MONS: Yes! Yes! Karen Torosyan shouted on stage in Mons yesterday after it sank in that he had finally clinched a second Michelin star. Five years ago, the Armenian chef took over Bozar Restaurant from his mentor David Martin and has been working hard to reach this achievement. And there was no one better to announce the two Michelin stars than David Martin of Brussels restaurant La Paix who looked emotional as he announced the only two Michelin star restaurant to make the grade in 2023 for Belgium and Luxembourg.
The embrace between the two as Karen Torosyan went on stage said it all. On the same day, Michelin also named the 16 new restaurants that clinched a Michelin star for Belgium and Luxembourg. In total, there are 816 restaurants in the guide, 149 restaurants have a star and 147 restaurants have a Bib Gourmand.
The Michelin Guide also awarded four restaurants with a Green star.
David Martin not only saw his former colleague Karen Torosyan clinch his second star but he also added a star to his portfolio (after the two for La Paix) with the success of Ronnay in Francochamps which not only got a Michelin star but also saw young chef Mathieu Vande Velde achieve the Young chef of the year award.
“This is one of the best days of my life,” Karen Torosyan said on stage. “I came to Belgium 25 years ago not speaking a word of French and here I am. I want to thank Jean Pierre Bruneau who made me fall in love with the world of restaurants and to David Martin, the first person who really believed in me. I was lucky that he gave me the possibility to take over the restaurant five years ago and he believed in me. The world of restaurants and of a restauranteur is mad but it is the best job in the world. Only those who are in it know, know what I mean,” he said.
Bozar Restaurant was the only restaurant to be awarded two Michelin stars. And the Michelin International Director Gwendal Poullennec acknowledged in a video message at the start of the award ceremony that this would be a less exceptional year than the previous one when Tim Boury got a three Michelin star at the end of the award ceremony.
Speaking about Bozar, the guide has finally acknowledged the work and craftsmanship of perfectionist Karen Torosyan and his executive chef Cassandre Ercolini saying ‘this perfectionist seeks to communicate his emotions with each dish. Each dish is a masterpiece of artistry with no detail left to chance which is also the case of the interior.”
Brussels thus regains a two Michelin star restaurant after losing two in one go last year with the closure of Bon Bon Restaurant and the downgrading of Comme Chez Soi to one star.
The three restaurants that have 3 Michelin stars all retained their stars. These are Hof van Cleve (which will be under the guidance of Peter Goossens till the end of the year), Zilte in Antwerp and Boury in Roeselare.
In total there are 22 restaurants in Belgium and Luxembourg that have 2 Michelin stars. Apart from the addition of Bozar Restaurant, Pastorale was removed from the guide following the closure in December while Hostellerie Le Fox in De Panne was downgraded from two stars to one star.
One surprise exclusion from the guide, though not unexpected given the restaurant has only been open for 6 weeks is Christophe Hardiquest’s new Menssa which replaced his two Michelin star restaurant Bon Bon.
The 16 new restaurants with a Michelin star are:
Humus x Hortense – Brussels
Barge – Brussels
La Grappe d’Or – Autelbas
La Table Benjamin Laborie – Ohain
Le Ronnay – Francochamps
La Table de Manon – Grandhan
La Grange d’Hamois – Hamois
Le Vieux Chateau – ~Flobeccq
Le Grand Verre – Durbuy
Misera – Antwerp
Glass – Antwerp
De Bakermat – Ninove
Table d’Amis – Kortrijk
Sensum – Gent
Willem Hiele – Oudenburg
Eden Rose – Luxembourg
There were four new Green stars. These are Barge, La Grappe d’Or, WILDn and Instroom in Antwerp.
Apart from young chef of the year which went to Mathieu Vande Velde, Michelin also awarded Yanick Dehandschutter of restaurant Sir Kwinten in Sin-Kwintens-Lennik as sommelier of the year.
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