As the birthplace of modern gastronomy, the release of the Michelin Guide France 2022 is one of the most important events on the global culinary calendar.
The announcement event, which took place on Tuesday, March 22, was held in Cognac, breaking tradition as the first time in 122 years that the ceremony has occurred outside of Paris.
The message from Michelin is simple: following the trials and tribulations of the pandemic “French gastronomy is back on track.”
In total there are 627 Michelin-Starred eateries in the 2022 vintage with 49 newly promoted restaurants. France leads the global culinary charge, now boasting 31 restaurants that have earned the coveted three-star ranking.
Chef at Plénitude, Arnaud Donckele /©Cheval Blanc
One of the biggest winners of 2022 is French chef Arnaud Donckele who joins the illustrious ranks of Alain Ducasse, Joël Robuchon and a few others with more than one three-starred restaurant.
Donckele’s Parisian restaurant Plénitude at Cheval Blanc Paris opened last September and has immediately gained three stars in its first year — another incredibly rare feat.
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Chairman of the LVMH group (which owns Cheval Blanc) Bernard Arnault said: “Arnaud Donckele perfectly embodies the values that make our Group successful year after year: perpetual creative audacity and a constant quest for excellence.”
[See also: Michelin Guide Reveals Great Britain and Ireland Guide 2022 Stars]
Donckele is known for his mastery of sauces, the backbone of French cuisine, which he audaciously allows to take center stage. The 26 Seine-facing seats in his restaurant create the intimate atmosphere necessary to properly experience gastronomic excellence.
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“I thank the Michelin Guide for this honor. It recognizes the sensitivity that I try to convey through my cooking. It is my way of expressing myself, of stirring emotions, of touching the hearts of my guests,” said Donckele,” he said.
St Jacques Tourteau Brocolis Pour vinaigrette “Berlugane” by Arnaud Donckele / ©Richard Haughton
The 2022 guide also awarded three stars to Canaille restaurant La Villa Madie. Managed by Dimitri and Marielle Droisneau since 2013, the stunning restaurant in the south of France has held two stars since 2014 and now has taken the final step.
With the warm waters of the Mediterranean practically touching La Villa Madie’s overhanging terrace the eatery clearly takes inspiration from its surroundings. The quintessential marriage of both land and sea can be witnessed in both the dining area and the dishes themselves.
This year’s guide awarded six new two-star ratings including Table in Paris, Blue Bay in Monaco and Duende in Nîmes. This brings the grand total of two-star Michelin restaurants featured in the 2022 French guide to 74.
The view from one table at Plénitude / ©Cheval Blanc
The 2022 French guide features 41 new restaurants to be awarded the rank of one star with Michelin inspection teams scouring the length and breadth of France for fresh gastronomic talent.
Understandably Paris won the day with 12 new restaurants being awarded a star. These establishments vary with global styles from the Japanese delights at Ogata to the Italian offerings of Oliver Piras and Alessandra Del Favero at Il Carpaccio.
It’s not just new talent being recognized. After a 615-year wait Paris’s oldest inn L’Auberge Nicolas Flamel — which opened in 1407 — has been awarded a Michelin star. The 2022 Michelin guide for France recognizes a total of 522 restaurants with the rank of one star.
Since 2019 Michelin has also awarded a separate green star to eateries that stand out by taking a more sustainable approach to gastronomy. This year six new restaurants were awarded the green star including Les Belles Perdrix de Troplong Mondot in Saint-Emillion and l’Auberge Sauvage in Servon. This gives France a total of 87 green star restaurants showing a clear trend with many of the world’s best restaurants taking a more sustainable approach.
New three-Michelin-star restaurants
La Villa Madie, Canaille – Dimitri and Marielle Droisneau
Plénitude, Paris – Arnaud Donckele
New two-Michelin-star restaurants
Table, Paris – Bruno Verjus
Blue Bay, Monaco – Marcel Ravin
Lalique, Bommes – Jérôme Schilling
Duende, Nîmes – Nicolas Fontaine and Julien Caligo
Palais Royal Resturant, Paris – Philip Chronopoulos
L’Oiseau Blanc, Paris – David Bizet
New one-Michelin-star restaurants
Granite, Paris – Tom Meyer
Auberge Nicolas Flamel, Paris – Grégory Garimbay
Ogata, Paris – Shinichiro Ogata
AT, Paris – Tanaka
Contraste, Paris – Kevin de Porre and Erwan Ledru
Il Carpaccio, Paris – Oliver Piras and Alessandra Del Favero
Jean Imbert au Plaza Athénée, Paris – Jean Imbert
FIEF, Paris – Victor Mercier
Bellefeuille, Paris – Adrien Brunet
Don Juan II, Paris – Frédéric Anton
Substance, Paris – Matthias Marc
Sushi Shunei, Paris – Shunei Kimura
Le Gavrinis, Baden – Luca Marteddu
Restaurant Hostellerie Cèdre & Spa, Beaune
L’Alter-Native, Béziers – Gilles Goujon
La Rotonde Hôtel du Palais, Biarritz – Aurélien Largeau
La Table d’Asten, Binic
Auberge du Vert Mont, Boeschepe – Florent Ladeyn
La Bastide de Capelongue, Bonnieux – Noël Berard
Maison Nouvelle, Bordeaux – Philippe Etchebest
L’Embrun, Brest – Guillaume Pape
Château de Beaulieu – Chistophe Dufossé, Busnes – Christophe Dufossé
Le Favori – Les Sources de Cheverny, Cheverny
Ekaitza, Ciboure – Guillaume Roget
Sylvestre Wahid – Les Grandes Alpes, Courchevel – Sylvestre Wahid
Origine, Dijon – Tomofumi Uchimura
Le 1862 – Les Glycines, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac
Le 1825 – La Table gastronomique, Gesté – Matthieu Pasgrimaud
Le Kléber – La Maison Bonnet, Grane – Sébastien Bonnet
Sources, Lorient – Nicolas and Mathieu
Une Table au Sud, Marseille – Ludovic Turac
Jardin des Sens, Montpellier – Jacques and Laurent Pourcel
La Dame de Pic – Le 1920, Megève – Anne-Sophie Pic
La Maison dans le Parc, Nancy – Charles Coulombeau
Hélène Darroze à Villa La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade – Hélène Darroze
Ceto, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin – Mauro Colagreco
Les Belles Perdrix de Troplong Mondot, Saint-Émilion – David Charrier
Ronan Kervarrec – Le Saison, Saint-Grégoire – Ronan Kervarrec
La Chabotterie, Montréverd – Benjamin Pâtissier
La Tête en l’Air, Vannes – Clément Raby and Estelle Mercier
Le Grand Contrôle, Versailles – Stéphane Duchiron
[See also: Michelin Reveals Great Britain and Ireland Guide 2021]
