Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen in Dublin 1 and Liath in Blackrock, Co Dublin have been awarded two stars in the Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland 2022, which was published on Wednesday. In addition, Glovers Alley in the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin 2 and Bastible in Dublin 8 have been awarded one-star status in the Guide.
Chapter One, where Finnish chef Mickael Viljanen took over the kitchen last May, was widely expected to debut at this level. Viljanen previously earned two stars for The GreenHouse in Dublin 2, but left there to enter into a partnership with Ross Lewis which saw Viljanen take over the kitchen and Lewis step into a management role at the restaurant, which has had a Michelin star since 2007. Announcing the award, Michelin singled out Chapter One for its "sophisticated, confidently delivered dishes" including "Dover sole enlivened by maitake and bonito, and delicious milk-fed lamb in two servings – the fillet and the braised shoulder."
@LiathRestaurant in Blackrock, #Dublin Gains Two MICHELIN Stars for its bold, original dishes @sakqurayo #MICHELINGuideGBI #2MICHELINStars pic.twitter.com/hbswU7iQrq
— The MICHELIN Guide (@MichelinGuideUK) February 16, 2022
The promotion of Liath in Blackrock market, Co Dublin was also rumoured. Head chef and owner Damien Grey has had one star for the restaurant since 2017, when it was previously called Heron & Grey. Michelin noted that Grey “has been busy reworking and perfecting his repertoire of dishes, with the result that they now show even greater harmony. The sublime aroma of the mussels served with cauliflower and saffron is more than matched by the flavour; while the melt-in-the-mouth pigeon is made even more exquisite by the Pedro Ximenez sauce that accompanies it.”
All of the 20 restaurants in Ireland which had stars in the 2021 Guide retained them, with the exception of The GreenHouse which is not currently open. Ireland now has four restaurants with two-star status – Aimsir in Co Kildare and Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin, which retained them, along with Wednesday's addition of Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen and Liath. Just five new two-stars across Britain and Ireland were included in the new edition of the Guide, two of them in the Republic.
Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen earned a perfect 10/10 score when reviewed by Irish Times restaurant critic Corinna Hardgrave in August of last year. "This is the best restaurant in Ireland. It's world class," Hardgrave wrote.
News of Viljanen and Lewis's partnership was broken by The Irish Times on May 21st last year, two days after the chef announced his departure from The GreenHouse. The restaurant then underwent a redesign and refurbishment, reopening on July 27th.
“It has been an intense time of change and development for all of us involved and I couldn’t be prouder of the team and how they have pulled together to bring this very special place into its exciting next chapter. Seven months and two stars – that’s a great return, and I’m so delighted for everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen. We are so humbled and grateful,” Viljanen said.
At Liath in Blackrock, Damien Grey and his team have known since last week that the promotion to two stars was coming. "They sent an email from HQ, saying they wanted to send a crew over to film us , to do a video to go with the reveal, about Irish gastronomy. They came over and we were cooking away, and next minute Niall [O'Connor, restaurant general manager] comes up to the pass and he puts a parcel on the table and in it was the plaque and the [chef's] jacket with two stars on it," Grey said, his voice breaking.
“It was just magical. I was delighted that I was with the team this time because normally when these awards come out you’re in London and only two can be there. I was super super proud that we did it and the team could enjoy it as well.”
Barry Fitzgerald, head chef and co-owner of Bastible with his wife Claire-Marie, also learned of the restaurant’s promotion to one star last week and the couple had to keep the news to themselves. “They gave me a call a week ago, a Zoom call. We weren’t expecting it. We’re over the moon,” he said.
The kitchen at Glovers Alley, which opened in the Fitzwilliam hotel in Dublin 2, in early 2018, is led by Dubliner Andy McFadden. McFadden returned from London, where he was executive head chef at Pied à Terre, to open Glovers Alley. Speaking to The Irish Times at the time, McFadden said: “I am extremely lucky and extremely proud that since I’ve been a head chef I’ve always had a Michelin star.”
Four years on, he has realised that ambition again, on home turf this time. “It’s incredible. We’ve been working towards this. The first couple of years were incredibly difficult. It feel like it’s the right time now,” he said. “We are in a taxi on the way back from Bastible, me, my manager and my sommelier, we went to congratulate them.”
