“With the recognition comes more scrutiny”: What it really means to earn a spot in the Michelin Guide
We spoke with five of this year’s winners to see how they’re feeling
The stars have been awarded and a fresh batch of Toronto restaurants has officially joined the Michelin club. Additions to this year’s list include some first-time Bib Gourmand recipients and newly starred spots, plus one standout that earned itself a second star.
Related: Toronto’s Michelin Guide was just updated. Here are all the new starred restaurants
The annual Michelin Guide announcement is a buzzy moment that fuels the city’s dining discourse and sends people scrambling to land reservations. But, for the recently awarded kitchens, the reality is more complex. We spoke with five of this year’s winners to find out what the industry’s most prestigious accolade really means to them.
Eric Chong, Akin
First-time Michelin star and Michelin Young Chef award
“Our ethos won’t change. The star is recognition of what we’ve already been doing, not a reason to reinvent ourselves. Day to day, we’ll keep cooking with intention, telling stories through food and focusing on the guests. The only change is the recognition itself, making us more known to Ontarians and hopefully international guests and travellers as well.
“It won’t change how I cook. My food has always come from my heritage and my personal story. If anything, the star gives me more freedom to keep pushing forward, because it’s proof that staying true to my vision works.
“Expectations are higher now—no question. With the recognition comes more scrutiny. Some guests may arrive looking for flaws or even hoping we stumble. That is the reality of being placed on a bigger stage. Instead of letting that fear take over, I use it as fuel. It keeps me and my team sharp, reminds us that consistency matters as much as creativity does, and pushes us to prove every night why the star was awarded in the first place.”
Daniel Hadida, Pearl Morissette
Two Michelin stars
“Losing stars is not something I want to face any time soon. With that said, nothing in a restaurant should be done for critics or acclaim. Everything we do is to delight our guests and support our team and the agricultural community. In most high-level endeavours, this is a balancing act of incremental improvement informed by exponential effort. We are obsessed with hospitality and compelled toward excellence of craft.
“Nothing changes in the short term. We have been working toward two stars, and we got here based on the work of the past year and the constant drive to set goals and push ourselves.
Related: Where Pearl Morissette chef Eric Robertson eats in Hamilton
“Awards and acclaim create an aura. Our job is to do our best and communicate our story well. We are most effective at this when people engage with us directly. Our commitment is to be as intentional as possible and to hold ourselves to a high standard. Anything beyond that is immaterial.
“This recognition won’t change the way we cook. That would be a violation of our intention. The mission of the restaurant is to express the bounty of a place in a pure and creative form. We use inspiration from producers and let our imaginations run wild to build menus. This is fundamental to the business and isn’t something to be changed or limited.”
Ben Denham, Sundays
First-time green Michelin star and first-time Bib Gourmand award
“Given that we haven’t even been open for six months, Sundays is still settling in. That being said, we would never change the core foundation on which it was built: honest, simple food and drink, driven by responsibly sourced ingredients and warm, genuine hospitality.
“We received these awards for being who we are. Naturally, these things increase traffic, which adds pressure on the staff and systems. But remaining true to our vision and making guests happy are still our only goals.
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“That said, we can’t change the expectations of a first-time guest. Having been through this with White Lily Diner, we know that there will be guests expecting us to be something we’re not. Ultimately, the recognition is for who we are as a restaurant, not what a guest thinks we are.
“Our kitchen has always been rooted in freedom. Each week, we decide what to cook based on what’s available from our farm and the surrounding community. I couldn’t imagine straying from that even a little. The fact that guests continue to be excited by our seasonal evolution is about as liberating as it gets.”
Rafael Covarrubias, 7 Enoteca
First-time Bib Gourmand award
“What stays the same is our intention to be a great restaurant in every way—that includes the concept, the food and the team that brought it all to life. What may shift is the exposure. We’re well known in Oakville, but now we hope more guests from outside the area will come and discover us.
“As a restaurant, we already operate under constant pressure to deliver the best possible experience for our guests. Rather than adding more pressure, we see this recognition as inspiration to keep pushing forward on our journey.
“We’ll keep doing what we’ve always done: working closely with local farms and cooking the best food we can. The recognition doesn’t change our approach; it just reinforces our commitment to staying true to who we are at 7 Enoteca.”
Ricky Casipe and Olivia Simpson, Ricky and Olivia
First-time Bib Gourmand award
“What we really hope stays the same is how we’re seen by our peers and our community. We’ve always been a humble, mom-and-pop, DIY kind of restaurant—and that hasn’t changed. We don’t see this recognition as putting us above anyone; we just happened to be doing what we do best when the Michelin critics came in.
Related: What’s on the menu at Ricky and Olivia, a playful new restaurant and bottle shop in Leslieville
“We’ve always put pressure on ourselves—long before Michelin was even on our radar. Our goal has always been to be the best neighbourhood restaurant we can be: creative, approachable and fun while delivering professional, thoughtful hospitality. If Michelin recognized that organically, then we just have to keep doing what we do.
“One thing we’ve already noticed is how genuinely excited our regulars and local community are. It’s heartwarming to see how much the recognition means to them: they take pride in having known about this little hidden gem before the spotlight hit. Now it’s something they can share and show off to visiting friends.”
Deepi Harish is a Toronto-based writer with 20 years of experience crafting food, travel and lifestyle stories. She has a passion for uncovering unforgettable experiences both locally and around the world. Her work has appeared in Bon Appétit, The Huffington Post, Food Network, China Daily, Foodism, Escapism, Destination Toronto, re:porter, Toronto Life and more.
