Michelin 2025

The extended version of what I wrote for The Sunday Times 9.1.2025

This is an anxious time for a certain kind of chef, and it’s not just about the parlous state of the restaurant industry. It’s Michelin time once again and the people behind the little red book will be announcing the new stars tomorrow at a ceremony in Glasgow.

Amongst chefs, Michelin stars are a minority sport but the anxiety is massive. As one stellar performer said to me “you worry about getting a star, then you worry about losing your star or you worry about getting a second one and then you worry about losing that or being busted back to nothing.”

It's well-nigh impossible to get such chefs to speak on the record; they are all in the same boat and they don’t want to be the one to rock it.

But why the interest, the hype, the excitement. “It’s only a guide book,” says Oliver Dunne who handed back the star he had at Bon Appetit in Malahide in 2014. “It was liberating,” he says. “I wanted to create restaurants that I’d like to eat in. And with the star I was catering for 1% of the population. Most of us just want to have a good time when we go out to eat. We’re not looking for a Michelin experience.”

Dunne believes that some chefs go out of their way to create that Michelin experience. “The guide just judges what’s there,” he says.

Well, up to a point, I’d say. Michelin love to mention that a fried chicken streetside stall in Singapore has a star but we all know what they look for apart from serious cooking: crisp linen, gleaming glasses, big wine list, smart wait staff. Provided you’re not in France, of course, the fons et origo of Michelin stars. There, at least at one and two star level, the dining experience can often be seriously underwhelming. In Ireland and Britain, it’s different. Most times.

So, what do Michelin stars mean? Well, according to themselves, the only restaurants in Ireland that meet their definition of “excellent cooking, worth a detour” (i.e. worthy of two of their precious stars) are Patrick Guilbaud’s and Chapter One in Dublin city centre, Liath in Blackrock, dede in Baltimore and Terre in Castlemartyr.

The one star restaurants, according to Michelin, offer “very good cooking in its category”. And it seems we only have 15 of those on the island. Really?

As for three star restaurants, they have “exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.” Note the switch from “cooking” to “cuisine”. Well, it seems there isn’t a single one of these on the whole island of Ireland, although Britain has all of nine.

My own view is that Michelin is a bit of a joke and far from consistent. I greatly enjoy eating in Chez Bruce in Wandsworth, London, which has a single star. In Dublin I love to go to Dax on Pembroke Street which doesn’t. The styles are different, the quality exactly the same. So why does Dax not have a star? My guess is because it’s in Dublin. The number of Michelin stars, it seems to me, depends on population.

Some very successful restaurants will never fit the Michelin model. Paul Cartwright, executive chef at Roly’s Bistro, who incidentally agrees with me about Dax, says “we’ve never thought about chasing Michelin.” “It wouldn’t suit what we do. But having a star is great for high end customers, especially Americans during the Summer. Michelin is their travel guide”. Other chefs say that English diners are the keenest Michelin tourists, with people flying in for lunch and heading back to London or Manchester that evening.

While the Michelin magic is potent for some chefs, its influence amongst consumers is waning thanks to influencers on social media. But as Oliver Dunne says, “it gives young chefs something to aspire to. I revere any chef who gets a star. Michelin can certainly be a positive thing for some.”

Dylan McGrath, who had a Michelin star at Mint in Ranelagh from 2007 until it closed in 2009, says “if I’m being honest, Michelin is the highest form of recognition and probably the best. Sure, they take their time, they let you get into your stride and they recognise consistency. And, whatever they may say, it’s not just about the food. There are places where the cooking is definitely star quality but other things, maybe the wine selection, don’t stack up.”

Odd as it may seem, some chefs who achieve a star don’t actually want one, or discover that they don’t. When Skye Gyngell moved on from one-star Petersham Nurseries in greater London, she said: “It’s been a curse… we’ve had a lot more complaints.”

This echoes what the late A A Gill (of this parish) said about a restaurateur who hated his star because his restaurant was suddenly “full of customers with faces like smacked bottoms who complained about everything. He says the temperature in the dining room drops until you can almost see your own breath. Michelin has produced a legion of miserable gourmands, people who care more about the valet parking than conviviality.”

Just before Damien Grey’s Liath won its first star I wrote, with consummate confidence, that it wouldn’t – because of its size, location and lack of a loo. I have never been more glad to be wrong.

So, having entered that caveat, where do I think is in the running for a star tomorrow?

First of all, let’s consider possible promotions. Derry and Sallyanne Clarke, who had a star at L’Ecrivain for many years, think it’s well past time that Ireland got its first three star recognition. “It might be dede,” says Derry. “We ate there not so long ago and it’s really at a totally new level. Or it could be Terre. Maybe Chapter One of Guilbaud’s.”

But what about less stratospheric possibilities?

If Ballyfin under Richard Picard-Picard Evans misses out, I’d say that there is no justice. It’s bizarre that Gregans Castle in Clare has been overlooked for so long; maybe the wait is over. Is there something that Michelin don’t like about Kevin Burke’s exceptional Library Street in Dublin? Michelin can be very slow learners. Niall Davidson’s Allta is surely in with a shout? And a lot of people are talking about The Morrison Room in the Carton House Hotel in Maynooth as a strong contender. One Pico certainly seems to tick all the Michelin boxes, but that’s no guarantee.

If Delahunt were in Cheltenham or Bristol, I’m pretty sure it would have a star. Were The Sea Rooms at Kelly’s in Rosslare transported to Cornwall, it would be a shoe-in (although Chris Fullam’s cooking might be a shade too robust and smoky). Of course, it doesn’t set out to appeal to Michelin – and I love it all the more for that – and the short wine list is better than so many much longer ones, but I won’t hold my breath. If Cush were on the Kent cost rather than atop Ballycotton, Dan Guerin’s cooking would certainly be a candidate for a star.

Spare a thought for those chefs who are in a state of anxiety just now. “Wondering if you’re going to get a star is bad enough,” says Derry Clarke, now retired from restaurants but embarking on a private dining service with his wife, Sallyanne. “But worrying about losing star is much worse. We kept ours until we closed but every year we had the worry. What would we do if we lost the star? We would have had to close and start again with a new concept. Simple as that. We were on tenterhooks every year.”

For a lot of chefs and restaurateurs, tonight will be one of rather fitful sleep. And whatever reservations I have about Michelin, I wish them the very best for tomorrow.