Today the Fat Duck regained its three stars, we saw a new two star restaurant in the form of The Raby Hunt, Clare Smyth was awarded Michelin Female Chef in the newest of the accolades and The Ritz finally got its hands on that illusive star in the Michelin Guide UK 2017. 

The Staff Canteen spoke to some of the winning chefs after the live event to find out how they were feeling! 

Clare Smyth

“I’m very, very surprised. It’s the first time they have ever done that award so I had no heads up. It’s brilliant that Michelin have done this because it’s the guide we look forward to every year so it’s great to do the awards at a live event.

“I think it’s really lovely but I never consider myself as a female chef, I’m just a chef that goes to work every day to do the best job I can but someone said to me you have to stop thinking like that and actually be out there and be a kind of mentor to female chefs so someone gave me a bit of a kick up the backside about that!

It’s just about helping the girls come through really. From the very first time I ever stepped into the kitchen I never thought about male or female, it’s just about being good. It’s about doing the job you can do and anyone can do it whatever their background.”

James Close, Raby Hunt

“It’s unbelievable, The Raby Hunt has been open for seven years and we got our first star after three years and four years on we got our second so it’s all absolutely unbelievable. With today’s event I expected to be one of many two stars so to be the only one is massive especially for our area in the North East, no one has ever done anything like this before so we are now putting ourselves seriously on the map.

“You just look at those other chefs with two stars and think one day I will too! So at the moment I’m just going ‘wow, I’m up there now’ and it’s just a bit surreal.

“I think the way they did this year is perfect because if you’re going to get a new star you should be on a stage and you should get recognised and I think that is what Michelin has now realised. This time around it’s amazing and every Michelin starred chef today has been blown away.”

John Williams, The Ritz

“I’m ecstatic and over the moon. I’m so proud of my cooks and the restaurant staff because they’ve all helped. I think this time around we have had a bit more consistency, I don’t know the answer to exactly why we got the star but that’s what I believe.

“The Ritz has just celebrated its 110^th anniversary so it’s been a lovely little rubber stamp.”

 Adam Byatt, Trinity

“It feels fantastic to be endorsed by arguably the best and most trusted food guide in the world and having had a business for 10 years that has a great representation for hospitality and to have that endorsement on the end is absolutely amazing. I’m thrilled for the team, the suppliers, my business partner and my family. It’s a big thing for everybody not just me. Behind the scenes there are a lot of people who make that happen.

“I think in this day and age in London, it’s an incredibly competitive market and we are striving for excellence. So to be able to give ourselves a little separation from other people is important and I think the Michelin Guide does that, it’s brilliant.

“I genuinely didn’t know until I got up on stage but we have worked very, very hard in the last 12 months to consolidate the restaurant and to think about the way we work so we can push forward and be the very best we can be and it seems to have paid off.”

James Hill, Peels at Hampton Manor 

“We just got three rosettes so it has literally gone from that-to-this for us!

“We had a horrible experience because we were the only people to be put into a little holding room and told that ‘you’re going to be brought down at 11:35’ but nobody else had a time so we were the only ones to be given a time. So we thought ‘have we won something other than a Michelin star?’ we won the Welcome and Service award which is just incredible that Michelin have picked us out from everybody else. We were the second group on stage but had to sit back down and wait half way through the announcements for the star so it was really cruel, we were all sweating!

“We have a curry, DJ and a heck of lot of beer waiting for us at home to celebrate!”

Heston Blumenthal, The Fat Duck

“When we got the third star it was a shock and a half and I remember saying ‘oh my god we’re going to lose it’ but it’s awarded for what you have done, not what you’re going to do so don’t change.

“The biggest thing for me is evolving the experience of British cooking. I think the Georgian period was probably the last time when Britain had cuisine as high up there as anywhere else in Europe.

“I’m more ambitious now which makes it sound like a competition but I’m just telling myself I have more energy, more creativity and more drive than I have ever - I know I might never get there but I want to leave this world happier than how I found it.”

>>> See the Michelin Guide UK 2017 full list here