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BBC News
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Michelin young chef of the year enjoying British ingredients
The winner of the Michelin Young Chef Award for 2025 has said she is enjoying cooking with British ingredients since making the move to the UK from South Africa. Ash Valenzuela-Heeger came over to be with her wife Erin and the pair set up the Riverine Rabbit in Stirchley, restaurant has also caught the eye of the Michelin Guide and it received a Bib Gourmand award in recognition of food which is both good quality and good described the young chef award as a "nice pat on the back" and the couple said they were "very happy" with their restaurant. Before coming to the UK, Ash had her own restaurant in Cape Town and said "leaving a continent is a very hard thing to do".The 35-year-old said "hats off to anyone who does it" and explained it was especially difficult because she came over in 2020, during the coronavirus setting up a new restaurant in Birmingham the couple ran a number of pop-ups in different locations around the said they had been "generating buzz in Brummie circles for some time" before opening Riverine said they eventually settled on Stirchley because they spent a lot of time there "hanging out" and she said there were "a lot of cool independent businesses on the high street"."We felt a kinship to Stirchley," she said. Ash said she really enjoyed working with Asian ingredients and techniques, but when she moved to Birmingham she had to adapt to use British said she was really enjoying working with new ingredients such as scallops and oily fish and said: "Even the beef tastes different over here."She admitted "there's a lot of indigenous flora that you get in South Africa which I do miss a lot," but trying new ingredients was "fun".Presenting her with the young chef award, the Michelin Guide said Ash's "original cooking is big on flavour and draws on influences from her native South Africa to across Asia".It also praised the couple for an "inventive and invigorating restaurant".Riverine Rabbit is a lot smaller than the restaurant in Cape Town, but Erin, 29, said they were "very happy just serving our 12 guests".Erin divides her time between the restaurant and her other job as a materials scientist at the University of Birmingham, specialising in aerospace ceramics, and said there were no plans to expand at this said they "just make things a little bit better every day". Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Birmingham restaurants recognised with Michelin awards
Two restaurants in Birmingham have been recognised by the Michelin Guide. Riverine Rabbit in Stirchley and Tropea in Harborne were both recipients of the Michelin Bib Gourmand, which is awarded to venues offering good value and good quality guide praised Riverine Rabbit for providing food that was "a vibrant joy to eat" and credited the restaurant's dining experience as "a guaranteed fun night out".Tropeca was recognised as "celebration of classical Italian cooking", where the "kitchen's generosity" means diners leave with full stomachs after "relaxed, welcoming service". Tropea was also celebrated by the guide for its Italian wine list, which was said to be "great value"."Its simple, ingredient-led dishes and high-quality homemade pastas, can all be enjoyed in a buzzing environment", it restaurant and bar is co-owned by Ben Robinson Young and Kasia Piatkowska, who said the award means "so much" to them. "It represents what we hoped Tropea would become: a restaurant that serves great food, that's good value, cooked with care and served with love", they said. Riverine Rabbit, which is owned by Erin and Ash Valenzuela-Heeger and specialises in small plates with south-east Asian flavours, was described as a "terrific counter restaurant". Co-owner and chef, Ash said: "We're chuffed to bits, it means a lot to us because we have worked so hard over the last couple of years."Our restaurant is quite unique, it's one big chef's table, I cook right in front of you, I'm handing you the plates and telling you all about the ingredients."Erin Valenzuela-Heeger said working alongside her wife is a great way to spend time together. "It's incredible getting to work with Ash and delivering incredibly high-standard food, watching the person you love doing what they love, is also an incredible thing to witness day in day out."We get on so well and I think it shows to anyone who comes to the restaurant, most people comment on it, especially those who come with their other half." 'Exciting young talent' Ash Valenzuela-Heeger, who is originally from South Africa, has also been recognised with the Michelin Young Chef Michelin inspectors said Ms Valenzuela-Heeger was an example of "exciting young talent" and her cooking had "generated a buzz in Brummie circles". "We always say we strive to be 1% better everyday, so I have no doubt this time next year we will be even better than we are now", Ms Valenzuela-Heeger added. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
