Another year, another addition to the lofty Michelin Guide.
Hosted in Manchester’s suitably grand Midland Hotel, the guide announced 31 new ratings for 2024, including its ninth third star – the first in two years – and six new sustainability-focused green stars, as well as 20 new Bib Gourmands, highlighting great food at moderate prices, which were announced last week.
Whether you were clapping (slowly or otherwise), rolling your eyes or, as one fellow food writer told me, “screaming at the TV” as the awards were announced, it can’t be denied that after 124 years, it remains the most important food guide in the world. That’s not to say that every chef covets a star, nor that those without aren’t any good: a restaurant can be perfectly fantastic without one, and just as mediocre with.
The criteria have changed innumerably over the past century and in fact still remain deliberately vague. Indeed, you could argue that the industry used to follow the awards not unlike a little lost puppy, begging for scraps; now, it seems, the guide is steered more by the movements of the industry… that is to cheaper, arguably better places outside of London.
Gossip abounds, naturally, and most of it should be ignored. Instead, I’d recommend keeping Michelin’s founding principles, published in 1936, in mind when considering the list of awards below: one star for a “very good restaurant in its category”, two stars for “excellent cooking, worth a detour”, three for “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”.
The most exciting news of the night was undoubtedly the stars awarded to Aji Akokomi’s Akoko in Fitzrovia and Adejoké “Joké” Bakare’s Chishuru in Soho, two of the most talked about new openings in recent years and the first two West African restaurants to make the cut in the UK. That also makes Bakare the first black female Michelin-starred chef. There’s only one other African restaurant on the list, Ikoyi, though it prefers to bill itself as “Creative” cuisine.
Elsewhere, there were some predictable, some well-deserved one stars handed out, such as (beloved of the food gods and hipsters alike) Brat’s Tomos Parry’s hyped 2023 opening Mountain; 1890 by Gordon Ramsay, one of three restaurants he helms in the Savoy; Dorian, Notting Hill’s answer to River Cafe; and, outside of London, Simon Rogan alumnus Dan Cox’s Crocadon, down in Cornwall. The two stars tentatively reached slightly further afield, with Terre in Ireland and The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Scotland, though this category, too, was geared predominantly towards London. Notably, though, Opheem in Birmingham and Gymkhana in Mayfair became the first Indian restaurants to be awarded two stars (there are five Indian restaurants in London with one).
And, for the first time in two years, the guide handed out the coveted third star, to… dun, dun dun… The Ledbury in Notting Hill, whose cuisine can only be described as “tasting menu”. That it’s only been 12 months since it regained its second star, having lost them while closed during the pandemic, should either be considered a great triumph or a curious surprise. At any rate, for co-owner Brett Graham, becoming the first Aussie chef to win three stars (there’s no Michelin guide in his home country) is something to brag about.
With one hand the guide giveth, and with the other it taketh away. As is tradition, restaurants that close or move are removed from the edition. This year, that includes Michel Roux’s Le Gavroche, The Raby Hunt in Darlington, and Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, among others. But, in an unanticipated blow for Tao Group Hospitality, both Hakkasan locations in London, in Mayfair and Hanway Place, were stripped of their stars, having held them for 12 and 20 years respectively. Barrafina Dean Street, one of five spots in London, and Peter Sanchez-Igelsias’s Paco Tapas in Bristol, were also struck off, for reasons unknown. Michelin makes a habit of moving in mysterious ways.
So what have we learnt? Whisperings of a mutiny to dethrone London as the food capital of the country after the city was awarded only six of the 23 stars in last year’s guide have been somewhat squashed by this year’s 18 – the lion’s share. Although dishing out only two of the 20 Bibs to London and one of the green stars shows that even Michelin thinks the city is no longer affordable nor sustainable. Not good news for any upcoming chefs hoping to tap the scene. I’d like to say that traditional (read: kind of boring) French techniques are on the out alongside the male white chefs that seem to love them so much: there were nine people of colour on this year’s list, compared to just two last year. But that would mean I’d also have to celebrate the one female chef that won a star this year because it’s an improvement on last year’s solid zero. I suppose we should be grateful for any at all.
The conclusion is, as ever, a mixed bag. A definite cause for celebration here, a probable yawn there. Whether we like it or not, it’s the highest accolade for chefs, and worthy of celebration, but it’s not the only mark of a truly great restaurant, and it never will be.
New three stars
The Ledbury, Notting Hill, London
New two stars
Gymkhana, Mayfair, London
Brooklands, Belgravia, London
Terre, Castlemartyr, Ireland
The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, Crieff, Scotland
Trivet, Bermondsey, London
