days off - that’s when you’d get drunk!

“Those were hardcore days. I doubt anybody could do that now.”

Sanjay made his name with his Dastaan business partner Nand while the pair were head chefs at the Michelin-starred Gymkhana restaurant in Mayfair.

They opened their first restaurant in Epsom in 2017.

Within eight months, Dastaan had won best overall business at the Surrey Business Awards and was later awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Sanjay and Nand have teamed up with long-term friend Anarag Singh to open their second Dastaan in Leeds, the first in the North, with Anarag running the restaurant.

Sanjay said: “People always ask why we wanted to open in Leeds - but I say, why not?

“You’ve got lovely people with amazing work ethics, the staff are super nice.

“Plus, you’ve got corporate people working in the city and amazing colleges and universities with students who are eager to work and learn.

“The restaurant we’ve got is so beautiful. It was a no-brainer.”

Dastaan serves the “best of India”, Sanjay said, from butter chicken of the north to pork cheek vindaloo from the south.

It’s hit the ground running since opening in July and Sanjay praised the community spirit of north Leeds.

“The locals have embraced us with open arms,” he added.

“They come to try us as a couple, then they’re blown over and it becomes like a trophy restaurant.

“They’re proud to have it in their neighbourhood and they want to show it off to their friends.”

The Leeds restaurant has been designed as more up-market than the casual setting of the original Dastaan.

Sanjay said: “The service is equally as important as the food that comes out on the table.

“Any restaurant, for me, is like an orchestra. If one person doesn’t do the job, you cannot have such amazing music.

“You can’t please everybody, but you have to do everything in your power to make sure they still leave with a smile on their face.”