Meet the Shetland Chef: Akshay Borges on Shetland food, life and cooking with love
5 MINUTE READ
Who better than Akshay Borges – a.k.a. the Shetland Chef – to tell us how food can be the most direct route to the soul of a place and its people? After all, he’s done exactly that, after moving to and falling in love with Shetland more than 15 years ago.
The sky above Lerwick is grey, but Akshay’s bright yellow beanie and spring-grass-green sweater splash a cheerful spray of colour across the dreich February day. It’s immediately clear that the Shetland Chef is the sort of person who brings his own weather, and puts you instantly at ease.
As we talk about the islands, Shetland food and the life he’s built for himself here, Akshay speaks with the affection of someone who has wholeheartedly thrown himself into local life and been fully embraced in return.
He moved to Shetland more than 15 years ago after studying International Hospitality Management in Edinburgh – a decision he made by flipping a coin between two job offers: one in Shetland, one in Southern England. A new life as a trainee chef at the very northern edge of Britain won and, by his own account, it quickly felt like home.
That feeling of belonging is obvious as he talks. Akshay is spoiled for choice, with Shetland lamb, Shetland mussels, fish, vegetables and foraged ingredients all on his doorstep, but it’s the people behind those ingredients that really matter to him: from the crofters, butchers, fishermen and producers who’ve become close friends, to the neighbours who gathered around his early spreads of food.
It’s that experience of sharing food with strangers and watching barriers dissolve that is, he says, fundamental to everything he does now. It’s what he brings to every table he sets.
His philosophy is as generous as his hospitality: every dish carries a story, a thread connecting the food on the plate to the Shetland landscape outside and to his own roots in Goa and Mumbai. As his mother always told him, food should be made with love. And after spending time with Akshay Borges on our 2026 Shetland tours, you’ll understand exactly what she meant.
Here, he tells us more about island life, the Shetland food he loves and what you can expect when you meet him on one of our small-group tours in Shetland.
GeoCultura: Take us back to that moment when you decided to move to Shetland – what was going on in your life?
The Shetland Chef: I was looking for a new opportunity to cook in a kitchen where I could keep learning and work with local produce. I got offered two jobs – one in the south of England and one in Shetland. I flipped a coin to help me decide: heads, head up; tails, head down. Shetland won and it definitely felt like the right choice, so I moved up here and never left!
What was it about Shetland that made you stay?
It felt very quiet here and there was so much open space. People were friendly and I felt welcome straight away. It was the people and the sense of community that made me stay – even more than the amazing ingredients, the people are the best part of island life.
What do you think visitors often get wrong about island life, before they arrive?
That it will be sunny and calm the way it looks in a lot of the photos and videos. Really you can have all the seasons in one day here, it can be challenging to deal with but it’s also part of the magic.
You’ve got the day off and you want to clear your head. Where do you go?
I like being outside, so I spend a lot of time in my kitchen garden. I like walking our two dogs as well – most days we go somewhere around town. They love the beach so we might head for a quick sea swim at the Bains beach too but only one of the dogs gets in the water with me; the other one isn’t so keen on the freezing sea temperatures!
What’s your favourite season in Shetland – and the taste of that season?
I think each season has its pros and cons. Summer is glorious with sunshine and long days, BBQs, foraging and fishing when I can. Winter is cosy, with refreshing gale-force walks in the wind and comfort food like chowders, mash and local steak.
What surprises people most about Shetland food?
The variety of ingredients that you can source locally. There’s everything from fruit and veg to fish, shellfish, lamb, goat, beef and so many more amazing things you can forage and preserve too.
If you had to introduce Shetland food in two courses, what would you serve and why?
Smoked mackerel paté with some homemade oatcakes and then a Goan seafood curry with bannocks. We are surrounded by the best seafood in Shetland, and making a mild Goan seafood curry with some Shetland bannocks adds a little bit of my heritage to the meal.
Who are the Shetland food heroes behind your ingredients?
Stacey Rendall supplies me with lamb and goat from Withyburn Croft; I get sassermeat from the award-winning organic Uradale farm; Hensington Palace is great for eggs; there are mussels from Shetland Select and Blushell mussels… The list can go on and on! It’s great to have so many local suppliers to work with and to be able to support their small businesses too.
[You can visit Stacey at Withyburn Croft and find out what life is like on a remote Shetland croft on the last day of our 6-day Shetland tour.]
You combine Shetland’s history with memories of growing up in India. Can you walk us through a dish that really tells that story?
Shetland Mussels served with South Indian tomato rasam is one that I serve regularly at takeaway events at community halls and folk love it. The rasam is a lightly spiced tomato and lentil soup that pairs really well with the mussels – there’s nothing else like freshly harvested Shetland mussels.
How do you want your GeoCultura guests to feel when they visit for lunch?
Relaxed and taken care of, as if they were visiting a friend’s home but getting a service of a professional restaurant with a personal touch.
What Shetland food story do you especially love to tell alongside a meal?
The story that ‘peats’ played in the life of Shetlanders, from using fuel for heat to the smoke for flavouring and preserving mutton and fish hanging from ‘reest’. The reason for that is one of my courses is edible ‘peats’ that I serve as a pre-dessert made with honeycomb, caramelised coconut and Belgian dark chocolate.
Join one of GeoCultura’s 2026 Shetland tours and enjoy a two-course lunch cooked by Akshay – but food, as he’d be the first to tell you, is only the beginning.