Michelin Releases Latest UK Guide

Gastronomes take note – Friday January 25 is the launch date for the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2008. Priced at £15.99 (€23.20 in the Republic of Ireland), this year’s guide includes 15 new one-star restaurants, and making the list of ‘Rising Stars’ for 2008 are five establishments tipped for one star and three that are serious contenders for two. There are also 33 new Bib Gourmand establishments, offering ‘good food at moderate prices’ – three courses for less than £28 (€40 in Ireland).

The Guide’s editor, Derek Bulmer, says: “Informal dining, greater use of locally grown produce and seasonality are the trends evident in this year’s guide. Customers are demanding more information about food provenance and sustainability, and chefs are responding by rediscovering local ingredients.”

Those familiar with the Guide may also detect a swing away from ‘fusion’ cooking and a corresponding return to more European based cuisine. “We have also seen more competitive pricing which is why we have awarded so many Bib Gourmands this year.” Bulmer adds. “Culinary diversity has long been the UK’s strength and now there’s an even wider choice, thanks to greater informality and lower prices.”

The Guide’s format allows a vast selection of hotels and restaurants catering for all budgets to be offered together in a single compact sized book. The 2008 Guide has 4,567 entries, and of those, 2,748 are hotels and guesthouses and 1,819 are restaurants and pubs; all regularly and anonymously inspected by Michelin’s own team of professional inspectors.

Simultaneous to the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2008 launch is that for the Michelin Guide London 2008, priced at £9.99 (€14.50 in Ireland). This new-look guide was first introduced in 2007, and features two entries per page for non-starred establishments and one entry per page for starred.

Michelin’s Guide range is now nearly 108 years old, and today the collection covers 22 countries and 19 titles, with around 100 million copies sold worldwide in 2006. The Michelin Guide section of the www.viamichelin.com website also receives more than ten million visits a year.