Yahoo Finance Clare Smyth and Hélène Darroze celebrate three Michelin stars
Clare Smyth, who catered for Prince Harry and Meghan’s evening wedding reception, was celebrating on Monday night after becoming one of two female chefs to be awarded the maximum three stars in this year’s Michelin guide for Great Britain and Ireland.
Monday night’s online ceremony unveiling the 2021 results shone a light on women at the top of the industry, with Smyth’s restaurant Core in Notting Hill, west London, going from two to three stars, as did Hélène Darroze at The Connaught in Mayfair, central London.
Despite a very tough year for hospitality across the globe shuttered or scaled back in the pandemic, the event marked a significant point for UK restaurants according to Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of Michelin guides.
He said: “To have two new three-star restaurants is a historic moment [for the Great British and Irish culinary scene].”
The lack of women at the top has long been an issue in the industry and although there were victories at this year’s awards, among the new winners only a handful were female.
The ceremony, presented by Davina McCall, nodded to the challenges the industry has faced, shining a light on those who offered food to NHS staff and delivered top-quality food in takeaway boxes. It hailed chefs who managed to pivot their businesses and feed their communities.
Darroze said: “I am thinking [of] all women in the kitchen and I want to let them know that … everything is possible and believe in who you are. Live your passion.”
Smyth, a protege of Gordon Ramsay, said: “It’s been my dream to achieve this level but I never imagined it could happen … Core opened three years ago and it was my passion since I was 16 years old … For the future, I hope young chefs – both male and female – have the chance to own a restaurant and achieve success. It’s an important message for now [given coronavirus].”
Poullennec said those who achieved three Michelin stars were the “crème de la crème of the world of gastronomy”. Only 130 restaurants across the world have this coveted rating.
He added: “Despite a challenging year our inspectors were glad to find new talents emerging everywhere in Great Britain and Ireland.”
Andrew Wong and his venture, A Wong, in south-west London won two Michelin stars, making it the first Chinese restaurant in the UK to get such an award.
“It is massively humbling and today is a historic day for Chinese communities … It’s not just for my team but for every Chinese restaurant who laid the groundwork,” Wong said, as his children came on screen to congratulate him.
Tom Aikens won a Michelin star for his new restaurant, which was only open for two months before lockdown. After the ceremony, he posted on Instagram: “Thank you all so so much. Hard work, long hours and passion for what you do sincerely pays off, I couldn’t be happier.
“What an unimaginable and challenging year we have all had, but every cloud has a silver lining. Despite the current circumstances, we sincerely hope and believe that we will all be able to get back to doing what we love soon, as our journey has only just begun and we have a lot more in store for you all.”
Lorna McNee was awarded a Michelin star for Cail Bruich, the first restaurant in Glasgow to get such an accolade for 18 years.
The event, which was raising money for the homeless charity Street Smart, this year touched on how hard it has been for the hospitality industry, featuring Michelin-starred chef James Sommerin, who lost his flagship restaurant in Penarth due to Covid-19.
He has since opened a bistro in October, although it only was only in operation for 29. “I’m a little different and more relaxed and you have to take the positive from the negative,” he said.
For 2021, the guide also awarded green stars to ventures that worked to be kinder to the environment, working in a greener way. They included Angela’s in Margate, the Black Swan in Oldstead and Hypha in Chester.
