As the year winds down, so do the MICHELIN Guide destinations waiting for their distinctions. And last night at Spring Studios in lower Manhattan, chefs converged from Chicago, Washington, D.C., and the Big Apple for a first-ever ceremony celebrating the culinary industry's top talents. And all the brightest stars were in attendance including Clover Hill's Charlie Mitchell, Eleven Madison Park's Daniel Humm, and The Inn at Little Washington's Patrick O'Connell.
Inside, guests were treated to haute bites from 53, Dhamaka, Le Coucou (thank you Caviar DoorDash), Cinco Jotas, and Petrossian who debuted their latest creation, a collaboration with haute confectioner Lady M for the perfect mille-feuille topped with luxe caviar. Complementing the dishes were elegant drinks including Eira sparkling and still water, Pommery champagne, Basil Hayden cocktails, Nordes gin, Montecillo wines, Rémy Martin, wines and sake from Wine Access, and non-alcoholic offerings from Kally.
After a rousing Instagram Live where chefs David Shim of Cote, Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin, and Thomas Keller of per se discussed the evening's significance and what earning a MICHELIN distinction means to them, it was time for the awards to get going.
Emcee Adam Richman—yes, of Man v. Food fame—got the crowd even more excited as the evening's special awards were doled out. Basil Hayden's Jon Marks presented the Exceptional Cocktail award to Monica Casillas-Rios of Elske in Chicago, the bar team at Cosme in New York, and Daniel Todd of The Dabney in Washington, D.C.
Hopping on stage after was Joe Fisch of Wine Access to present Sommelier of the Year to Alex Ring of Sepia in Chicago, Yannick Benjamin of Contento in New York, and Sarah Thompson of Queen's English in Washington, D.C.
Afterwards, Adrian Gamarello of Rémy Martin presented the Young Chef award to Christian Hunter of Atelier in Chicago, Telly Justice of HAGS in New York, and Ryan Ratino of Bresca and Jônt in Washington, D.C.
This was followed by Leonardo Laviola of Blancpain presented this year's Mentor Award to Emma Bengtsson of Aquavit, before Richman gave out the honors to this year's Service Award winners: Josh Perlman of Giant in Chicago, Madalyn Summers of Cafe Mars in New York, and Giuseppe Formica of Fiola in Washington, D.C.
However, the evening also celebrated the industry's top talents promoting sustainable practices and Rémy Martin's Michael Fuschillo presented this year's newest Green Stars to Daisies in Chicago, and Dirt Candy and Family Meal at Blue Hill in New York.
But then it was time for the major moments—as the chefs came on-stage to claim their Stars, the evening reached a fever pitch as the Three Star restaurant chefs made their way on-stage. A large canvas featuring Three Stars flanked the side of the stage while artist Jared Emerson put his finishing touches live on-stage to reveal that Chicago's Smyth and chef John B. Shields were named the newest entry into the history books.
And with a champagne toast and a wave from Bib, the evening's celebrations continued long into the night.
All photos: Zach Hilty, Matteo Prandoni & Joe Schildhorn/BFA.com
