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The PACA region scored high in the Michelin 2022 rating of French restaurants, revealed during a star-studded ceremony held in Cognac on March 23rd

Now 3-stars: Villa Madie

writes journalist Stephanie Curtis.

Four restaurants of France’s southeast stepped up to one-star status, two others attained two stars, and, in one of the evening’s big surprises, the ultimate three-star rating was awarded to Dimitri Droisneau, chef of the Villa Madie overlooking the blue waves of the Mediterranean from Cassis. The only other chef to receive the coveted third star this year was Arnaud Donckele for Plénitude at Paris’s Cheval Blanc hotel.

The four restaurants which obtained one star are:

Villa La Coste

-Hélène Darroze à Villa La Coste (Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade) 

-La Bastide de Cajpelongue (Bonnieux)

-Ceto (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin)

-Une Table au Sud (Marseille) 

The new 2 stars:

-Le Blue Bay ( Monaco)

-Duende (Nimes)  (with a duo of chefs guided by Pierre Gagnaire (3 stars Paris)

This annual event, a sort of academy awards of restaurants, was held outside of Paris for the first time in the Michelin red guide’s long history, in an effort perhaps to “decentralize” its focus.

The city of Cognac, birthplace of Francois 1er and home of what is arguably the planet’s most prestigious and refined spirit, hosted some 200 chefs, 100 journalists, and innumerable other guests during three days of vineyard and cellar visits, tastings, and gastronomy offered by the great houses of Cognac, including Hennessy, Remy Martin, and Martell.

Anticipation and angst among an ocean of white-jacketed chefs positioned in the front rows of Cognac’s L’Avant Scène theater on Tuesday evening floated in the air just before the kick-off of the ceremony, but they quickly gave way to the emotion and joy of the chefs called up on the stage to receive their stars.

In Provence, there are now some 90 restaurants boasting at least one star in Michelin, which revered or detested, is the granddaddy of restaurant guides. For the full list of winners, go to:

https://guide.michelin.com/fr/fr/article/michelin-star-revelation/guide-michelin-france-2022-toutes-les-nouvelles-etoiles

After nearly two years of Covid 19, severely impacting restaurant activity, this year’s Michelin ceremony was a harbinger of a return to normal and proof of the resiliency of the French fine-dining sector.