The Michelin Guide handed out new stars to 68 restaurants in France on Monday at a ceremony that celebrated emerging young talents and proposed food as a tonic for the world's worries.
Two restaurants joined the highest and most coveted three-star category in Michelin's 2025 France guide, namely Christopher Coutanceau in western La Rochelle and seafood specialist Le Coquillage in northern Brittany.
"The world is worried, the tensions, crises, war at the gates of Europe," Michelin Guide director Gwendal Poullennec said on stage at the ceremony in the eastern city of Metz.
"And in the middle of all that, men and women continue to cook, welcome people, pass on knowledge and to create beauty," he told a crowd of 600 chefs.
The famous red bible for gastronomes still makes and breaks reputations, despite increasing competition from rival food lists and the rise of social media influencers.
France has the highest number of Michelin-endorsed restaurants of the 50 destinations covered by the guide around world, with 31 three stars, 81 two stars and 542 with one star.
Next generation of French chefs
Among the notable winners on Monday was Philippe Etchebest, who won a second star for his restaurant Maison Nouvelle in Bordeaux.
The 58-year-old, who made a name for himself as a celebrity food judge on TV shows such as Top Chef, said the 2025 guide reflected the strength of the next generation of French chefs.
"We see it on Top Chef, there are a lot of creative young people, who are very open to the world," he said. "They're going faster than we did in our time."
The Michelin Guide has sought to shed its reputation for elitist and pricey dinners in recent years, with more diverse eating options making it onto its lists of recommended outlets internationally.
After rewarding roadside food stalls in Thailand and Singapore, the guide granted a star to a taco stand in Mexico City last year, causing a local sensation but baffling regular eaters there.
Tiny 'bare bones' Mexican taco restaurant wins Michelin star
Japan has the second-most number of three-starred destinations, followed by Spain, Italy and the United States.
(with AFP)
