Byatt, who is chef owner of the Michelin-starred Trinity in London’s Clapham, is described by the Guide as ‘a real “chef’s chef” and someone who has given so much help and advice to younger talents over the years’.
Valenzuela-Heeger, meanwhile, who hails from South Africa and has a CV that includes highly-rated Cape Town restaurant The Test Kitchen and Brett Graham’s three Michelin-starred The Ledbury in London, was identified by the Guide’s Inspectors as an ‘exciting young talent’ whose restaurant has ‘strengthened the brilliant Birmingham dining scene’.
For 2025, five special awards were presented in total. Alongside the Young Chef and Chef Mentor awards, they included the Michelin Service Award, the Sommelier Award, and the Opening of the Year Award.
As well as receiving a Michelin star, Oma in London’s Borough Market was named Opening of the Year, with the Guide saying that ‘few restaurants have had such an instantly brilliant impact on London’s restaurant scene’.
Jasmine Sherry from Fish Shop in Ballater, Scotland, received the Michelin Service Award; while Zsolt Lukács, owner of Daróg Wine Bar in Galway City, won this year’s Sommelier Award.
Elsewhere, Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall in Lancashire has been awarded three stars in the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2025, with The Ritz in London promoted to two stars.
Moor Hall, which opened in 2017 and has held two Michelin stars since 2018, becomes the 10th three Michelin star restaurant in the Great Britain & Ireland Guide.
The Ritz Restaurant in London, which was awarded its first Michelin star the 2017 Guide, was one of three new two star restaurants announced. Also promoted were Angelo Sato’s Humble Chicken in London’s Soho and Allister Barsby and Alice Bussi’s Hide and Fox Restaurant in Saltwood, Kent.
Alongside them, 22 restaurants have been newly awarded one Michelin star.
Additionally, five restaurants including Native in Worcestershire and Leicestershire’s Restaurant Jericho received a Michelin Green Star, which highlights those at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices.