The world’s best chefs in the world are a rare breed. They’re not just good at their craft, they’re also good at getting you to spend an obscene amount of money on food that would be considered a luxury in most places.
The Michelin star is undoubtedly the highest honor within the international culinary industry. Some people have gone as far as calling them “the Oscars of the culinary world”.Chefs all across the world dedicate their lives to earning just one coveted star in recognition of their excellence. But there are those select few who have managed to collect an astounding number of stars in their constellation of fine dining restaurants.
Chefs With The Most Michelin Stars
We take a look at the world’s most decorated Michelin star chefs, and why they are considered the best chefs in the world.
1. Alain Ducasse – 19 Michelin Stars
Source: Flickr
Synonymous with breaking Michelin stars records, Alain Ducasse currently holds 17 Michelin stars. This makes him the current living chef with the most Michelin stars in the world.
Considered by many to be one of the best chefs in the world, he’s built a business empire over the years with 36 restaurants spanning across the globe. He’s also one of only two chefs to hold 21 Michelin stars throughout his career and the first chef to own restaurants carrying three Michelin Stars in three cities.
In addition to being known for world-class French cuisine, Ducasse is the only chef on this list who has sent his food into space. In 2015, Ducasse sent meals to astronauts orbiting Earth aboard the International Space Station, an accomplishment that Ducasse said he viewed as conquering ‘ the final frontier (of cooking)’.
Dine at Alain Ducasse At The Dorchester
2. Pierre Gagnaire – 14 Michelin Stars
Another renowned French chef, Pierre Gagnaire has spent his 40-year career collecting Michelin stars. Growing up in his family’s Michelin-star kitchen, he received his first star when he was just 26 and hasn’t stopped since. This iconoclastic chef is said to be ‘at the forefront of the fusion cuisine movement’ by the Michelin guide, famous for tearing down the conventions of classic French cooking.Gagnaire’s eponymous flagship restaurant in Rue Balzac in Paris has maintained three Michelin stars for more than two decades, a true feat in the culinary world. Today he oversees 18 gastronomic restaurants around the world, including Sketch in London, one of Mayfair’s top Michelin star restaurants.
3. Martin Berasategui – 12 Michelin Stars
As the world’s third most decorated Michelin star chef, Martin Berasategui currently has twelve stars under his belt, more than any other Spanish chef. He’s also one of a select few chefs in the world who have two triple Michelin-starred restaurants to their name.
This exceptional Basque chef earned his first Michelin star at the age of 25 for his first restaurant, Restaurante Martin Berasategui. The celebrated restaurant was awarded a third Michelin Star in 2001 has been on the World’s 50 best restaurants list for 6 years.
Over the course of 44 years, Berasategui has opened three other Michelin-starred restaurants in Tenerife and Barcelona. He also owns six other restaurants around the world in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Costa Rica. He is considered to be a legend in the world of traditional Basque cuisine and one of the top chefs in the world.
4. Yannick Alleno – 10 Michelin Stars
Yannick Alleno directs eighteen restaurants across the world. His Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen is one of the oldest restaurants in Paris, situated in the Champs – Élysées gardens. It’s a constellation of Michelin stars, featuring three star-rated restaurants in the French Michelin Guide 2020. In 2020 Pavillon Ledoyen became the most star-rated independent establishment in the world.This French chef is not just about getting stars. Since 2013, Yannick Alléno has been carrying out research and development on French cuisine to the point of starting his own culinary movement, named Modern Cuisine. As part of his research, he closely studied sauces and even patented a technique, Extractions®. Yannick says that this process allows the concentration and perfection of flavours, providing them with texture, a long finish and minerality.
5. Anne-Sophie Pic – 8 Michelin Stars
Source: Wikipedia Commons
Let’s hear it for the ladies! Anne-Sophie Pic is the female chef with the most Michelin stars, holding eight stars across her five restaurants.
This French chef had no formal culinary training when she assumed leadership of her family’s restaurant Maison Pic after her father’s death in 1997. After earning three stars for the restaurant, Pic opened up a second restaurant, Restaurant Anne-Sophie Pic, which celebrates her family’s culinary lineage from Valence. It aims to demonstrate the inventive innovative spirit that, as the Michelin Guide itself says, “binds the history of the Pic family with that of French gastronomy.”
6.Gordon Ramsay – 7 Michelin Stars
Source: Flickr
Known for his volatile kitchen demeanour and exceptional British cuisine, Gordon Ramsay is arguably the most famous chef in the world. Although he’s been awarded 16 Michelin stars throughout his career, he currently holds seven. His signature restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, has held 3 stars since 2001, making it London’s longest-running three Michelin-starred restaurant.The Scottish born chef, restaurateur, and television personality is attached to 35 restaurants globally. He’s made his way onto television screens in just about every part of the English-speaking world, creating a highly successful empire. In 2019 Gordon Ramsay was the 35th highest-earning celebrity in the world on Forbes list; one up on Rihanna. As of 2020, Gordon Ramsay’s net worth is estimated at $220 million, most of which comes from his popular TV shows like Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares and Master Chef. Dine at Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill
7. Thomas Keller – 7 Michelin Stars
Source: Flickr
The Michelin guide might not be the ultimate honour amongst chefs in the United States, but Thomas Keller has gone about setting a fine example. He’s the most decorated chef in America, currently holding 7 stars. He’s also the only American chef to hold all six out of his total seven stars simultaneously. One of his five restaurants, three Michelin starred The French Laundry, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and was on two occasions deemed the best restaurant on the planet. Keller, a California native, is widely celebrated in America for his French-style cooking, and he has made a good name for himself in France. Safe to say he’s one of the best chefs in America.
8. Yoshihiro Murata – 7 Michelin Stars
With four restaurants across the world and 7 Michelin stars, this Japanese chef is a culinary icon has been promoting Japanese cuisine for nearly 50 years. Considered as the master of kaiseki cuisine, in 2020 he was named the recipient of the prestigious American Express Icon Award as part of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards programme. Murata is the third-generation owner of his family’s century-old three-Michelin-star ryotei [high-end Japanese restaurant], Kikunoi in Kyoto, where he pays tribute to his forefathers’ classic kaiseki cuisine through a fresh and modern approach.
Taking his expertise international, Murata’s latest venture is Tokimeite, an authentic Waygu restaurant in Mayfair. The expansion of his culinary empire into Europe is not the only sign his global success. Heston Blumenthal, another Michelin-starred chef on this list, studied under Murata in Japan when he was 30 years old. The famous British chef considers Murata to be an influence on his cooking style.
9. Seiji Yamamoto – 7 Michelin Stars
One of the most iconic Japanese chefs of the century, Seiji Yamamoto famously sent an eel for a CT scan to better understand its anatomy. Besides his commitment to understanding the science of cooking, he is known for blending the revered cooking traditions of kaiseki with modern molecular gastronomy techniques.
Since its opening, Yamamoto’s Tokyo restaurant Ryugin has become became a destination for other culinary geniuses, including Joël Robuchon. He now commands two overseas branches, one in Hong Kong and the other in Taipei, both of which have featured on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.As one of Japan’s gastronomic luminaries for more than a decade and a half, his cooking style aims to reflect the preciousness of Japanese delicacies, turning simple ingredients into works of art. In 2019 he was voted as the first-ever winner of the American Express Icon Award, a nod to his contribution of integrating avant-garde cooking with classic Japanese traditions.
10. Andreas Caminada – 7 Michelin Stars
Multi-award winning Swiss Chef, Andreas Caminada, started his career as a humble pastry chef. But at the young age of 26, he took over as tenant and chef de cuisine at Schloss Schauenstein, a historical castle restaurant in the Swiss Alps. Since then, the restaurant has achieved unparalleled success, having been awarded 3 Michelin stars and 19 Gault Millau points.Caminada owns 2 other Michelin-starred restaurants, IGNIV by Andreas Caminada at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz and Badrutt’s Palace-Hotel. The latter is only opened during winter and is run by Marcel Skibba, Caminada’s deputy at Schloss Schauenstein.
