What the Michelin green star is and which restaurants have earned it
Food — di Elisabetta Scuri
With the 2021 Michelin guide, the green star was introduced — a prestigious recognition for restaurateurs active on the sustainability front.
What the Michelin green star is and which restaurants have earned it
With the 2021 Michelin guide, the green star was introduced — a prestigious recognition for restaurateurs active on the sustainability front.
It is now clear that attention to environmental and social sustainability is required in every field. This is confirmed by the latest decision from the French company Michelin, which since 1900 has been the author of the eponymous guide for travellers, now in its 66th edition in 2021. Alongside the customary stars awarded to restaurants worthy of a stop, a detour or an entire journey, another type of recognition has been introduced: the green star.
To decide who to award it to, the judges evaluated aspects such as respect for the environment, methods of sourcing raw ingredients, the fight against food waste, proper waste management, energy impact and work ethics.
The list of chefs and restaurants awarded the Michelin green star
- Chef Mariangela Susigan, Gardenia, Caluso (TO);
- Chef Alfonso ed Ernesto Iaccarino, Don Alfonso 1890, Sant'Agata Due Golfi (NA);
- Chef Massimo Bottura, Osteria Francescana, Modena (MO);
- Chef Davide Oldani, D'O, Cornaredo (MI);
- Chef Caterina Ceraudo, Dattilo, Strongoli (KR);
- Chef Piergiorgio Siviero, Lazzaro 1915, Pontelongo (PD);
- Chef Antonello Sardi, Virtuoso Gourmet, San Piero a Sieve (FI);
- Chef Pietro Leemann, Joia, Milan (MI);
- Chef Fabrizio Caponi, l'Ciocio, Suvereto (LI);
- Chef Igor Macchia, Casa Format, Orbassano (TO);
- Chef Franco Malinverno, Caffè La Crepa, Isola Dovarese (CR);
- Chef Roberto Tonola, Lanterna Verde, Villa di Chiavenna (SO);
- Chef Norbert Niederkofler, St. Hubertus, San Cassiano (BZ).
Federica Pellegrini, Michelin ambassador, announces the winners
"The green star goes to those chefs who have been able to combine rustic, farm-based authenticity with creativity," explains the international director of Michelin, Gwendal Poullennec. "The Michelin guide wants to serve as a sounding board to make the general public aware of the commitment shown by chefs who have made sustainable choices, because their ideas, their methods and their skills foster awareness across an entire sector and help to create an idea of sustainable gastronomy that could tomorrow become a revolution and a movement." To contribute to this revolution, LifeGate recipes also feature a sustainability index.
The winners were announced by swimming champion Federica Pellegrini, Michelin ambassador. "I was absolutely delighted to discover how committed Michelin is to safety and the environment," she said, having been chosen to embody the concept of "performances built to last" — precisely the kind we need to strive for, in a society now accustomed to disposability, if we truly want to preserve all that is beautiful in the world.