Chef Owner Alex Claridge of award-winning The Wilderness, Birmingham, has appointed Marius Gedminas as the restaurant’s Head Chef. Gedminas will lead on the new central Birmingham venue opening later this year.
Gedminas started his culinary career as CDP under Nick Sinclair at Brooklands Hotel, Surrey, before working in London at The Wallace. He progressed from there by working several positions at The Daylesford and Michelin-starred the Sir Charles Napier in Oxford. In 2018 he settled in Birmingham, holding positions at Tom’s Kitchen and Michelin-starred Adam before coming to work for Claridge.
Joining The Wilderness as Sous Chef in 2019,Gedminas’s hard work and vision for the menu allied with Alex’s own concepts for his project, propelling him to Head Chef following a year in service.
Gedminas said, ‘Working with Alex and for The Wilderness has allowed me to be a part of an experience where dining out is a process of storytelling with food – an experience I find extremely rewarding to be part of as a chef.
‘There are a lot of places, particularly in Birmingham, where the food scene is really developing and you can eat well, but few places bring the essence of this city to life. The Wilderness manages to do that, highlighting Birmingham’s cultural diversity, variety and history – I look forward to elevating that even further with Alex’s unique offering and being a part of the restaurant’s future.’
Claridge commented, ‘Having worked with me on our Indian pop-up earlier in the year, as well as serving as Sous for The Wilderness, Marius is not just one of the most creative chefs I’ve had the pleasure to work with, but more importantly a steadfast friend and believer in what this restaurant stands for. We are both excited to share with our guests new dishes and new ideas – with plenty of surprises to come.’
