This Chef Has Earned More Michelin Stars Than Anyone Else
While the Michelin Star award has become a buzz word in an era of food competition shows and celebrity chefs, it has a long, renowned history. A person may assume the more famous the chef is, the more stars they have won. However, even celebrity chef restauranteurs like Gordon Ramsay don't hold the top spot. While Ramsay has earned seven Michelin stars, that is still 10 fewer than the chef with the most.
Michelin Stars and the guide aren't something new to the culinary world. According to the Michelin Guide's website, the earliest version of it was created by brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin, founders of France's Michelin Tire Company. The guide was created in order to encourage people to travel more. It included lists of hotels, restaurants, and advertisements. In 1926, it started handing out stars to fine dining restaurants (per the Michelin Guide).
In the beginning, the Michelin Guide handed out only one star to restaurants, but its system evolved to rank them on a three-star scale. According to the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), a Michelin Star is something to be "worn" proudly. Per ICE, restaurants are awarded based on three star system which restaurants are judged in specific categories for their menus and food quality. Currently, France holds the record as the country with the most Michelin-Starred restaurants.
Food lovers around the world have come to recognize its significance and purposely seek out restaurants with the famed ranking.
The chef with the most Michelin stars
He may not be a household name or the host of a television show, but Alain Ducasse has a lot to be proud of. He is the chef who earned the most Michelin Stars in 2022, with 17 of those awarded to his restaurants, according to 24/7 Wall St.
Working as a chef for five decades, Ducasse began cooking in restaurants during the 1970s and earned his first Michelin Star as head chef at La Tarrasse at the Hotel Juana in Juan les Pins, per Fine Dining Lovers. Truly Experiences reports that Ducasse currently operates 36 restaurants around the world and is only one of two chefs who have earned 21 Michelin stars.
His restaurants that received three stars each are Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester in London and Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo, both of which are considered Ducasse's flagship restaurants, per Fine Dining Lovers.
Ducasse's restaurants that earned two Michelin stars are Le Meurice Alain Ducasse in Paris, Beige Alain Ducasse in Tokyo, and Alain Ducasse at Morpheus in Macao. Those with one star are Benoit in Paris, La Bastide de Moustiers in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie (France), L'Hostellerie de l'Abbaye de la Celle in La Celle (France), Blue by Alain Ducasse in Bangkok, and Muni Alain Ducasse in Kyoto.