Michelin 2021 awards will 'shine a light' on restaurant industry

The Michelin Guide has confirmed that the new stars for Great Britain and Ireland in 2021 will be announced from 6pm on 25 January.

The ceremony will be available to watch online, with a link expected to be publicised ahead of the event. In other countries the awards have been streamed on Michelin's Facebook and YouTube channels.

The announcement will reveal the new starred restaurants as well as those receiving Bib Gourmands and Plate awards.

In an update on its website Michelin acknowledged that it was an unusual time to be giving out new stars.

It said: “We are not blind to the harrowing times we live in and are more than aware of the hardships being faced by so many. No one can deny that what the hospitality industry is suffering through is nothing less than tragic.”

The red book added that it was launching its new edition to help "shine a light" on the hospitality industry and "keep people talking about it".

Michelin claimed it started work on the 2021 guide in August 2019, meaning many of its inspections had been completed by the time restaurants were forced to close in lockdowns in March.

The guide said: “Yes, there have been challenges, but by delaying publication for an extra four months and making this guide digital-only, we were able to get everything done. Our readers can be assured that no shortcuts were taken – the methodology remained the same and there was no change in the standards we looked for.

“The integrity of the guide means everything to us – to have compromised it in any way would be unfair to our readers and disrespectful to the industry.”

Michelin named 23 new one-star restaurants and four two-star restaurants in its 2020 edition, while the Lecture Room & Library at Sketch was the sole recipient of the maximum three stars.

Sixteen restaurants lost stars in the 2020 edition. A Michelin spokesperson did not respond to request for comment on whether there would be deletions in the 2021 guide.