Michelin has revealed the Irish and Northern Irish Michelin Star and Bib Gourmand establishments that are listed in its 2021 Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland.
Michelin revealed the venues that are this year's 2021 Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland via a digital ceremony on the evening of Monday January 25.
Michelin Stars
Dede at the Customs House in Baltimore, Co. Cork, was awarded a Michelin Star this year, and was the only newcomer to join what is now an 18-venue list of Michelin Star restaurants in the Republic of Ireland.
The restaurant's head chef, Ahmet Dede, was previously awarded a Michelin Star in the 2019 edition of the guide while working at the Mews Restaurant in Baltimore, which was an accolade that he retained in 2020.
Other restaurants that hold Michelin Stars from previous years are two Michelin Star Dublin venues Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud and The Greenhouse, two Michelin star Co. Kildare venue Aimsir, one Michelin Star Dublin venues Chapter One, Variety Jones, L'Ecrivain and Liath, one Michelin Star Co. Cork venues Ichigo Ichie, Chestnut and Bastion, one Michelin Star Galway venues Aniar and Loam, one Michelin Star Co. Kilkenny venues Campagne and Lady Helen Restaurant Mount Juliet, one Michelin Star Co. Limerick venue The Oak Room at Adare Manor, one Michelin Star Co. Waterford venue House Restaurant at Cliff House Hotel, and one Michelin Star Co. Clare venue Wild Honey Inn.
Speaking after the virtual ceremony, Aimsir head chef Jordan Bailey said, "We are completely over the moon to have retained our stars for this year. It's been a crazy year for everyone in the industry including us. We have had to pivot on many occasions, but I'm thrilled that Michelin has seen that no matter what we put our minds to it's always of extremely high quality, provenance and we deliver a consistent product. It will take a lot more than a world pandemic to rock our boat and steer us off course. We are more motivated and ambitious than ever before. We can't wait to show the world what we have been working on."
Oak Room head chef Mark Tweedie commented, "In what has been such a challenging year for the hospitality sector, being able to tune in to the Michelin Guide UK & Ireland announcements earlier this evening was a really welcome distraction.
"I think the commitment from Michelin to bring out a 2021 guide gives a real sense of positivity and community, and a reminder that when we can safely do so, we will have so many excellent restaurants to visit. The entire team at The Oak Room is delighted to retain our star for 2021 and we are looking forward to being able to welcome our guests back to dine at Adare Manor soon.
"Personally, I was delighted to see Allistair at Hide & Fox [in the UK] recognised, Ahmet win his star at Dede and for Ian to retain the star at The House Restaurant. Congratulations to all winners this evening both here and across the pond - it is wonderful to have good news to celebrate right now."
Ian Doyle, who began working at House Restaurant in April of 2020, stated, "Due to the various pandemic restrictions, House Restaurant has only operated for about three months in total under my stewardship, so we are of course absolutely delighted to receive this award from Michelin this year. Celebrating our finest local ingredients, our focus at House Restaurant now is on elegantly presenting them as close to their natural form as possible, a concept that is a departure from its previous iteration.
"We still have plenty of exciting new dishes and plans ready to implement as soon as we open again that will take this new approach even further. While personally I have enjoyed some of my time in lockdown foraging, preserving, fermenting and pickling some of the ingredients I've found locally and developing new dishes, as a kitchen team we only fully thrive when we have our guests back to eat with us again. We look forward to welcoming our guests back soon to celebrate our Michelin star with us."
The owner of the Cliff Collection, which includes Aimsir and the Cliff House Hotel, Barry O'Callaghan added, "As a hospitality group, offering our guests an outstanding dining experience has always been a priority, and is something we believe we achieve in all of our properties. We're both proud of and thrilled for the hard working teams at House Restaurant in Cliff House Hotel and Aimsir in Cliff at Lyons that they have achieved the stars again this year. It's been a tremendously difficult time for the hospitality industry and this has really given us all a boost and something to celebrate. We have completed considerable investment and innovation during the last year and look forward to reopening stronger than ever as soon as it is safe to do so."
In Northern Ireland, Belfast restaurants Eipic, Ox and The Muddlers Club also retained their Michelin Stars.
Additionally, chef Clare Smyth from Co. Antrim won a third star for her restaurant Core in London.
No Irish restaurants lost their Michelin stars.
Michelin Green Star Accolade
This year, Michelin introduced a Michelin Green Star accolade, which highlights restaurants that are leaders in sustainability practices.
Kai and Loam Restaurant in Galway City and Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites on Aran Island Inishmaan all received Michelin Green Stars.
Bib Gourmand Awards
Four new Republic of Ireland restaurants received Bib Gourmand accolades this year, bringing the total number of Republic of Ireland Bib Gourmand recipients up to 18.
Michelin Bib Gourmand accolades recognise establishments that offer good food at affordable prices.
The four new Republic of Ireland restaurants that received Bib Gourmand accolades are Spitalfields in The Coombe, Dublin city, Volpe Nera in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Goldie in Cork City and Table Forty One in Gorey, Co. Wexford.
Commenting on achieving Bib Gourmand status, Volpe Nera owner and head chef Sun Jian said, "We are thrilled to be awarded a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. We opened our neighbourhood restaurant in November 2019 and while it certainly hasn't been plain sailing since then, this incredible recognition along with the unwavering support from our customers, industry colleagues and neighbours makes it all worthwhile. I'm so proud of our whole team."
Republic of Ireland restaurants that retained Bib Gourmand status from previous years are 1826 Adare of Adare, Co. Limerick, Aldridge Lodge of Duncannon, Co. Wexford, Chart House and Land to Sea of Dingle, Co. Kerry, The Courthouse of Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, Kai and Tartare Café & Wine Bar of Galway city, Morrissey’s of Doonbeg, Co. Clare, Sha-Roe Bistro of Clonegall, Co. Carloe, Thyme of Athlone, Co. Westmeath, and Dublin venues Uno Mas, Pichet, Pigeon House and and Richmond.
In Northern Ireland, House of Killinchy, Co. Down, Noble of Holywood, Co. Down, Wine & Brine of Moira, Co. Down, and Belfast venues Deanes at Queens and Home Restaurant also retained Bib Gourmand status.
Special Awards
Meanwhile, Ross Lewis of Chapter One in Dublin received the Michelin Chef Mentor Award 2021, and Noble of Holywood, Co. Down, won the Michelin Service and Welcome Award 2021.
Shining A Light On "Hard Work, Tenacity And Commitment"
International director of the Michelin Guides Gwendal Poullennec stated, "This has been a hugely challenging period for the hospitality industry and our thoughts remain with all those who have suffered from the pandemic and by the restrictions that have been put in place.
"We were heartened by the number of chefs who called us during the year to ensure we were still going ahead with the guide and our yearly awards. The Michelin Guide is about promoting the hospitality industry as a whole, and we want to shine a light on the hard work, tenacity and commitment of chefs and restaurant teams."
Digital Format Only
This year's Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland has been published in a digital format only.
Michelin said that by making the guide digital only and postponing its publication for a few months, the Michelin inspectors were able to work on this edition for over 16 months, which meant that COVID-19-related lockdowns could be absorbed into the working period.
Michelin added that its inspectors used the same methodology and looked for the same standards as they do in any year, and no shortcuts were taken that would compromise the integrity of the guide.
© 2021 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
