Gordon Ramsay's empire received a fresh blow after his restaurant at Claridge's lost its single Michelin star in the latest edition of the guide. But the celebrity chef retained his place at the top of the tree, with his Chelsea restaurant keeping its coveted three stars, one of only four in the country to hold the honour.Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester joined Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and Alain Roux in the three-starred elite of Great Britain and Ireland. Mr Ducasse, whose restaurant at The Dorchester Hotel in London won the coveted three stars, said: "To receive such prestigious recognition from Michelin is a great honour. The team here has worked very hard to maintain the level of service and cuisine, and I am very proud of our achievements."
This year's guide also featured one new two-star, for Brett Graham at The Ledbury in Kensington, London, and 18 new one-star establishments. These included the Sienna, a small, family-run restaurant in Dorset, and The Harwood Arms, the first pub in London to achieve this accolade.
There were also three new stars in Scotland and three in Wales. Michelin Guide editor Derek Bulmer said: "Last year was clearly a difficult year for hotels and restaurants but those establishments who reacted by being more flexible and creative appear to be riding the storm. Value for money has also been an important factor and we have awarded 28 new Bib Gourmand awards - 'good food at moderate prices' - which reflects this. Chefs have had to be more resourceful and restaurants have had to adapt to changing eating habits. Some have even introduced 'credit crunch' menus to help fight the recession. Long-established restaurants have proved to be resilient but we have also seen plenty of new openings."
The Michelin Guide first introduced its restaurant star system in 1926, adding the two- and three-star rankings during the early 1930s. This year, Britain has more stars in the guide than ever, with 140 restaurants receiving the honour. The updated guide for 2010 will be released next Thursday.
