After Cognac and Strasbourg, this year Bibendum set up its roundabouts in Tours, at the Palais des Congrès, for a decentralized ceremony bringing together the best of the profession (1,200 guests, including nearly 600 starred chefs).
The 2024 Michelin rankings bring a breath of fresh air. This year there are 62 promotions to the star (compared to only 44 in 2023). That’s a lot: almost 10% of the total number of establishments distinguished by the guide. “With 639 starred restaurants, France remains the most awarded destination in the world”observes Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin guides.
The manager emphasizes the youth of those promoted: more than half of the restaurants are run by cooks under 40 years old. Emblematic of this renewal, Fabien Ferré, at only 35 years old, saw his Table du Castellet (in the Var) obtain the highest distinction, three stars, by sublimating Provence and its terroir. Another chef, Jérôme Banctel, achieves this Holy Grail which has become an obsession for him for his establishment Le Gabriel, in Paris. Here, it is the unexpected and refined alliance of cosmopolitan flavors (Breton, Japanese, Turkish) that takes gourmets to unexpected horizons.
Eight establishments receive two stars. Among them, Le Jules Verne, by chef Frédéric Anton (with Kevin Garcia as executive chef), at the top of the Eiffel Tower; Mas Les Eydins, in the Luberon, where Alexandra and Christophe Bacquié celebrate Provençal cuisine as virtuosos; Le Saison, near Rennes, and its Breton delicacies pampered by Ronan Kervarrec.
Sushi Temple
But the jolt comes mainly from the fifty-two new one-stars. Even if there are a few regulars – like Thierry Marx, for Onor, in Paris – this edition is supported by young chefs whose restaurants are often less than a year old. Thus Eugénie Béziat, at the helm of Espadon, at the Ritz, who punctuates her creations with African flavors. Or Manon Fleury, who runs Datil, a Parisian restaurant favored by the press, rewarded for very vegetal dishes of extreme sophistication.
The newcomers are playing with borders. At Petit Léon, in Dordogne, in the village of Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère, New Zealand chef Nick Honeyman is reappropriating the Perigord terroir with an international team. At Sushi Yoshinaga, Tomoyuki Yoshinaga opened a high-end sushi temple this year in a sleek wooden setting near the Place de l’Opéra in Paris.
You have 25.34% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.