Ones to watch: Luke, Nathaniel and Theo Selby of Evelyn’s Table
(Picture: Michelin Guide/Twitter)Heroes of the London food scene both new and well-established were celebrated as the Michelin Guide handed out its five Special Awards for 2022.
Ahead of the highly anticipated announcement detailing which restaurants have won (or lost) Michelin stars this year, due February 16, the Guide has unveiled a host of individual awards that “highlight exceptional people and remarkable teams who have particularly impressed the Michelin Inspectors over the past year”. Three of these went to London-based operators.
Philip Howard, a legend of the capital’s food scene who held two Michelin stars at his lauded London restaurant The Square for 18 years, was given the Chef Mentor award.
Describing his former Mayfair restaurant as somewhere “perpetually at the vanguard of Modern British cooking”, the Guide praised Howard’s cooking as “exquisitely prepared, beautifully balanced and ultimately hugely satisfying”. Howard left The Square in 2016 to launch Elystan Street in Chelsea, which has also earned a Michelin star.
The MICHELIN Chef Mentor Award 2022 sponsored by @Blancpain1735 goes to @philiphoward8. A real “chefs’ chef”, Philip has also helped forge the careers of many other successful chefs. #MICHELINGuideGBI https://t.co/YpTxFVpTC8 pic.twitter.com/UqRNTUyE8N
— The MICHELIN Guide (@MichelinGuideUK) February 15, 2022
Elsewhere, the Young Chef award was shared between three brothers — Luke, Nathaniel and Theo Selby — who were recognised as an “unbeatable trio” for their work at Evelyn’s Table, of which they took the helm just before the start of the pandemic.
“There is a clear synergy to this team, who exude infectious enthusiasm, and passion seeps from every pore as they create and then describe each dish”, according to the Guide, which went on to say how a meal at the restaurant, which blends Fresh and Japanese techniques, “will linger long in the memory”.
There was another London victory in the Sommelier Award, which was handed to Isa Bal, wine expert and part-owner of Trivet restaurant in London Bridge. “His enthusiasm for wine knows no bounds” said the Guide of Bal, who was head sommelier at the Fat Duck for 12 years, “and he is an admirable torchbearer for lesser-known regions”.
Outside of the M25, Aberystwyth restaurant SY23 was named as Opening of the Year, praised for bringing “a breath of fresh air to this quaint seaside town in west Wales”. And up in Scotland, Dale Dewsbury of Andrew Fairlie at the Gleneagles Hotel was recognised with the Welcome and Service Award. “From the warm welcome to the heartfelt goodbye, every guest is made to feel special, and the whole experience runs like clockwork,” the Guide said.
