Parveen the Spice Queen makes emotional return to social media after husband’s shock death
The TV chef has broken her six-month social media silence with an emotional message explaining she is preparing to return to work following the death of her husband, Qamar, during a robbery in Ghana.
Chef Parveen Ashraf has returned to social media for the first time in six months after revealing the devastating loss of her husband.
The TV cook, 61, told followers she is hoping to rebuild her life through cooking after her partner Qamar’s death during a robbery in Ghana.
Widely known as Parveen the Spice Queen, the chef rose to prominence with ITV’s Parveen’s Indian Kitchen in 2019 and has since built a loyal online audience by sharing traditional South Asian recipes and cooking demonstrations with nearly 30,000 Instagram followers.
Parveen had been absent from the platform since October before posting an emotional video explaining her husband of 38 years had died around six months earlier.
In her new video, Parveen said: “Hi everyone, it is Parveen the Spice Queen – but I am not even sure if I am still her.”
She continued: “I just wanted to come on here as I've been away for a while but I wanted to come and say that I think I am ready to come back to work.”
“But I am not even sure what (work) means yet. I had a personal tragedy and I lost my husband about six months ago.
“Those that have lost somebody, you will know how painful this is. I feel he wouldn't want me to wallow in self-pity so I am going to try and get back to work and posting videos and recipes.”
Parveen ended the video by blowing a kiss to the camera before writing in the accompanying caption: “The pain of losing someone you love is all consuming and it's easy to just let the grief take over, however for the sake of my own sanity, I am hoping to get back to work soon.
“Rest in peace my darling man.”
In a Facebook post shared in December, Parveen revealed further details surrounding Qamar’s death.
She wrote: “My husband of 38 years and the father of my 3 children was taken from us tragically and suddenly.”
“He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and was killed during a robbery in Ghana.”
Qamar had been living in Ghana when the incident happened.
More recently, Parveen thanked supporters for the messages she had received since speaking publicly about her loss, alongside what she described as “a few pics of our 38 years together.”
The chef explained she had chosen Genesis’ Follow You, Follow Me song to accompany the tribute to her husband because of its personal significance throughout their marriage.
She wrote: “I always told him that wherever he was, I would follow him - and I did; I left my parents home and followed him to London.
“He got a contract in Leeds, so I and my 2 toddlers followed him. He got a job in Peterborough, so I moved there with my 2 children and one on the way.”
“He went to Ghana and I left the UK and my 2 eldest children and follows him. He is now in a different realm and I will follow him there too.”
Since finding television success with Parveen’s Indian Kitchen, Parveen has continued to build her profile through recipe books, live cooking demonstrations and online cooking content, becoming affectionately known to viewers as “Parveen the Spice Queen”.
