Stu Deeley joins two-Michelin-starred Opheem in Birmingham

Speaking to The Staff Canteen at the time of his departure, he said the split was amicable and hinted that a new role was already lined up. He said: "Personally, something else has come available, which will come out at a later date, that's piqued my interest and is better suited to my own aspirations."

He also admitted that a star had been on the wish list at The Warwick, saying: "We'd love to have got a star, we've only had one guide come out since I've been here, so it's still early days. I think if I'd stuck it out another couple of years, potentially it could have happened. But equally, you have to take the opportunities when they arise, don't you? And chasing a star isn't necessarily the right business move."

At Opheem, he now finds himself in a kitchen that already holds two.

Mark Chambers, managing director of Eden Hotel Collection, paid tribute to him at the time, saying: "Although we are sad to see Stu move on, we are really excited about the legacy he leaves behind and the calibre of restaurant we've been able to create."

Smoke at Hampton Manor

Before Mallory Court, Stuart spent close to four years at Hampton Manor in Solihull, where he was chef director of Smoke, the restaurant he helped open in the estate's old furnace house in August 2021.

Smoke held three AA rosettes under his leadership, and Hampton Manor credited him with "putting the old furnace house on the map". He announced his departure in November 2024, and Smoke closed in February 2025 to make way for Kynd, led by Michelin-starred chef David Taylor.

Earlier in his career, Stuart was head chef of The Wilderness in Birmingham and worked under chefs including Steve Love, Luke Tipping, Alex Claridge and Adam Brown, so the move to Opheem keeps him firmly rooted in the city's dining scene.

Aktar Islam and Opheem

Born in Birmingham to Bangladeshi parents, Aktar started out in his father's restaurant at the age of 13 and went on to co-own the Lasan group, before opening Opheem in May 2018 as his flagship.

The restaurant won its first Michelin star in October 2019, making Aktar the first British-born Bangladeshi chef to earn one, and in February 2024 became the first restaurant in Birmingham, and the first Indian restaurant in the UK, to hold two Michelin stars.

Aktar, a former Great British Menu finalist who has since returned to the show as a judge, has also expanded beyond his home city this year. In May 2026 he opened his first London restaurant, Oudh 1722 in Borough, serving Awadhi cuisine from the royal courts of Lucknow across three floors of a listed Victorian building.

Opheem's last high-profile kitchen appointment came in April 2025, when Tony Parkin joined as head chef from Cliff House Hotel in Ireland. His stint proved brief, and by July he had left to join Andrew Sheridan's Open Restaurant Group as head development chef.

• Keep up with who else has changed kitchens this year in our tracker of the big chef moves of 2026.