Michelin Awards 2022: L’Enclume gets three, Ynyshir wins two, and the rest

Michelin finally announced its 2022 list of awards on Wednesday, choosing to drip-feed new stars on social media before sending a press release at 10am. 

As ever, the roll-call of accolades has proven to be controversial. There are restaurants many believe have wrongly missed out. One example is Alex Claridge’s The Wilderness in Birmingham. His thoughts on being shunned for almost a decade are well worth reading.

Others might argue Michelin has never been comprehensive and has always been mysterious. There will be think pieces abound in the coming days, no doubt. Some might be best ignored. There are chefs in the know about how the awards go and how they are defined. Most of us have little to know idea about the criteria. Who cares? 

Still, the Michelin Awards remain somewhat of a marked occasion. This year was not without its moments: Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume became the first restaurant outside of the South East to ever win three stars – doing so in its 20th year; Ynyshir became the first restaurant in Wales to ever score two; and Ikoyi is believed to be the first West African-inspired restaurant to earn two stars. 

Rogan said: “Achieving a third star has always been front of mind and something we’ve been striving for every day, be it through the evolution of our dishes and honing of our service-style, the meticulous work undertaken on our farm. 

“We might have grown our operation over the past two decades, but we’ve remained true to our core ethos and maintained the close-knit community feel amongst our team, while all this time proudly remaining as an independent restaurant group. 

“This is an incredible week for us all and it’s going to take some time for it to truly sink in, but we will be celebrating this moment for a long time to come.”

Ward was similarly delighted, and said: “Wales is now a true culinary destination. My old head chef just won a star himself at SY23 in Aberystwyth (which was also named the best new restaurant in the UK).

“It’s been tough over the last two years… You need balls of steel to do this job. We’ve made history today.”

Elsewhere, the first whisky distillery to ever win a star, The Glenturret Lalique in Crieff, Scotland, was revealed, and the Clove Club finally achieved its often-speculated second star. The other two big winners were in Dublin, at the city’s long-loved Chapter One, and at Liath, which opened in 2019. 

There were 19 new stars in total. They are dotted across the country. Adam Handling’s Frog was among them.

He told CODE: “It’s been a dream of the group to win a star, and the perfect thing is that for those who dream alone it will only be a dream, for those who dream together, it will be reality”. 

Handling added the quote comes from Yoko Ono, and called it the “ethos of the restaurant”. 

Another notable winner was Evelyn’s Table. The former Roux Scholar Luke Selby is in charge there and runs the kitchen with his two brothers, Theo and Nathaniel, who were featured on this year’s CODE 30 under 30 list.

He said: “It’s an honour to be recognised by Michelin today. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by amazing individuals that believe in the concept and have supported the journey we are on. 

“Above anyone else, I want to thank my brothers, (Nathaniel and Theo) – you have been by my side with the utmost dedication and to achieve the recognition with just us three in the kitchen makes me so proud.

“Thank you to the team around us… without your support and aligning vision this would not have been possible.”

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