Gordon Ramsay challenged by Birmingham chefs from tiny suburb spot and glam rooftop restaurant

Two Birmingham chefs from two very different city restaurants have been shortlisted for the Best Chef prize at the British Restaurant Awards alongside Gordon Ramsay and eight other top cooks.

Ash Valenzuela-Heeger and Kiran Suvarna are in the running to be named best in the UK in recognition of their outstanding culinary achievements.

Ash is the chef at Riverine Rabbit, a tiny neighbourhood restaurant in Stirchley while Kiran creates special dishes in the glamorous rooftop restaurant Orelle at 103 Colmore Row in the city centre.

Read more: New restaurant with outside terrace and iconic view opens at Birmingham New Street

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This is the seventh year that the British Restaurant Awards have been held and there are 11 chefs in the running.

Four of the other chefs up for the gong have MBEs, including Isle of Wight star Robert Thompson, Great British Menu chef Kenny Atkinson, Scottish cook Adam Handling and the multiple award-winning Jason Atherton.

The other four in the running are Adejoké ‘Joké’ Bakare, Angelo Sato, Kirk Haworth and Paul Ainsworth.

Both Birmingham competitiors have impressive culinary backgrounds with Ash being named Michelin’s Young Chef of the Year at the 2025 ceremony after impressing around the world with exquisite dishes that hearken back to her South African roots.

She worked at renowned restaurants like The Ledbury and Carters of Moseley before opening Riverine Rabbit in January 2024.

It quickly gained a spot in the Michelin Guide before winning a Bib Gourmand this year.

Meanwhile, Kiran has spent 21 years in top chefs including Singapore’s two Michelin Star spot Pollen as well as restaurants in London.

Now he operates from the 24th floor of 103 Colmore Row, creating ‘clean, modern and meticulously crafted dishes that draw out the essence of each ingredient’.

The British Restaurant Awards shortlist revealed on September 10, 2025, with winners announced at a ceremony in the capital in the autumn.