Earlier this month, at a truly comical awards ceremony featuring a less than elite level of hosting, Michelin revealed the star holders for the 2020 guide.
I managed a few hits with my predictions but there were nonetheless quite a few surprises.
Interesting results in the Lake District
Huge congratulations are due to Allium at Askham Hall, The Old Stamp House and Cottage in the Wood, adding yet more Michelin stars to an already foodie hot spot. However for Lake Road Kitchen, the restaurant that universally seemed the most likely to receive a star in the area, there was nothing. There was no star either for nearby Hipping Hall, another hotly tipped destination.
A trebling of 2 stars in Ireland
With the much tipped Greenhouse in Dublin being promoted to 2 stars and Aimsir in Celbridge going straight in at 2 stars, it was a great day for Irish cuisine. For so long Ireland has had just one 2 star restaurant, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin, so I'm sure many would contest this was long overdue.
Manchester ended it's Michelin curse
As I successfully predicted, Mana became the first restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star in Manchester since the 1970's. Having read many positive reviews, I was a bit surprised that Tast Catala - Enxaneta didn't also receive a star. The rather cursory mention of Enxaneta on the main listing for Tast in the Michelin Guide suggests Michelin may not have fully inspected the top floor offering, so perhaps the 2021 guide will bring a further star to Manchester.
Long standing restaurants stripped
It wasn't a great day for some very established restaurants; long term star holders like Tyddyn Llan, the Yorke Arms, Gidleigh Park and Fisher's Baslow Hall were all stripped of their stars amongst many others. Obviously there have been changes of chef and so forth at a number of these venues, although far from all of them, but will standards really have fallen so significantly since last year or is Michelin just making space in the guide by removing easy targets?
A final thought
I know from personal experience how important the Michelin Guide is to chefs, but as the old adage goes, the most important aspect of any restaurant is to cook for your customers, not the guides.
Who wants to appear in a guide who tweets bile like this anyway?! :)
