This is one of those posts that any blogger, connected with the Hospitality industry, will be writing about now. Their predictions for who will get a glittering Michelin star on Monday.

Our understanding is that Michelin have already sent out the invitations to a select number of the current incumbents, but the next couple of days are the key indicators. Newly starred chefs will receive a call/email from the Michelin PR dept from Friday onwards, requesting their presence in London.

This is a great idea, apart from the actual logistics of it. I’m thinking Paul Leonard last year being given a couple days notice to get from an island on the west coast of Scotland to London. And this year there is potentially worse for one chef.

So let’s get down to the crux of why you are here. This year has seen plenty of movement & new openings, ordinarily Michelin would wait an 18 month period before garnishing a new chef with a star. But the following establishments are pretty much shoe-ins for the French tyre maker’s trinket:

• La Dame de Pic, London – Sophie Anne Pic
• Elystan Street, London – Phil Howard
• Lympstone Manor, Devon – Michael Caines
• Bibendum, London – Claude Bosi
• Moor Hall – Mark Birchall

Now the form guide with Michelin over the past couple of years is to keep, or ever so slightly expand, the status quo. So this year has seen the closure of several high profile restaurants with stars. Our tips for inclusion in the 2* category are:

• Bohemia, Steve Smith, Jersey
• The Kitchin, Tom Kitchin, Scotland

Now to the tricky part, normally we’d be looking at around 14-18 newly starred/promoted restaurants. Here are our hot tips for the newly starred places in the 2018 Michelin guide:

• Where the light gets in, Stockport
• Vineyard, Berkshire
• Idle rocks, Cornwall
• Westerns Laundry, London
• Orwells, Oxfordshire
• Cotto, Cambridgeshire
• Rockliffe Hall, Co Durham
• Typing Room, London
• A Wong, London
• 3 Chimneys, Isle of Skye

Outside chances, ones to watch:

• Horto, Rudding Park, Yorkshire
• Douneside House, Royal Deeside
• 108 Garage, London
• Etch, Brighton
• Old Downton Lodge, Shropshire

Michelin in the past have live streamed the event via social media, so you’ll be able to keep up to date via Michelin UK on Twitter or possibly via their other social media outlets.

Naysayers

I just want to finish this post by concluding the difference between Michelin and the naysayers you will see writing for the traditional media. Rayner, Shitwell, O’Loughlin and others will all bleat on about the relevance of the little red book.

But here’s the difference, to get a Michelin star you aren’t just subjected to 1 or 2 visits like you would be by a traditional restaurant critic. No, you are exposed to between 6 & 10 by several different inspectors & inspections. So in essence you are being inspected by lots of different people who arrive at a consensus. No restaurant critic makes that many trips & you are only subjected to their view.

Like many in the industry, I look forward to seeing the results on Monday, always a lively discussion ensues 😀