It's that time of year again - this year's Michelin star reveal ceremony, was held last night at The Midland Hotel in Manchester.
Rumours had been flying around all day of at least one new UK restaurant being elevated to three stars and so it proved to be (more on The Ledbury's good news later). But while Manchester foodies might have hoped that locating the ceremony in their city would mean good news for Manchester restaurants, it proved to be a night in which London blew away the competition.
In stark contrast to last year when we only got four new one-starred restaurants and two new two-stars, 2024 saw an absolute slew of the city's establishments being recognised. There were 11 newly starred restaurants, three new two stars and, of course, a brand new three Michelin-starred restaurant with The Ledbury joining the small group of places with that honour. It was also notably good news for Claude Bosi, with his new restaurant Brooklands going straight to two stars in its first year.
The Ledbury's rise in stature made it the first new London restaurant to get three stars since both Core by Clare Smyth and Helene Darroze at The Connaught got theirs in 2021.
On this, the 50th anniversary of the publication of Michelin's first UK guide, there was a mini tribute to Le Gavroche which closed last month having "helped define gastronomic excellence in this country". Michel Roux took to the stage with a standing ovation from the guests. "They're all drunk," he quipped, before adding that he was delighted to see young talent coming through and to be presenting the new one stars at the ceremony. He was also presented himself with the Chef Mentor Award.
It was a big moment for the Sethi family and the team at Gymkhana which became the first Indian restaurant in the country to be awarded two Michelin stars. Another popular winner on the night was chef Aktar Islam whose Birmingham restaurant Opheem also got two stars and who gave an emotional speech about the journey to this point of his career, having been kicked out of school as a youngster. "It just goes to show what this industry can give someone with no prospects."
On the downside, there are a few restaurants in London this year waking up to the news that they've lost their Michelin star. This year that list consists of both Hakkasan restaurants, the original Barrafina in Soho and Shoreditch restaurant Leroy.
We'll leave it to The Ledbury's Brett Graham to sum up the feelings after the 2024 ceremony: "We won't get much sleep tonight!"
More about London's 2024 Michelin stars
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