Every year, the awarding of Michelin stars is pretty much the biggest event in the London restaurant calendar. There's plenty of evidence that Michelin itself could be more in-tune with the modern dining scene but, when the awards season gets underway, nothing gets more attention than this. Last year saw the awards move date and from a physical location online. This year, post lockdown, things have changed once more.
Here's what you need to know.
When will the 2022 London Michelin stars be announced?
This year's announcement will be over a three day period. If you've ever watched the announcement ceremony and thought why can't they move things along a bit more quickly, this will trigger you.
On Friday 11 February at 10am we heard about the new Bib Gourmands which have been awarded. On Tuesday 15 February at 10am we found out about the special awards, so that's the best Chef-Mentor, Young Chef, Service, Sommelier and Newcomers being announced.
Finally, on Wednesday 16 February we'll get the start of the reveal proper with the new Michelin stars being announced along with the guide's Green Stars for sustainability. They've said that'll be out by 10am, but judging by the events so far, this could start earlier than that.
The guide itself will then be available to buy online only as they've stopped publishing a physical guide.
How can I watch the announcement?
There's usually an event that's also streamed online, but this year there will be no live event and Michelin have said the news will instead appear on their Instagram page and Twitter feed. Last year the festivities were helmed by Davina McCall who dropped in live to chefs around the country.
We'd also highly recommend following the Michelin chat on Twitter on the day so that you can join in the joy/incredulity in real-time.
Do the chefs know in advance if they've won a star?
Normally, all invitees to a physical event who already have a star will be retaining theirs, but most of the restaurants who get shiny new stars will only find out on the day.
The only exception to advance notification is if they award three stars. That announcement has such an impact on a business that they usually get a little heads-up.
How many stars are usually awarded?
They award stars for all of the UK and Ireland during the same event - but for London, and based on the past three years of awards, we'd normally expect around 10 restaurants to get new stars. In 2021, 12 restaurants were awarded stars, including a new three-starred restaurant. See the new London Michelin stars for 2021 here. You can see the reaction to the announcement here.
This year... who knows. Will this be the year Claude Bosi gets his third Michelin star? We'll have to wait and see.
Which London restaurants currently have a Michelin Star?
In London, there are 65 Michelin starred restaurants in London. There are five 3-star restaurants, eight 2-star and 52 1-star. See the full list of all London Michelin-starred restaurants.
Subscribe to hear the latest from Hot Dinners
