It has no doubt been a year of change for the restaurant industry and that even extends to the world-famous Michelin Guide, who today announced its new stars for the 2021 Great Britain and Ireland edition.
The annual ceremony took place as an online-only virtual event and marked the first time in Michelin’s history that it has published a ‘digital only’ guide, a move it has made to account for industry recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic.
Hosted by television presenter Davina McCall, the annual event saw various well known chefs pop up via video link, including James Sommerin, Heston Blumenthal, Jean-Phillipe Blondet and Gordon Ramsay. It was also the first year to introduce a 'green star', which celebrates restaurants that are committed to sustainability. 23 restaurants were awarded this new green star, including The Black Swan in Oldstead and L'Enclume in Cartmel.
The annual event, known as Michelin Revelation, has taken place since 2017, when the guide first decided to unveil its stars at a live event following a series of leaks prior to official publication of the guide in earlier years. The event was slated to take place in October 2020, but Michelin decided to postpone its announcement by three months due to the impact of the Coronavirus on the hospitality industry.
Speaking at the time about the postponement, international director of Michelin guides Gwendal Poullennec said: “Our inspectors are eating out and supporting the industry across Great Britain and Ireland. Moving the event to January and launching a digital-only guide gives us the time we need to be fair to restaurateurs and to ensure the consistent, expert advice our customers demand.”
“Restaurants have been through challenges we previously couldn’t even have imagined – and I want to applaud chefs and owners for the passion, ingenuity and entrepreneurship they have shown this year.”
Full a full run-down of all the new stars in the 2021 guide, see below.
New three Michelin star restaurants in Great Britain
Helene Darozze at The Connaught, London
Core by Clare Smyth, London
New two Michelin star restaurants in Great Britain
A. Wong, London (the first Chinese restaurant in the UK to be awarded two stars)
Da Terra, London
Story, London
New one Michelin star restaurants in Great Britain
Osip, Bruton
Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall, Ripon
Dede, Baltimore
Muse by Tom Aikens, Blegravia
Latymer at Pennyhill Park, Bagshot
Hide & Fox, Saltwood
Behind, London
Cail Bruich, Glasgow
Roots, York
Hjem, Northumberland
Cornerstone, London
Davies & Brook, London
Outlaw's New Road, Port Isaac
Benares, London
Casa Fofo, London
Pea Porridge, Bury St Edmonds
SOLA, London
Want to see the UK restaurants that SquareMeal rates the most? Check out our pick of the top 100 places to eat outside of London.