{"id":292016,"date":"2025-07-26T01:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T01:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/292016\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T01:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T01:16:11","slug":"two-birmingham-chefs-shortlisted-for-best-chef-at-the-british-restaurant-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/292016\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Birmingham Chefs Shortlisted for \u201cBest Chef\u201d at the British Restaurant Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two of Birmingham\u2019s most talented chefs, Kiran Suvarna of <a href=\"https:\/\/orelle.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Orelle<\/a> and Ash Valenzuela\u2011Heeger of Riverine Rabbit, have both been shortlisted for the prestigious Best Chef award at this year\u2019s British Restaurant Awards, which recognises outstanding culinary achievement across the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Since joining Orelle in autumn 2024 as its Executive Chef, Kiran Suvarna has delivered refined, flavour-driven dishes from its 24th-floor kitchen overlooking Birmingham\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/colmorebusinessdistrict.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Colmore Business District.<\/a> With over 21 years of experience in top kitchens, from Le Pont de la Tour, Skylon, and German Gymnasium in London to Singapore\u2019s two\u2011Michelin\u2011starred Pollen, he brings a wealth of expertise to Orelle\u2019s elegant setting. Kiran\u2019s philosophy centres on clean, modern, and meticulously crafted dishes that draw out the essence of each ingredient.<\/p>\n<p>Originally from South Africa, Ash Valenzuela\u2011Heeger founded Riverine Rabbit, which began as a pop\u2011up in Cape Town before relocating to Birmingham during the pandemic. Drawing from her time in Cape Town kitchens such as The Test Kitchen and experience at renowned UK restaurants like The Ledbury and Carters of Moseley, Ash weaves South African culinary heritage into her menu. Her cooking style blends bold flavours; spice\u2011infused small plates, crab toast, honey\u2011cured beef, with seasonal UK ingredients. This year, Riverine Rabbit has earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand and the Michelin Young Chef Award, in recognition of their innovative talent and vibrant approach to dining.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"701\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"43644\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Ash_Rabbit-701x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Ash Rabbit Two Birmingham Chefs Shortlisted for \u201cBest Chef\u201d at the British Restaurant Awards\" class=\"wp-image-43644\" title=\"Two Birmingham Chefs Shortlisted for \u201cBest Chef\u201d at the British Restaurant Awards 1\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"43645\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Orelle-X-Kiran-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Orelle X Kiran Two Birmingham Chefs Shortlisted for \u201cBest Chef\u201d at the British Restaurant Awards\" class=\"wp-image-43645\" title=\"Two Birmingham Chefs Shortlisted for \u201cBest Chef\u201d at the British Restaurant Awards 2\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The British Restaurant Awards shortlist will be officially revealed on September 10, 2025, with winners announced at a ceremony in London later in the autumn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two of Birmingham\u2019s most talented chefs, Kiran Suvarna of Orelle and Ash Valenzuela\u2011Heeger of Riverine Rabbit, have both&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-292016","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114916896809865285","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}