Three city restaurants received one of the most coveted culinary awards, and a handful of others were recognized by reviewers.
Philly’s one-star restaurants can expect more business and recognition from the “Michelin bump,” which could also make it more difficult for customers to book reservations. An analysis from Chef’s Pencil found that for every star a restaurant receives, menu costs increase by an average of $100 per person.
Amanda Shulman, owner of Her Place Supper Club, said this month that her staff has already seen a jump in email inquiries since the November ceremony. Owner and chef of Provenance, Nicholas Bazik, said their waitlist is typically around 50 people long on any given night.
Restaurants can gain or lose stars over time, so the pressure is on for chefs and their staff to maintain their award-winning levels of service, but the owners are welcoming the pressure.
“We keep doing the work every day and that’s all we really want to do,” said Chad Williams, who owns Friday Saturday Sunday with his wife, Hanna. “We’re just happy to get the recognition and it kind of puts a little more fire under us.”
Café Boulud at Maison BARNES retains its Michelin Star for a second consecutive year and is reaffirmed by La Liste among the 1,000 Best Restaurants in the World.
NEW YORK, November 25, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– Maison BARNES is honored to announce that Café Boulud at Maison BARNES has been awarded a prestigious Michelin Star by the Michelin Guide for the second consecutive year. This remarkable achievement not only celebrates culinary excellence but also cements Maison BARNES’s unwavering commitment to the global “Art de Vivre” philosophy.
This continued recognition by the Michelin Guide underscores the exceptional talent and dedication of our culinary and service teams. Maison BARNES extends its deepest gratitude to Chef Daniel Boulud for his visionary guidance, Executive Chef Romain Paumier, and every member of the kitchen and dining room staff whose combined expertise consistently shapes memorable experiences.
“Retaining our Michelin Star for the second consecutive year at Café Boulud within Maison BARNES is an immense honor” states Thibault de Saint Vincent, President of BARNES International. “It reflects not only the excellence of Chef Daniel Boulud and his team, but also the deeper ambition of Maison BARNES: to celebrate the Art de Vivre as a living, breathing experience. Here, we welcome our guests as we would in a family home – where gastronomy, culture, and hospitality meet to create moments that are both refined and profoundly human. This distinction confirms our belief that Maison BARNES is more than a destination: it is a place of beauty, generosity, and shared emotion”.
In addition to its Michelin distinction, Maison BARNES and Café Boulud are once again honored by La Liste, the global reference for gastronomy. After receiving La Liste’s “Best New Opening of the Year” last year, Café Boulud at Maison BARNES is reaffirmed among the “1,000 Best Restaurants in the World,” underscoring our dedication to culinary artistry and the Art de Vivre.
Maison BARNES stands as an embassy of the Art de Vivre-a venue devoted to excellence, craftsmanship, and creativity. Bringing together leading French and international brands, it extends beyond haute cuisine to embrace the Art de la Table, architecture, fashion, design, fine arts, and viticulture. Every detail, from interior design to curated events, is crafted to offer an immersive hospitality experience.
Opened in 2024 on Park Avenue in New York, Maison BARNES is a pioneering extension of the BARNES universe into high-end hospitality. It offers a refined space where clients enjoy impeccable service, discover new passions, and join an exclusive community of connoisseurs.
These dual accolades from the Michelin Guide and La Liste reinforce Maison BARNES’s promise to deliver the highest standards of gastronomy and hospitality, and its role as a global beacon for the celebration of the Art de Vivre.
About Maison BARNES: Maison BARNES, a distinctive extension of the BARNES brand, is an international ambassador of Art de Vivre, offering an exclusive “home away from home” for an international clientele. Bringing together hospitality, refined gastronomy, art, design, and cultural experiences, Maison BARNES curates an environment of excellence, craftsmanship, and creativity where every interaction elevates the art of living.
About BARNES: Founded in 1995, BARNES is a leading global luxury real estate company and a worldwide ambassador of the Art de Vivre. With over 1,700 collaborators across more than 100 destinations, BARNES offers services beyond real estate, including art consulting, private aviation, yachting, wine properties, and bespoke concierge services. Driven by a passion for excellence, BARNES delivers unique experiences and cultivates a community that cherishes the finest aspects of culture and lifestyle.
• Her Place Supper Club (1740 Sansom St., Rittenhouse): Before opening My Loup, Amanda Shulman created Her Place Supper Club in 2021 after working at a few Vetri restaurants and Momofoku Ko. The restaurant began as a pop-up supper club, so the menu changes frequently, although it tends to lean French and Italian. Michelin said Her Place Supper Club was “accomplished and beautifully balanced.”
Jon Tuleya/PhillyVoice
Friday Saturday Sunday, located at 261 S. 21st St. in Rittenhouse, earned one Michelin star, with the reviewers saying ‘expect an atmosphere as spirited and enjoyable as the food on the menu.’
• Friday Saturday Sunday (261 S. 21st St., Rittenhouse):The Center City spot serves contemporary American cuisine and won a James Beard award in 2023. It was included on the 50 Best brand’s North America’s 50 Best Restaurants, and the establishment’s head bartender Paul MacDonald was recently named one of Wine Enthusiast’s Future 40 Tastemakers. Michelin said“expect an atmosphere as spirited and enjoyable as the food on the menu.”
Owners Chad and Hanna Williams said it was an unexpected honor.
“We were terrified,” Chad Williams said. “Everybody said, ‘Oh, you’re gonna get it. You’re gonna get it.’ And we were a mess. … We’re just happy to get the recognition, and it kind of puts a little more fire under us.”
Hanna Williams added: “You work your whole life for it so it’s incredible when it happens.”
Michaela Althouse/PhillyVoice
Provenance chef Nicholas Bazik, center, stands on stage to accept the honor of his restaurant earning a Michelin star.
• Provenance (408 S. 2nd St., Society Hill): The 25-seat restaurant inside an old rowhome merges French cuisine with a bit of Korean flavors in a seafood-heavy tasting menu. In September, Bon Appétit included it in its roundup of the 20 best new restaurants in the country. Michelin said its “high-stakes performance is defined by precision, harmony and of course based on Korean and French influences.”
“We’ve only been open for a year and so this is quite amazing,” Bazik said. “We’ve worked really hard, and we’re just really happy to be part of the conversation and to be extended beyond that is just incredible.”
Bib Gourmand awards
The star awards tend to favor fine-dining restaurants, which come at a high cost to consumers. But in 1997, the Bib Gourmand award was introduced for eateries with meals at a relatively reasonable price. Price limits vary by region based on the cost of living. Michelin said that Bib Gourmand awardees often offer simpler dishes that are easy-to-eat and easily recognizable, and that they will “also leave you with a sense of satisfaction, at having eaten so well at such a reasonable price.”
Here are the Philly restaurants that were awarded a Bib Gourmand:
• Angelo’s (736 S. 9th St.)
• Dalessandro’s (600 Wendover St.)
• Del Rossi’s (538 N. 4th St.)
• Dizengoff (1625 Sansom St.)
• El Chingon (1524 S. 10th St.)
• Fiorella (817 Christian St.)
• 4th Street Deli (700 S 4th St.)
• Pizzeria Beddia (1313 N. Lee St.)
• Royal Sushi & Izakaya (780 S. 2nd St.)
• Sally (2229 Spruce St.)
The Green Star
Pietramala, a vegan spot at 614 N. 2nd St. in Northern Liberties, was awarded a Green Star, which recognizes restaurants with sustainable practices that source ingredients from eco-friendly suppliers and reduce wasteful materials in their kitchens.
Michaela Althouse/PhillyVoice
Chef Ian Graye of Pietramala was awarded a Michelin Green Star for his restaurant’s dedication to sustainability.
Chicago restaurants must wait until December to learn if they’ve earned a Michelin star. Like last year, the tire guide will bundle announcements for Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. at a private party held in New York.
Michelin will announce on Monday, December 9 at a ceremony held at the Glasshouse in New York. Last year’s announcement came in November, and the big news was Smyth joined Alinea as the only two restaurants in Chicago will a full three Michelin stars. Daisies also received a Green Star which recognizes a commitment to environmental sustainability. There is some irony as the tire company created the guide to encourage car travel.
Twenty-one Chicago restaurants have Michelin stars, one of the highest restaurant honors. But in recent years, local tourism boards have been attracting the Michelin Guide to their cities to help boost travel. Some have questioned whether this waters down the honor. The bib gourmands, a designation that recognizes value for the money, will also be announced.
The guide has been rating restaurants in Chicago since 2011. The guide arrived in New York in 2005 and in D.C. in 2017. The guide is in eight American markets: California, Florida (Miami/Orlando/Tampa), Colorado, Atlanta, and Texas. It’s also in Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico, and Quebec.
A fundraiser for Northern Thailand
Northern Thailand has been in crisis with floods and typhoons. The government ordered evacuations, shelters were set up, and hundreds of animals needed rescue. Waters have since receded, but aid is still required. NaKorn, an upscale restaurant that opened in 2016 in suburban Evanston, is holding a fundraiser dinner to help the community. Proceeds from the Sunday, October 20 event will benefit underprivileged children and families in Thailand. There are two seatings and reservations are available via OpenTable.
Goose Island’s Rare Day
Goose Island Beer Co. won’t hold its annual Propreitor’s Day, an event that celebrates the Chicago-area-only release of a Bourbon County Brand Stout variant. It’s the one packaged in a blue box and the flavors change every year. Instead, Goose has unveiled a replacement centering around another variant: Rare Day. The event will take place on Saturday, November 16 at the Goose Island Barrel House. There were two sessions, but the early session has already sold out. Tickets for the $160 event are on sale via Oznr.
On the inside of La Tejana in D.C., you’d see a chorus of women cooking Michelin-grade breakfast tacos in a tiny kitchen and homages to co-owner Ana-Maria Jaramillo’s Tex-Mex roots.
WTOP celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month this Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, with stories spotlighting the contributions, culture and accomplishments of Hispanic communities across the D.C. region.
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From Texas to the nation’s capital: La Tejana brings a taste of Hispanic traditions to DC
From the outside, La Tejana in D.C.’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood is inconspicuously humble — from its windowsill and stool eatery to the retro font on its banner. But, on the inside, you’d see a chorus of women cooking Michelin-grade breakfast tacos in a tiny kitchen and homages to co-owner Ana-Maria Jaramillo’s Tex-Mex roots.
Jaramillo — the daughter of Colombian immigrants — grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, before eventually moving a bit north to the border town of McAllen, Texas.
“(It’s) the birthplace of the breakfast taco. It’s like the Mecca of Tex-Mex,” she told WTOP.
During a visit to her hometown, Jaramillo took her now-husband and coworker, Takoma Park-native Gus May, to one of her all-time favorite breakfast taco joints.
“He takes a bite, and he’s like, ‘Oh my god. What is this? I have never had a tortilla like this. I have never had eggs like this,’” she recalled. “He was like, ‘We don’t have anything like this in D.C. If you and I stay together … and you end up moving to D.C., we have to open up a breakfast taco shop.’”
In August of 2022, Ana-Maria Jaramillo and Gus May opened up their first brick-and-mortar location at 3211 Mt. Pleasant St. NW.
(Courtesy Jason Garza)
Courtesy Jason Garza
La Tejana co-owner Ana-Maria Jaramillo (right) talks with front-of-house employees Alexis Urrutia Quintanilla (left) and Kathy Zelaya .
(center)
center
On the inside of La Tejana is a chorus of women cooking Michelin-grade breakfast tacos in a tiny kitchen.
(WTOP/Ciara Wells)
WTOP/Ciara Wells
The tortilleros in the La Tejana kitchen make nearly 6,000 tortillas a week, according to co-owner Ana-Maria Jaramillo.
(WTOP/Ciara Wells)
WTOP/Ciara Wells
The tacos vary from vegan and vegetarian options to the perfect meal for meat-lovers.
(WTOP/Ciara Wells)
WTOP/Ciara Wells
The breakfast tacos come with a flight of side salsitas — cilantro crema, charred tomato and the à la carte avocado tomatillo and habanero salsa.
(WTOP/Ciara Wells)
WTOP/Ciara Wells
Its prices range from one taco for $4.15, three for $13 and six for $24.
(WTOP/Ciara Wells)
WTOP/Ciara Wells
A few years later, they were growing the business from their front door step — literally. The two began their journey doing pop-ups and selling and delivering fresh tortillas during the pandemic.
“I don’t know how, it became this cult thing. Very quickly, everybody was ordering via (direct messages). We were selling 700 tortillas in one day, all over D.C. — not making money!” she said. “We were there, waking up at 3 a.m., making 700 tortillas in our apartment … driving all over, dropping them off, and doing it again the next weekend.”
From there, the business’ cult following led to the couple selling out pop-up after pop-up. As its clientele base grew, they knew they needed to think bigger.
“These are uncomplicated, unfussy bundles of joy that don’t take reservations or require any other kind of long-term planning,” the Michelin guide said of the restaurant.
Mentions of McAllen and Mexico blanket the walls alongside a simplistic menu touting only eight options featuring cheesy scrambled eggs, a slew of sauces, veggies and meats reflecting core Tex-Mex staples. The tacos vary from vegan and vegetarian options to the perfect meals for meat-lovers. They also come with a flight of side salsitas — cilantro crema, charred tomato, as well as the à la carte avocado tomatillo and habanero salsa.
Its prices range from one taco for $4.15, three for $13 and six for $24.
‘Putting out fires’
La Tejana just celebrated its two-year anniversary and lines around the block prove the restaurant has cemented itself in the D.C. foodie scene.
Although she’s incredibly grateful for their success, Jaramillo said it didn’t come without challenges.
“Half of the responsibility you have as a restaurant owner is putting out fires,” she said. “Besides the financial piece — that’s one part of running a restaurant — it’s also finding an amazing team that respects you and respects the vision.”
On top of limiting employee turnover by paying livable wages, Jaramillo said operating a small business was at times “virtually impossible” with roadblocks put in their way by the D.C. government.
“The amount of times I had to call DDOT and ask about permitting the sidewalk just to be able to get a streatery out there. That was like a six to eight month process, because nothing online was working,” she said. “If I’m having a hard time understanding how to open or apply for a grant, can you imagine how (people with less proficient English language skills) are struggling?”
“Hispanic Heritage Month, to me, really is an opportunity to support, financially, all of the businesses that are owned and operated by Latin people in this community. I think there’s not a lot of emphasis on the fact that immigrants, specifically Latin American immigrants, carry the restaurant industry on their backs every single day,” she said. “I think if every Latino worker were to quit, every restaurant would shut down in this country.”
Bolstering their business were the customers (both new and old) that stuck by them over the last two years. Jaramillo said when the couple started the pop-up in their neighborhood, they often saw recurring customers who would come back every weekend.
“I’ve never felt that in any neighborhood that I’ve lived in my life, and I think just being part of that, I was like, ‘Gus, there’s no other place that we can open a brick and mortar. It has to be in our neighborhood. This is where we live. This is where we have roots,’” she said.
“When this place became available, it was like a no-brainer. Was the kitchen too small? Sure, but, for us, it’s worth the sacrifice to be able to be part of the community here,” she added.
What’s next?
Outside of the restaurant, Jaramillo works full-time as a pediatric speech pathologist and part-time as an adjunct professor at George Washington University in the college’s Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.
She said her husband was the one with the restaurant industry skills but her “dream was to always have a clinic and serve the immigrant population in the DMV.”
At her clinic, Voz Speech Therapy, she works with bilingual children that have physical and mental deficiencies and focuses on dropping the barrier between access to health care and the local immigrant community.
“When La Tejana was still a pop-up, and I still kind of had a grip on things … it seemed kind of seamless for me to open the clinic. It’s been really, really challenging juggling both of my lives,” Jaramillo said.
Even though she wears multiple hats, Jaramillo still has her eyes on the next thing for the restaurant. After adding a cocktail bar to its upstairs space earlier this year, La Tejana has plans to expand to a second location.
Their tortilleros in the kitchen make nearly 6,000 tortillas a week, according to Jaramillo, but they have no plans to return to their original format of selling just tortillas because, she said, “we can’t keep up with the demands, and the tortilleros can’t work any harder.”
Where they’ll be opening their next location is still up in the air, but Jaramillo said one thing they’ll definitely need is a bigger kitchen.
“We want people all over D.C. to have access to (our tacos),” she said.
“The goal is just to continue to feed the city with the best, most legit, authentic, Tex-Mex breakfast tacos that you can get, and filling people with happiness. … We’re really proud of what we do at La Tejana every day,” Jaramillo added.
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Atelier, the Michelin-starred restaurant in Lincoln Square, has been closed since August 24 as staff contends with a broken air conditioner and wall and ceiling damage caused by heavy rain late last month. As founder Tim Lacey and chef Christian Hunter wait for a new unit to arrive, the small business needs a way to continue in the short term. That’s why they’re offering a special five-course takeout menu from Friday, September 6 through Sunday, September 8.
Lacey admits that his staff is having flashbacks to the start of the pandemic when fine dining restaurants across the country did the unthinkable in offering carryout meals as government officials kept dining rooms closed to curb the spread of COVID. Many fine chefs never thought they would be in the position of creating takeout meals. Chicago’s restaurants leaned into comfort foods which travel well in bags and to-go containers. Even Ever chef Curtis Duffy began selling burgers in December 2020. Atelier, which replaced another Michelin-starred restaurant, Elizabeth, had been blazing its own path and was named a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant.
The takeout menu — no substitutions — consists of a pita and mezze course (baba ghanoush, pickled summer squash, fermented garlic scape tapenade, rhubarb chutney); grilled Korean pork sausage Bibb lettuce wraps (sea beans, kohlrabi/kimchi slaw); root vegetable fasolada (diced parsnips, celery root, sunchokes, rutabagas); lasagna in lamb neck ragu with ricotta and sourdough garlic knots. and a nectarine and pear galette with caramelized whey, allspice-cinnamon gelee, and spruce chantilly cream.
Hunter and Lacey are hopeful the air conditioning can be fixed by Tuesday, September 10, and that they’ll be back open on Wednesday, September 11. Check their Instagram for updates.
Atelier’s five-course takeout menu is available Friday, September 6 through Sunday, September 8 with pickup between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Order via Tock.
The team from Chicago’s only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, Indienne, is opening a cafe where customers can sip fresh-brewed masala chai. Swadesi Cafe should open next week in the West Loop with unique pastries like samosa chaat croissants stuffed with spicy potatoes and a pleasant hint of tart tamarind. The menu also includes chicken tikka toasties with chicken, cheddar, cilantro, and mint.
Indienne chef Sujan Sarkar worked on the food alongside chef Sahil Sethi, his collaborator who oversees Sifr (ownership’s Middle Eastern restaurant in West Loop). But the man in charge of day-to-day operations at Swadesi is Yash Kishinchand. He’s a recent graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Napa where students run a cafe. That’s where Kishinchand received his only barista training.
Sarkar has toyed with the idea for a cafe for years. Kishinchand moved from Columbus, Ohio to Chicago to open St. Regis Chicago — the luxury downtown hotel that now houses Tre Dita and Miru. After he left the hotel, Sarkar offered him a chance to open Swadesi inside the former Ruin Daily at 328 S. Jefferson Street.
Kishinchand who enjoys brandishing a chef’s torch — he keeps a shiny gold-colored one handy for the finishing touches on treats like jaggery chocolate chip cookies — is trained in French cooking, and says he wasn’t as familiar with Indian ingredients and he received an education from chefs Sarkar and Sethi when creating Swadesi menu. The cafe’s name is derived from “desi,” a term that often refers to Indian Americans. The menu intends to reflect their tastes in combining cultures. How else would you explain the cheesy potato tikki tots? And it’s not just South Asian, a carrot halwa cake gives a taste of the Middle East.
This bakery approach isn’t that different from Kasama’s where pastry chef and co-owner Genie Kwon combines her husband’s Filipino culture and her Korean heritage with French pastry. In Lincoln Park, Indian native Arshiya Farheen has slipped in subcontinental influences in her pastries at Verzenay Patisserie.
There’s been a wave of interest in Indian egg sandwiches. Mini chain Eggoholic helped popularize them locally, and places like Superkhana International have taken them to another level. Swadesi will offer its own with avocado on a spiced potato rosti — yes, the Swiss get a say. There’s also a butter chicken croissant with burrata.
Finding the literal sweet spot for masala chai in Chicago has been a challenge. Swadesi will allow customers to customize the sweetness levels with sugar, and down the line, alternate sweeteners may be offered. For now, the masala chai is made to order whole milk, but an oat milk ready-to-go version is available. These drinks fundamentally differ from the chai lattes most coffee shops serve made from concentrate. Masala chai specialists, ones who brew black tea with South Asian spices (Swadesi uses ginger, rose, and cardamom), aren’t frequent in Chicago. Chiya Chai and Superkhana in Logan Square are locals’ best bets. Along Devon, Sukhadia’s Sweets and Snacks is a popular and quick option. Some Indian restaurants don’t offer the beverage. In Avondale, Thattu, which specializes in cuisine from the southern state of Kerala, serves South Indian filter coffee. Brewing masala chai takes time, but so does preparing pour-over coffee, so there’s a labor precedent if a demand emerges.
But it’s not just about tradition. Swadesi also plans to serve a cold nitro masala chai.
Eventually, Swadesi will extend hours and Kishinchand says they’re hoping to sell beer and liquor. The focus is on morning and evening service, but dinner pop-ups are a possibility.
Swadesi, 328 S. Jefferson Street, opening Monday, March 26.
Sweet-toothed Chicagoans are counting down to Paczki Day, the last day before Lenten season and better known as Fat Tuesday outside of Chicago. Locals descend upon city and suburban bakeries annually and line up for boxes of the traditional Polish treat, which essentially packs 40 days’ worth of sugar and butter into a holeless doughnut.
Kelly Ijichi, a Japanese American chef, has kept an eye trained on the calendar. On Tuesday, February 13, she and a cadre of hospitality collaborators will unveil their unusual and inventive paczki creations. They will host a paczki party on Fat Tuesday in the former home of Big Kids in Logan Square. The irreverent sandwich shop closed on Sunday, February 4, after three years. The festivities will also serve as one last hurrah.
For Ijichi, who ran a pop-up and food stall called Mom’s, this isn’t the first time she’s dabbled with paczki. Chef Lorraine Nguyen has concocted a pastry with malted sunchoke cremeux, dark chocolate, and cacao (“In my head, it tastes like a very good chocolate milkshake from Steak ‘n Shake,”), while baker Rosie Est is stuffing hers with guava citrus cardamom filling and topping them with vanilla icing and puffed rice for a satisfying crunch. Cheesemonger Alisha Norris Jones is tapping into her memory of a standout cheese board at Michelin-starred Lutèce in D.C. for her take, featuring curry comte honeycomb cream.
Not to be outdone, Ijichi promises two paczki, a milk chocolate version with hatcho miso and hazelnut praline; and an old favorite, her truffled paczki. It’s stuffed with truffle honey cream and showered with shaved winter truffle and edible gold leaves. That’s all on top of special walk-in-only offerings, like Nguyen’s Fruity Pebbles-inspired option with strawberry mousse filling and makrut lime glaze. She estimates that each year, the team makes around 600 paczki. It’s a goofy, sugar-soaked time, and Ijichi’s way of forming partnerships with friends and hospitality players, with past participants including Roshelley Mayén of to-go cocktail business Juanitas Bebidas and Palita Sriratana of Thai food brand Pink Salt.
Ijichi began making paczki five years ago when she ran Mom’s out of Marz Community Brewing in Bridgeport. Every year, the Polish- and Korean-owned brewery hosts a Paczki Fest featuring sweet treats from neighborhood bakeries as well as special seasonal beers. Neither Ijichi nor her collaborators are of Polish descent, but the Chicago tradition piqued their interest and presented an opportunity to experiment with questions of food and identity.
“As people who had multicultural experiences growing up, it’s always fun to look at food as something that evolves,” Nguyen says, noting the prevalence of Western chefs who build careers by interpreting cuisines from other parts of the world. “But I think there’s something really powerful and great in flipping that scenario. Instead of a Western lens looking globally, it’s a global lens looking at something Western.”
Four packs of paczki (one of each flavor) and truffle paczki are available for pre-order online through Thursday, February 8. Pickup is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fat Tuesday, February 13 at Big Kids, 2545 N. Kedzie Boulevard.
This February, the revitalized Atelier Crenn dining room reopens with help from renowned production designer Ethan Tobman
Press Release –
Jan 19, 2023
SAN FRANCISCO, January 19, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– Atelier Crenn has announced plans to reimagine itself in early 2023. After 12 years of drawing inspiration from her own childhood and personal journey, Chef Dominique Crenn’s flagship restaurant will evolve along with her, complete with a renovation of the dining room and pescatarian tasting menu. Although new in concept and design, the restaurant’s story continues to be deeply personal to Crenn. Lifting the veil on the next chapter of her career, the reborn Atelier Crenn will focus on California — the place that she now considers home.
The menu will celebrate California’s rich bounty, highlighting plants, fish, and seafood local to the place. The inspiration for Crenn, however, goes deeper than the ingredients listed on the menu. Guests will embark on a journey that guides them through different times and places, highlighting the beauty of California’s landscape both geographically and culturally. “California’s multitude of cultures, flavors, and ideas is what drew me here,” Crenn says, “and this menu is an ode to the place that I consider home. I want guests to see the beauty that is California and I want to help tell the stories that are often untold.” Guests can also expect to see local produce from Crenn’s own Bleu Belle Farm on the new menu.
Crenn’s recent work as chief technical consultant on Searchlight Pictures’ The Menu introduced Crenn to production designer Ethan Tobman. After their instant friendship was born, Tobman agreed to renovate the dining room of Atelier Crenn. “This collaboration was written in the stars,” says Tobman, “and to be able to bring Chef Crenn’s beautiful vision to life is such an honor. She is an inspiration to me and so many others.” Tobman is well-known for his work in films and music, working frequently with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé (Lemonade, Black Is King).
Atelier Crenn plans to reopen to the public in February of 2023.
About Atelier Crenn & Dominique Crenn:
Founded by Dominique Crenn and Juan Contreras in 2011, Atelier Crenn quickly garnered success earning three Michelin stars in 2018, making Crenn the first woman in the United States with the honor. She appeared with her team on season two of the Netflix documentary series Chef’s Table as well as Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. Crenn currently holds a total of four Michelin stars, three for her flagship restaurant Atelier Crenn and one for Bar Crenn. Further accolades include the James Beard Foundation Award of Best Chef: West in 2018 and a 2021 World’s 50 Best Icon Award.
Eight Vancouver restaurants have joined the elite club of dining establishments around the world rated with a Michelin star.
The Michelin Guide unveiled the city’s inaugural ratings at a ceremony at the Vancouver Convention Centre on Thursday.
The guide currently rates restaurants with in about 60 cities on a scale of one to three stars, and is adding Canadian locations for the first time this year. None of the Vancouver establishments achieved a coveted two- or three-star rating this year.
The restaurants are:
AnnaLena
Barbara
Burdock & Co.
iDen & QuanJuDe Beijing Duck House
Kissa Tanto
Masayoshi
Published on Main
St. Lawrence
Another dozen restaurants were awarded ‘Bib Gourmand’ designation, which recognizes high-quality eateries offering two courses, a glass of wine and a dessert for under $60.
Last month, the guide unveiled its picks in Toronto, awarding one two-star rating to Sushi Masaki Saito and a dozen other one-star ratings. It also flagged 17 restaurants for its “Bib Gourmand” designation.
Michelin’s arrival in Canada is being driven by a partnership with local tourism boards, including Destination Vancouver on the west coast.
Toronto announced as first Michelin destinations in Canada
Despite this, the organization says it prides itself on the independence and confidentiality of its reviewers, who book reservations anonymously and pay for all of their meals to ensure they are treated like any other customer.
Michelin inspectors rate restaurants on five key metrics: Food quality, the harmony of flavours, the mastery of cooking techniques, the personality of the chef in the cuisine and consistency between multiple visits.
Speaking on CKNW’s MorningswithSimi, Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association, said the ratings are a bright spot for Vancouver restaurants still grappling with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and B.C.’s labour shortage.
“This is such a positive story, we need more of these kinds of stories, even beyond restaurants it’s a cool business story for Vancouver, so I think it’s going to lift spirits in general,” he said.
“I’m sure there will be some restaurants we all know on the list, and I’m sure they are going to be very proud of their accomplishments.”
Being rated by the Michelin Guide can radically affect a restaurant’s fortunes.
Joël Robuchon, the late French chef who was awarded 32 stars over his career, more than any other chef, told Food and Wine magazine in 2017 that even a single star can bring big changes.
Toronto to become Canada’s 1st Michelin Guide destination
“With one Michelin star, you get about 20 percent more business. Two stars, you do about 40 percent more business, and with three stars, you’ll do about 100 percent more business,” he said.
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By that measure, being awarded a star can also be a double-edged sword, bringing with it its own set of strains.
French chef Marc Veyrat launched a failed lawsuit against the guide after being downgraded from three to two stars, while U.K. celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay reportedly said he cried when his New York restaurant The London lost its two stars, describing it as akin to “losing a girlfriend.”
“Interestingly, some restaurants don’t want it, because its a real investment in consistency of continuous investment in your staff and continuous investment in your food, it’s a lot of pressure,” Tostenson explained.
“You have to walk a fine line.”
The Michelin Guide first launched in 1889, when the Michelin tire company began publishing a guidebook for travellers including maps and gas stations as a way to promote driving trips.
It began awarding stars to fine dining establishments in 1926, and the company says it now rates more than 40,000 establishments across three continents.
