Congratulations to All the New, and Existing, Michelin Star Winners!

It’s that time of year again. The end of one of the biggest weeks in the culinary calendar, when chefs up and down the country hold their collective breath and wait to hear if they’ve won or held a star.

For the vast majority of chefs there has been no change. Their awards are safe for another year as they have gone neither up or down.

For a smaller percentage there is jubilation. At The Ledbury, for example, the entire chefs team led by Brett Graham is celebrating returning to two stars having had a period of closure over the pandemic. Also celebrating is chef Alex Dilling whose restaurant at The Café Royal has jumped from one star to two.

At the very top there are no changes. All existing three-star establishments have kept their awards. Celebrating one new star is a different story. 19 restaurants in England and Scotland picked up a first star including Kenny Atkinson for his Newcastle restaurant Solstice and the popular Timberyard restaurant in Edinburgh.

However, all was not roses with the new results. Talking to The Daily Telegraph chef Sally Abé of The Pem wondered why there were no new stars for female chefs.

 “It made me sad,” Abé said. “The winners were overwhelmingly white and male. In previous years it has looked like women were being better represented, and last night two women, Helene Darroze and Clare Smyth, maintained their three-star status. But from the 20 new one-star restaurants, there was not a single female head chef. We need a long hard look at ourselves as an industry to ask why this is what it is.”

We hear you, Sally and we agree.  We tirelessly champion brilliant female chefs and would be more than happy to flag some promising contenders for a highly-coveted star.

Let us know if you feel any restaurant or establishment was left out.