International Chef’s Day 2021: 5 International Chefs With Michelin Stars
October 20 marks International Chef’s Day to celebrate the profession of culinary arts. Various events are hosted across the world to promote the chef career and also emphasize the fact that never forget to thank someone who is going out of the way to serve you excellent food. Did you know what is one of the most crucial milestones in a chef’s life? It’s getting a Michelin star, but what is a Michelin star? Keep on reading to find out!
Michelin star to the culinary world is like world cup for the cricket world. It is the ultimate hallmark of culinary experience, which is awarded to very few restaurants that are judged on very high standards. If you ever happen to visit any Michelin star starred restaurants, you won’t get disappointed with anything there!
How Are Michelin Stars Awarded
Michelin stars are awarded after Michelin inspectors who are food experts visit different restaurants across the world anonymously. They are trained in a way so that they can easily blend with ordinary customers and have to stay anonymous so that they are not given any preferential treatment by the chefs. During the judgement, Michelin inspectors primarily judges the chef-owned restaurant on cooking techniques, quality of ingredients used and the standard of cuisine offered. It is interesting to note that the Michelin star is awarded to the restaurant and not to the chef; however, the food experts don’t judge the restaurant on criteria such as the ambience or the restaurant’s decor.
The star system was introduced in 1926, and there are 3 categories – 1 Michelin star denotes ‘a very good restaurant’, 2 Michelin stars denote ‘excellent cooking that is worth a detour’ and 3 Michelin stars means ‘exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.’
Due to high Michelin standards, most of the restaurants in the world have earned 0 Michelin stars despite being iconic and famous. However, one of the most heartbreaking things about the whole process is that a restaurant might lose its earned Michelin stars if the experts feel that the restaurant standards have slipped! In fact, chefs are never warned about the inspection beforehand, and there can be a situation where the Michelin inspector might visit a single restaurant 3-6 times before coming to a decision. One of the most important things to note is that because the selection criteria is strict, Michelin stars are given to very few restaurants in the world. There are thousands of chefs across the world, but you would only find 5-10 international chefs who have been awarded with michelin stars.
Here are 5 Michelin star chefs 2021 (as of now):
Chef Alain Ducasse
Owning 30+ restaurants globally, Chef Alain Ducasse is the current living chef with the most number of Michelin stars, i.e. 19 stars (as of now). He is known for being the world-class chef of French cuisine and the 1st chef to own 3 restaurants that have earned 3 Michelin stars in 3 cities. Mr Ducasse’ achievement list doesn’t end here as he is also the 1st chef who sent his food to space! (How cool is that?)
Chef Gordon Ramsay
Chef Gordon Ramsay is probably the most known face in the culinary world due to his TV shows, including Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef. Well, Mr Ramsay specializes in British cuisine, and it’s said that no one understands British cuisine the way chef Gordon Ramsay does. Though he has been awarded 16 Michelin stars, he currently owns 7 Michelin stars and his most famous restaurant, ‘Restaurant Gordon Ramsay’ in London, has 3 Michelin stars since 2001, making it the longest-running restaurant in London with 3 Michelin stars.
Chef Vineet Bhatia – ‘Zaika’ and ‘Rasoi By Vineet’
Chef Vineet Bhatia created history after he became the 1st ever Indian chef to receive a Michelin star. Mr Bhatia worked as executive chef in the Oberoi Group. However, in 1999 he decided to open his own restaurant in the UK and named it ‘Zaika’. Just 2 years down the lane, chef Vineet Bhatia’s Zaika received the 1st Michelin star. Well, it doesn’t stop there as he opened his 2nd venture ‘Rasoi By Vineet’ in Geneva and earned a Michelin star in 2009, making him the 2nd British chef honoured with 2 Michelin stars in more than 1 country.
Chef Vikas Khanna – ‘Junoon’
Chef Vikas Khanna became a famous face after he appeared in the hit TV show MasterChef India. Born in Punjab, Chef Vikas Khanna opened his 1st ever restaurant ‘Junoon’ in Manhattan, New York City, in the year 2010. Since 2011, Mr Khanna’s restaurant has been winning the Michelin star. The Indian chef has also collaborated with Chef Gordon Ramsay and cooked for the Obamas during their tenure in the White House. So if you want to bring a smile to the faces of your loved ones, you can blindly trust all the lip-smacking Vikas Khanna recipes! He is literally the king of Indian cuisine.
Chef Anne Sophie Pic
Female chef Anne Sophie Pic is the world’s current female chef holding the most number of Michelin stars, i.e. 8 stars (as of now). One of the most interesting things about Chef Anne is that when she became the owner of her family restaurant ‘Maison Pic’, she had no formal culinary training, and still she managed to earn 3 Michelin stars for the restaurant. Carrying her family’s legacy of French Gastronomy, chef Anne Sophie Pic is going strong in the cooking world.
