What Michelin stars mean for Australia; and, last chance to head to Italy

Hi there friends, my apologies for the delay getting the Food + Travel Edit to you this week – I’ve been in Adelaide for the launch of Australia’s first Michelin restaurant guide, covering South Australia, and wanted to wait for the results before sending this through. I have all the news and analysis of that evening below, thrown together in a mildly hungover state, so please excuse any typos. It was an amazing event, and it really does feel like Australian restaurants – or at least, South Australian restaurants – have hit the big time.  

A few months ago, New Zealand got its first Michelin restaurant guide. And now, Australia has the same. We have Michelin stars, an incredible thing to consider for those of us who have been dining in Michelin-rated restaurants for years now and are aware of the high esteem in which that guide is held around the world.

This is global recognition for South Australian chefs and restaurateurs, and a way for all of Australia to show the world, hey, we have something amazing here. You should come check it out.

This guide could have been Australia-wide, except Tourism Australia baulked at Michelin’s asking price, and turned in down. Michelin works on a pay-to-play basis these days, supplementing its waning income from guidebook sales by having national or regional governments pay to have its restaurant inspectors cover the local area.

So while the money was too much for Tourism Australia, it wasn’t too much for SA Tourism, who cheekily – and cleverly – jumped in and had Michelin pay their state a private visit. And now the first Michelin-starred restaurants in our country are all in South Australia. Smart.

I was at the award ceremony in Adelaide on Wednesday night, and this is what I learned from the night, and from the results.

South Australia done good

Twelve stars, spread across 11 restaurants, is a great result for South Australia. In New Zealand, 15 restaurants were awarded stars, so for a single state to go close to that is an achievement I’m sure SA will be proud of.

The state has always had an excellent dining scene, but hasn’t really been able to show that to the world, with no coverage from a nationally or globally recognised award system. That has all changed now, with the wide-reaching recognition Michelin provides, and hopefully there will now be a groundswell of interest from domestic and international visitors to pay SA a visit.

Interestingly, only a handful of the starred restaurants are in Adelaide. That’s unusual – most Michelin-rated restaurants in other countries tend to be found in the major cities.

But South Australia has so many amazing wine regions that are within easy reach of the capital that it’s no surprise that many of its best restaurants can be found out there.

Adelaide Hills was a big winner, with LVN, Anvers and Aptos, though Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale also both have Michelin-starred restaurants now.

White guys win again

Sitting in the audience on Wednesday night, I was struck by one thing in particular as I watched all the winning chefs take the stage: that’s a whooooole lotta white dudes.

The stage was overwhelmingly occupied by men, though it was most notable in the starred restaurants, in which Alanna Sapwell was the only woman among 10 other dudes.

As with New Zealand, Michelin is clearly making no efforts towards diversity in its restaurant selections for the coveted stars. The skew towards men is obviously a reflection of hospitality as a whole, but surely a key way to encourage more women into the industry is to reward them with recognition. That didn’t come from Michelin.

Euro-style tasting menus win again

Again, much like New Zealand, there was very little diversity in the menus from restaurants awarded stars. We’re talking tasting menus, and often very expensive tasting menus, long meals of fancy food that pairs European technique with local produce, cooked with skill and plated with an eye for colour and creativity.

That’s all fine. But it’s also very predictable, and a restrictive parameter for awarding food.

A great dining experience surely doesn’t have to be a multi-course menu of chef’s choice cuisine that’s full of tweezered flower petals and fluffy foams, though that’s what Michelin has tended to reward.

Of the starred restaurants, only Arkhe serves an a la carte menu, though Skillogalee also does a two-course prix fixe menu at lunchtimes. Australians would also be well aware of the huge Asian influence we have on our dining scene here, though none of the restaurants with stars are distinctly Asian, and again it’s really only Arkhe that embraces the diverse flavours and ingredients that most of us in Australia enjoy on a daily basis.

Everything else was modern Australian, utilising European techniques.

Bib Gourmand is where it’s at

The Michelin-starred restaurants all deserved their honours. That said, I think there’s just as much excitement, if not more, to be gleaned from the “Bib Gourmand” classification, which according to Michelin is supposed to recognise restaurants that offer particularly good value, though in practice it seems to be used as a stepping stone towards achieving a star.

Sixteen restaurants achieved Bib Gourmand status, and there’s far more diversity in this list.

I particularly like Parwana, the Afghan restaurant in Adelaide, though Africola, Noi Vietnamese, Golden Boy and La Popular Taqueria are all great restaurants that deserve to be recognised.

A few other entries stood out in this category, too: Fino at Seppeltsfield is excellent, Part Time Lover in Adelaide is great, and Sunny’s Pizza rocks. The starred restaurants will get all the attention, but if I was travelling to SA soon, these are the sort of places I would be seeking out. 

SA wineries serve great food

Let’s take a moment to shout out the amazing restaurants housed in South Australian wineries. We’ve got Hentley Farm in the Barossa, LVN at Bird in Hand in Adelaide Hills, Anvers in the same region, Maxwell in McLaren Vale, and Skillogalee in the Clare Valley, all of which were awarded Michelin stars. There were a host of inclusions in the Bib Gourmand category too, which makes it clear: serve SA food with SA wine and you’re onto a good thing.

More states to follow?

I spoke to Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin Guide, after the ceremony and asked if there are moves in place to extend Michelin’s reach in Australia to other states. South Australia only has an exclusive deal with the company for one year, which means by this time in 2027 other states could join the party if they’re willing to stump up the cash.

Poullennec wouldn’t be drawn on whether that’s likely to happen, though I will be very surprised if Australia’s relationship with Michelin begins and ends with South Australia.

COME TO ITALY WITH ME

As flagged earlier this week, I have recently launched an incredible new active food tour with World Expeditions, happening in September next year. It’s called Alps to Aperitivo, an 11-day journey through Northern Italy that takes in hikes through the Dolomites, lunches at wineries and with cheesemakers, an exclusive dinner in the Valpolicella wine region, a private boat trip on Lake Garda, and a cooking class in Bologna. The tour is limited to 14 places and more than half the spots have already been booked. If you’re interested in coming along, find all the details and pricing here, and jump on it as soon as you’re able.

THINGS I’M LOVING THIS WEEK

• Victoria is surely Australia’s best state for a rail adventure, particularly given how cheap the V/Line fares are right now. Check out my journey through the state’s foodie hotspots here.
• Can we talk about how lucky Adelaide is? Having three of Australia’s best wine regions – the Barossa, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale – within a short drive of the CBD is ridiculous.
• Australia’s first new airport project in more than 50 years, Western Sydney International, is poised to open very soon, with first flights less than a fortnight away. Have you booked yet? And was it cheaper than SYD?

THINGS I’M NOT LOVING

• This story of a Qantas flight from Rome to Perth being diverted because of a bed bug infestation is the stuff of nightmares. How the hell does this happen?
• There are more strikes planned by staff at Sydney Airport, which is interesting timing given the impending opening of WSI.
• Rex has suspended its flights from Sydney to Port Macquarie and Orange, due to issues with fuel cost, which is a massive blow to the regions, which depend on the likes of Rex to bring in tourists and help locals commute.