We go behind the scenes of the Michelin Guide’s youngest award.

First introduced in several 2021 editions of the Michelin Guide, the Michelin Green Star is rapidly becoming a global benchmark for an eco-conscious approach to dining. The ever-more important accolade is awarded annually to those restaurants around the world that not only exemplify sustainable practices, but go above and beyond to make dining out something that benefits both our palates and the planet.

Commitment to sustainable gastronomy

Any restaurant is eligible for the sustainable accolade, with Green Stars being awarded both as a stand-alone distinction, or alongside Michelin stars or a Michelin Bib Gourmand. It is also a highly personal award – there’s no blueprint, as the Michelin Guide explains, ‘as every restaurant and its surrounding region has a unique set of conditions’.

Ingredient provenance plays a vital role of course, with Green-starred restaurants not only working directly with small ethical producers and suppliers, but often also foraging and growing their own produce in onsite biodynamic gardens and on plots of land – such as farm-to-table restaurant Osip. in Bruton, where diners get to enjoy whatever is harvested on the day. Others, including the Devlin brothers’ The Small Holding in Kilndown (above), even rear their own animals. A low- to zero-waste and low-intervention approach, resource management, and communication between the team and guests – something that the world’s first zero-waste restaurant, Silo in Hackney, excels at – are further important factors.

Restaurants around the world are ready to prove their commitment, as is evident in the growing number of awarded Green Stars, which has steadily climbed from 291 Green Star restaurants in 2021, to an impressive 432 as of March 2023.

Global culinary pioneers

Leading pioneers currently holding a coveted Green Star can be found in all corners of the Earth – proof that sustainable cuisine is a truly international issue.

European standouts include René Redzepi’s legendary Noma in Copenhagen (you have until the end of 2024 to try to secure a table before the restaurant closes its hallowed doors for good); and Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca, whose owners, the Roca brothers, not only work sustainably, but aim to raise awareness of the challenges posed by climate change.

At French Riviera hotspot Mirazur, acclaimed chef Mauro Colagreco (pictured above) can often be found in his permaculture vegetable gardens, harvesting eggs from the hen house or cultivating beehives; while a zero-waste approach at Septime in Paris means that bio-waste goes to a vermicomposting centre to be recycled.

Then there’s Swiss powerhouse chef Andreas Caminada (above), whose restaurants Schloss Schauenstein, Oz, and Casa Caminada create a pioneering sustainable gourmet destination that is well on its way to self-sufficiency. Read our interview with Caminada to find out how this leading chef takes sustainability to the next level.

Across the pond, San Francisco’s Quince cultivates an exclusive relationship with one of the oldest certified organic farms on the West Coast and has created nonprofit foundation Feed the Future to support local restaurants and farmers; and in Japan, Florilège chef Hiroyasu Kawate creates one-of-a-kind dishes, using only carefully sourced ingredients from producers he has a direct relationship with. His signature dish? Beef from cows that have had at least one calf.

British sustainability stars

Following the announcement of the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2023 on 27 March, 30 restaurants across the UK now hold a Michelin Green Star. Among the most renowned are Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume in Cartmel, Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, Skye Gyngell’s Marle at Heckfield Place in Hampshire, and Moor Hall in Aughton, while Chantelle Nicholson’s much-lauded Apricity in London (Nicholson is pictured above), Crocadon in St Mellion, Culture Restaurant in Falmouth, and Osip. in Bruton are the most recent recipients.

Here’s the full list of all 2023 Green Star restaurants in the UK:

• Angela’s, Margate
• Apricity, London (new)
• Chapters, Hay-on-Wye
• Coombeshead Farm, Lewannick
• Crocadon, St Mellion (new)
• Culture Restaurant, Falmouth (new)
• Daylesford Organic, Daylesford
• Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel, Great Milton
• L’Enclume, Cartmel
• Marle, Heckfield Place, Hampshire
• Moor Hall, Aughton
• OAK, Bath
• Osip., Bruton (new)
• Pensons, Tenbury Wells
• Petersham Nurseries Café, London
• Pine, East Wallhouses
• Restaurant Sat Bains (RSB), Nottingham
• Silo, London
• Terroir, Bournemouth
• Black Swan at Oldstead, Oldstead
• The Dining Room at Whatley Manor, Malmesbury
• The Ethicurean, Wrington
• The Small Holding, Kilndown
• Tillingham, Peasmarsh
• Where The Light Gets In, Stockport
• Wilsons, Bristol
• Inver, Strachur
• The Henry Robertson Dining Room at Palé Hall, Llandderfel
• Kai Restaurant, Galway