The younger generation is rising in France’s 2014 Michelin Guide, with seven chefs under 30 receiving stars.
Oscar Garcia – from the Table d’Uzès in Gard – earns his first Michelin star aged just 25, making him one of the youngest starred chefs in the country.
An impressive 57 new restaurants receive one star in the latest edition, bringing France’s total of one-star establishments to an incredible 504 in total.
Only one additional restaurant received the maximum three-star rating in 2014’s guide: Assiette Champenoise in Reims.
Michael Ellis, International Director of the Michelin Guide, said Head Chef Arnaud Lallement had received the prestigious honor for cuisine that was “very much a reflection of himself”, yet “deeply rooted in his father’s legacy”. Chef Lallement learned the ropes from his father Jean-Pierre, who died in 2002.
With the temporary closure of Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée until Spring, the number of three-star restaurants in France holds fast at 27. This is the second-highest in the entire world after Japan, which has 30 altogether.
Meanwhile, there are six new two-star additions to the France guide: the Villa Madie in Cassis, the Table du Connétable in Chantilly, the Kintessence in Courchevel 1850, the Chambard in Kayseberg, Il Cortile in Mulhouse and Akrame in Paris, whose young chef Akrame Benallal is just 33. This puts the number of two-star restaurants in the country at 79.
The France Michelin Guide 2014 goes on sale from February 28 and is also available online and on digital media. The Paris Michelin Guide will also be on sale from the same date.