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Gary challenges Gordon for Michelin stars
By Jonathan Prynn, Evening Standard 23.01.08
Acclaimed: Gary Rhodes, right, and head chef Brian Hughson at Rhodes W1 in Marble Arch
Taste of things to come: Hotly tipped Chris Galvin and Tom Aikens
Starring: Quilon in Victoria, where one reviewer described a meal as 'ambrosial heaven'
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Five London restaurants have been awarded their first Michelin stars in the new guide published today.
The awards - the industry's highest accolade - recognise a rising generation of chefs such as Tom Aikens and Claude Bosi, who are challenging the established giants led by Gordon Ramsay and Michel Roux.
Rhodes W1 is the latest in the new generation of hotel restaurants, the new venture from TV chef Gary Rhodes in the refurbished Cumberland Hotel near Marble Arch. The lavish Kelly Hoppen-designed dining room offers top English produce with continental influences under head chef Brian Hughson.
Two of the five new Michelin-starred restaurants - Hibiscus and Wild Honey - are in Mayfair, fast becoming London's leading gastronomic quarter with its proximity to the expense accounts of the hedge fund industry.
Hibiscus, owned by Mr Bosi, a protégé of French chef Alain Ducasse, and his English wife Claire, only opened in October after moving from Ludlow in Shropshire where their restaurant of the same name had two stars.
Wild Honey is another new arrival, opening to enthusiastic reviews last summer. It is the second restaurant from Anthony Demetre and Will Smith, who run the Michelin-starred Arbutus in Soho.
The Michelin recognition for classic French restaurant La Trompette marks the official arrival of Chiswick as a "gastro-quarter". It is owned by restaurateurs Bruce Poole and Nigel Platts-Martin, who also run Chez Bruce in Wandsworth, one of the most acclaimed restaurants in London.
The fifth Michelin debutante is Quilon in Victoria. Under head chef Aylur V Sriram, it specialises in cuisine from the Indian states of Kerala, Goa and Karnataka.
Among restaurants tipped for a star next year is the Park Lane Hilton restaurant Galvin at Windows, run by Chris Galvin, who with his brother Jeff ran the Michelin-starred Galvin Bistrot de Luxe.
It was a mixed year for Gordon Ramsay. Two of his protégées, Angela Hartnett, who was at the Connaught, and Marcus Wareing at the now-closed Savoy Grill, lost their stars.
However, The Narrow, the first of Ramsay's string of gastropubs, was awarded a Bib Gourmand for moderately priced dining - three courses for less than £28.
Ramsay remains the only chef in London with three stars, at his flagship Gordon Ramsay restaurant on Royal Hospital Road. Five London restaurants have retained their two-star status, Pied à Terre, the Capital Restaurant, Petrus, Le Gavroche and The Square.
The only other restaurant to lose its star was Orrery, a former Conran restaurant now part of the D&D Restaurants chain.
Jamie Oliver again received no recognition for his Fifteen restaurant in Hoxton, which has been open since 2002.
