We’ve never hidden our scepticism of the Michelin Guide – too much gussied up food, too much Squidbeakery, too much emphasis on French values of rarified service – but you can’t deny that it means a lot to chefs, drives business and for the rest of us acts as a useful shorthand for places offering a high standard of food, usually at the top end of the market. Like the Oscars, Michelin stars don’t matter until you’re up for one and then, deep down, you really want it.
The new 2012 Guide came out today, so here are the headlines:
A brand new shiny star for fast rising Black Swan at Oldstead.
Congratulations to the Banks family. Mandy and I have both championed it and check out Mandy’s rave report from when she visited in the summer.
The rest of the Yorkshire stars – no arguments about their retention – still stand:
The Box Tree at Ilkley
The Pipe and Glass, South Dalton
The Yorke Arms at Ramsgill
The Burlington Restaurant at Bolton Abbey
The Old Vicarage at Ridgeway
Bib Gourmands (good food at a moderate price). No new entries – though there are several more operating at this level to be found in Squidbeak. Yorkshire establishments that retain their Bib are:
Whites of Beverley
General Tarleton, Knaresborough
Piazza by Anthony in Leeds
Vennells at Masham
Artisan, Sheffield
Rose and Crown, Sutton on Forest
So still no star for Anthony’s in Leeds, a long time glaring omission in our book and I wouldn’t blame Anthony if the Bib Gourmand for the Piazza stuck in his throat. Elsewhere, some recognition is overdue for Artisan of Hessle and excuse our stuck record on this – the Fox and Hounds at Goldsborough.
At the most rarified level elsewhere in Britain, three stars are retained by:
The Fat Duck at Bray
The Waterside at Bray
Gordon Ramsay, Chelsea
Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester
And, if you want a copy of the fat red book, then why not buy it here through us. We get a stingy tip! Guide Michelin Great Britain and Ireland 2012 (Michelin Guides)