Michelin stars 2021: all the winners (including new categories) at a glance

Nail-biting and teeth-grinding for the Dutch culinary world today! Because the annual Michelin stars have been awarded once again. Last year, the Netherlands gained eight new one-star restaurants and lost five. Which restaurants will receive their first star or even multiple stars this year? (Ahem, that was accidentally leaked last Saturday…) And who lost the status Michelin grants to the top of the restaurant world? We’ve listed it all for you. 

Why award stars during the pandemic?

Still, it is somewhat strange that Michelin stars are being awarded and withdrawn now; in 2020, restaurants (excluding hotel restaurants) were open for only seven months, and in 2021 the hospitality industry has not been open at all yet. Could restaurants have been visited sufficiently to reach a considered verdict? “In a very unusual year in which restaurants have barely been open, I find it strange that only the restaurant experience is taken into account,” FavorFlav’s culinary reviewer Vincent told NOS. “It was precisely those delivery services, collaborations between hotels and restaurants, and higher-level takeout that made this year special.”

Restaurant experience counts

However, Michelin did not take that into account — just as with the Bib Gourmands — the other distinction awarded by the Michelin Guide, just below the level of the ‘real stars’. The ratings are based on ‘ordinary dining out’ and the restaurant experience that comes with it. ‘It was difficult,’ says Michelin. ‘But we tasted a great many meals on the days when it was possible.’ And, Michelin says, the value of Michelin is the same as in previous years.

Michelin Sommelier Award

Eight years ago, Edgaras Razminas from Lithuania started as a dishwasher at De Lindehof, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Nuenen. Six years ago, he sent his CV to just about every restaurant in Eindhoven. He had just returned from Scotland, where he had completed an internship as a wine and whisky sommelier. He had actually never heard of Restaurant De Lindehof in Nuenen. Yet it was chef Soenil Bahadoer of De Lindehof who called Edgaras Razminas. Edgaras thought it was a joke and had to Google the top chef. In 2019, he was voted the best sommelier in the Netherlands, and now he is receiving Michelin’s first Sommelier Award.

Michelin Service Award

The Michelin Service Award went to Cindy Borger of De Groene Lantaarn, who was completely caught off guard by the live award ceremony. A crowning achievement for her work as the face of the restaurant front of house. ‘Everyone come to Staphorst!’ said a delighted Cindy.

Michelin Young Chef Award

Richard van Oostenbrugge, who received his second Michelin star this year for Restaurant 212 in Amsterdam, once praised the winner of the Young Chef Award: ‘There are quite a few chefs who just follow one another, but Alex Haupt of 101 Gowrie in Amsterdam chooses his own path. He also does everything himself. For example, he taught himself how to make sourdough bread — and it tastes amazing! Wow! And the same goes for the rest: Alex can cook brilliantly. Every morning, he is already working hard in the kitchen at half past seven for the evening service. That drive is fantastic.’

New: Michelin Green Stars

Sustainable gastronomy, seasonal produce, pioneers taking up the fight against food waste; this year, Michelin awarded ‘Green Stars’ for the first time. A Green Star was awarded to the following chefs/restaurants: Jonnie Boer (De Librije), Luc Kusters (Bolenius), Jelle Wagenaar (Het Seminar), Jos Timmer (De Kas), Jean Thoma (Aan Sjuuteeänjd), Bjorn Massop (Lokaal), Edwin Soumag (One) and Emile van der Staak (De Nieuwe Winkel) — Emile also received his first star this year; he therefore appears in the 2021 Michelin Guide twice.

In addition to the Michelin star that has adorned its façade since 2016, Bolenius may now also display a Green Star. Luc Kusters: ‘I’m very happy and extremely proud. More than ten years ago, we started focusing on vegetables and local produce, and here in the middle of Amsterdam’s Zuidas — approximately the most sought-after land in the Netherlands — we have our own vegetable garden. The Zuidas Vegetable Garden dish is therefore never missing from our menu. We are also pioneers of Dutch Cuisine and strongly support both Dutch cuisine and Dutch produce. It’s great that Michelin appreciates this. And it’s a wonderful incentive, after this difficult year, to focus even more on sustainability and the climate.’

Eight new one-star restaurants

Eight restaurants were rewarded with a Michelin star. Restaurant Daalder (last week we enjoyed the wonderful ‘Thuis met Daalder’ menu) finally received a star. Dennis Huwaë began his hospitality career as a teenager at McDonald’s, but he spent most of his culinary career working his way up in two-star restaurants such as Ciel Bleu**, Brouwerskolkje** and &Samhoud**. In 2016, Dennis moved from &Samhoud to Restaurant Daalder to become chef and co-owner. His wish was to cook at that same top level, but without the accompanying solemn atmosphere and stiff service. He was looking for a place where everyone would dare to walk in and feel at ease. The former brown café in the Jordaan had to become a Michelin-starred restaurant. Today, that dream has become reality.

Meliefste also received the star that had been speculated about for so long. Zeezout in Rotterdam, my favourite fish restaurant, received a star after 23 years! Wils now has a star too — another success for chef Joris Bijdendijk RIJKS*.

Two-star restaurants

The Netherlands has two new two-star restaurants; Michelin awarded a second star to Richard van Oostenbrugge and Thomas Groot of Restaurant 212 in Amsterdam and to Brut 172 in Reijmerstok, run by Hans van Wolde. Hans first cooked at Beluga, where he received two Michelin stars. In 2019, he handed Beluga over to a successor, his sous-chef Servais Tielman, so that he could focus on his new restaurant. It did not happen without a struggle (Worth watching! Brut, Dromen Onder Grote Druk, the revealing series about the road to get there.) And now comes the release of the tension with the awarding of a second star.

Three stars

Since the 2020 guide, the Netherlands has had two three-star restaurants: De Librije in Zwolle and Inter Scaldes in Kruiningen. Both restaurants retain their three stars in the 2021 guide.

Restaurant closes, star disappears

Six restaurants that still held a Michelin star last year are not on the list this year. Not because Michelin considers them lower in quality, but because they have closed or changed hands. These are &moshik in Amsterdam, De Karpendonkse Hoeve in Eindhoven, De Zwaan in Etten-Leur, Lucas Rive in Hoorn, Niven in Rijswijk, De Vrienden van Jacob in Santpoort and De Heer Kocken in Vught.

All 2021 Michelin stars at a glance

The Netherlands currently has two three-star restaurants, eighteen two-star restaurants and 93 one-star restaurants. Here you’ll find the complete overview.

Let’s hope we can visit all of these, and all the other Dutch hospitality businesses too!, again very soon! We can’t wait!

Read also:

• At these restaurants you won’t quite get a Michelin star, but you’ll eat extremely well
• These are the biggest misconceptions about chefs, according to chefs 
• Delivery apps? This is where (Michelin-starred) chefs order

Main image: Dennis Huwaë and Frans van Dam celebrate Michelin star @Lyan van Furth/LVFFood
Overview of Michelin-starred restaurants: courtesy of Misset Horeca