THE UK — The Michelin Guide will retire its green star award for eco-friendly restaurants at the end of the year and replace it with Mindful Voices, a global editorial platform covering sustainable restaurants and people pioneering new approaches in gastronomy, hospitality and wine. All 37 restaurants that currently hold a green star will lose the accolade at year's end and will no longer be able to advertise that they have one.
Michelin began awarding green stars in 2020 to chefs who cooked with eco-friendly ingredients and reduced waste. Winners received a green plaque to display by their front door and were permitted to show a picture of the star on their website. Mindful Voices will not bestow any official accolade on the featured restaurants.
"The Michelin Guide wishes to reaffirm clearly its commitment to a more responsible approach to gastronomy. The Guide's ambition is evolving towards a broader and more universal expression, one that now encompasses our three pillars of excellence: gastronomy, hospitality and wine. In the context of a strong international expansion to more than 60 destinations, the introduction of Mindful Voices should not be seen as a step backwards, but rather as a progression designed to reinforce this commitment." a spokesperson for the Michelin Guide said.
Among the restaurants losing the accolade is Pythouse Kitchen Garden in Wiltshire, which won a green star last year and whose menu features sustainable ingredients such as English fava beans, hand-dived scallops and local blackberries. Owner Piers Milburn said the decision had landed badly with his team.
"It's disappointing – one of our dreams was to have one." Milburn said. "We think it's quite irresponsible for Michelin to build a platform for businesses to thrive from for an accolade and then whisk it away."
Hylton Espey, of Culture restaurant in Falmouth, Cornwall, which serves fish from the local market and mushrooms grown in a nearby no-dig garden, said the recognition had carried weight internationally. "It was a rare achievement and it helped us stand out amongst other restaurants on an international scale." he said.
Espey said the announcement had caught green star holders off guard. "We did not have any communication regarding the green star changes until after the press release went out. We feel that this could have been handled better." he said.
Other current green star holders include Homestead Kitchen Garden, located in a North Yorkshire farmhouse on the moors and serving home-grown vegetables and locally distilled gin from Whitby, and Wilsons in Bristol, which serves produce from its market garden.