With Michelin stars now hanging overhead in Palm Beach County, the emerging dining scene is about to become brighter.
Officials from the internationally recognized Michelin Guide recently announced its expansion into three Florida areas for 2025: Palm Beach County, greater Fort Lauderdale and the St. Petersburg-Clearwater regions. The guide already rates restaurants in Miami, Tampa and Orlando.
The ratings guide will expand statewide next year.
“It’s very good for Florida,” said Daniel Boulud, whose Café Boulud Palm Beach has consistently been named a top restaurant since its opening in 2003. “There is a lot of talent in Palm Beach County.”
Other area chefs say it’s about time that Palm Beach County is individually recognized.
“People tend to think of Miami when anyone says South Florida,” said Lindsay Autry, the chef behind Honeybelle at PGA National Resort. “Now, they’ll have a reason to consider Palm Beach and Broward as well. It puts us on the map.”
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Restaurants here have changed and are deserving of attention, Autry said.
“The reputation of Palm Beach, well, when I came here 16 years ago now, people told me, ‘You have to play it a little safe, go kind of simpler.’ I think people used to think of Palm Beach as your grandma’s Florida.”
Autry opened The Regional, an acclaimed restaurant on Okeechobee Boulevard in CityPlace before the pandemic. Cooking a Southern-inspired menu, she garnered three nominations for James Beard awards. That organization, based in New York, emphasizes chef achievements.
Despite its early success, The Regional closed in 2023 when labor and food costs skyrocketed after the pandemic.
That “grandma” resort town image with fine-dining, elegant, coat-and-tie restaurants is no longer the case, she said.
Boulud agreed. “Yes, Grandma’s Palm Beach was known for sleepy chefs. Now, Grandma has passed,” he said.
It’s a younger crowd dining out. “Everyone is getting into their trust funds,” he said, and wanting more when they dine out.
A roster of new chefs
Autry says the evolution here came with younger chefs and restaurateurs who’ve brought their unique visions of food and atmosphere to their restaurants and broken free of the “safe” zones.
She pointed out Rick Mace, former Café Boulud chef, who left fine dining to create Tropical Smokehouse in West Palm Beach. The authentic barbecue with specialty meats the chef butchers himself (and sometimes hunts) has earned national recognition.
Autry also named Palm Beach Gardens chefs Tim Lipman, of Coolinary Cafe, and Pushkar Marathe of Stage and Ela Curry Kitchen, as chefs who have elevated menu options and added energy to their dining rooms.
“They’ve made a difference,” Autry said. “Over time, we’ve brought new things to the table. We can lean into it now.”
But most of the credit lies with Clay Conley, she said. The chef who opened Buccan in 2011 brought a taste of urban restaurants with quality food in a more casual, upbeat setting. “He’s been the catalyst, the credit goes to him for the transformation,” Autry said.
Conley added Grato, a pizzeria, and Imoto, a sushi restaurant, as well as a sandwich shop to his coterie of restaurants, and is opening another Buccan in Coral Gables soon. He’s another multiple Beard Award nominee.
Marathe, who is opening a second Stage in Boca Raton next month, agreed that it’s time for Michelin to consider the county, as well as smaller restaurants that can’t meet the top standards Michelin require, yet produce great dining experiences.
“I think definitely the hard-working chefs more and more like mine are worthy of accolades. There are people like Jimmy Everett (Driftwood, Delray Beach) who are putting out great food.
“It’s great for tourism. It brings international visitors who want to check out the top restaurants when they travel.”
Michelin Guide’s roots
The Michelin Guide originated in France, where its dining rating system was created in 1900 by the tire company to promote restaurants, hotels and even gas stations worthy of a road trip.
It expanded with its three-star ratings, made by anonymous inspectors over multiple visits, throughout Europe. The guide and its inspectors crossed the Atlantic in 2005 to rank New York City restaurants. Other major cities followed.
Florida came to Michelin’s attention in 2022, after a partnership was launched between the company and Visit Florida, the state’s tourism board. Miami, Orlando and Tampa restaurants made the cut.
Palm Beach County’s Discover the Palm Beaches, its tourism marketing arm, contributed $180,000 to a pool of more than $1 million for two years to encourage the guide to rank restaurants in the tri-county area. That’s according to the chief inspector for the Michelin Guide North America, who, like all Michelin inspectors, maintains strict anonymity.
The money goes toward marketing and promoting the guide and the restaurants selected, the inspector said.
Michelin will send its inspectors to rank eateries statewide next year.
Boulud, who has four Michelin stars, one for each of his New York City restaurants, says it will be interesting to see if newcomers or old standards will be recognized.
Star standards have endured
Michelin’s chief inspector says that nothing has changed in the guidelines for ratings.
“The five criteria the inspectors use to evaluate a restaurant have remained the same since the guide’s very beginning.”
Those are: quality products, the harmony of flavors, the mastery of cooking techniques, the voice and personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine and consistency between each visit and through the menu as a whole.
Inspectors reward the use of local ingredients. And stars are awarded to restaurants, not the chef.
The stars translate to:
- One star: good quality food, good value, a very good restaurant in its category.
- Two stars: high quality cooking, excellent food, worthy of a detour.
- Three stars: exceptional cuisine, worth a special trip.
A new rating, a “Bib Gourmand,” named for the character of the Michelin Man in ads, goes to notable restaurants that don’t quite qualify for a star. They are, the inspector said, “good food for good value.”
The inspection process is shrouded in secrecy, with little known about inspectors “to maintain their anonymity and to protect the independence of their process.”
“Nevertheless,” the inspector said, “they are international, former professionals from the industry and share not only a deep expertise but also great curiosity and open-mindedness.”
“It puts us on a global map,” Marathe said. “In turn, more people in the seats brings more chefs to the area.”
But top chefs from around the country have been looking at Palm Beach since Florida became a destination during COVID.
‘The TK (Thomas Keller) effect’
Florida recently scored a huge prize.
Chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry in California is in talks to open a restaurant after renovations in West Palm Beach’s Phillips Point, the Palm Beach Daily News reported. Keller recently was in a deal to open in the Ta-boo location in Palm Beach but that deal is dead, the story said.
Phillips Point is owned by developer Stephen Ross and his company, Related Ross. It includes the former members-only Top of the Point restaurant, noted for its sweeping 360-degree view.
Keller’s reputation as one of only 14 three-star Michelin chefs in the country will be a coup, Marathe said.
“Ah, the TK effect,” he said, laughing. “He’ll elevate everything. It’s going to boost us.”
Keller has seven Michelin stars — three each for The French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., and Per Se in New York City, and one for the Surf Club in Miami.
Keller started here as a teen
Keller’s coming home, more or less: He got his start in kitchens as a teen growing up in Palm Beach.
A dishwasher at the Yacht Club, he eventually moved to a cook’s position. Working in restaurants from Rhode Island to New York to France eventually landed him in California where he bought The French Laundry in 1994. It shot to fame, earning the prestigious three stars annually since 2007.
Marathe thinks big names are important, but applauds the small eateries “doing amazing food” as well.
He gave an example: “I just had a great meal at Boia De — run by chefs Alex (Meyer) and Lucci (Lucciana Giangrande). It’s in Miami, not in a great location that would attract visitors otherwise. They came from a taco truck operation.
“They opened four years ago in a plaza with a laundromat next to them. He only has 30-50 seats. It’s near Little Haiti. Great food, service and wine list.”
He thinks it’s deserving of a Bib Gourmand at least.
“If you have a story, true to what it is, it’s worth recognition. I think our county has many like that that would qualify to be recognized.”
He mentions chef/owner Jimmy Everett of Driftwood in Delray Beach.
Everett says he’s not into chasing stars but is glad to see Michelin here.
“I think it’s great. We don’t have a local guide. We need some sort of standard; we have none,” he said. “It’s a great thing to have attention to our industry.”
It won’t change anything he does every day to win a star, he said.
“I’ve been there, played that game.”
He was executive sous chef in New York at Marea in Central Park South when it was awarded stars.
Not chasing stars
Chasing stars “can fog your mind and what your real purpose is,” Everett said. “I’ve seen that in star-struck chefs. It’s not just getting the stars, but keeping them, as consistency between visits from inspectors is crucial.”
The pressure is not worth it, he said.
“That’s all some chefs care about. For some it’s everything — I’ve heard of chefs committing suicide over losing stars. I’m past that ambition. I couldn’t sleep well if I had two Michelin stars.”
He says his motives are different — to create things that are real.
“It’s a struggle every day to be open for several years. I’m focused on keeping the restaurant open,” he said. “It can change in a second with things that are out of my control. I’ve seen more of it come when you’re not looking for it.”
At Café Boulud in Palm Beach, Christopher Zabita, the new chef since fall, is another who has worked at a Michelin-starred restaurant. He was at Victoria and Albert’s in Disney World, a one-star acclaimed restaurant.
He hopes to bring Café Boulud up to star ratings, and points to Joel Robuchon of Miami’s two-star L’Atelier as a goal. It’s the only Florida restaurant with more than one star.
(Robuchon has more than 32 total for his restaurants in France and the United States — the chef with the most stars globally.)
For his part, Zabita says there is work to be done at Cafe Boulud, though he thinks sometimes Michelin stars are “the luck of the draw.”
‘Organized chaos on a plate’
Improvements can be made in decor and refinement of service, he said. Inspectors consider those along with the food and emphasize consistency.
“The wine list is awesome,” he said.
So that leaves food.
The young chef calls his style “organized chaos on a plate.”
“I let the chips fall, no pun intended. My cooking style is a ball of energy and though it’s cliché, I cook from the heart. But I tend to break the rules.”
But he appreciates the classics that Boulud is noted for that has brought the restaurant recognition: Brittany Dover sole is one example. “If I took it off the menu, there would be an uprising among my guests.”
But he’s keen to add foods that don’t fit into a category. While he has Italian cuisine in his background, he dabbles in all others and is big on contrasts with flavors and texture. Technique pulls it all together.
Hamachi crudo exemplifies his style.
He describes the process: “Thinly sliced hamachi (a type of amberjack) is brushed with yuzu oil, finger lime and a touch of Palm Beach Salt Company flaky sea salt. We make a nage using Granny Smith apples, apple juice, lime, whole grain mustard, coriander and honey to fill the bottom of the bowl. Radishes and local greens from any of our favorite farms — Kai-Kai, Swank, Holman’s — garnish the dish.
“Finally, just as the dish is about to leave the kitchen, we pour hot, browned, black truffle butter over the fish. The butter is not intended to cook the fish but rather add a fatty, unctuous component.”
It’s chefs and dishes like these that have changed the local dining landscape, Autry said.
“I really feel in the past six or seven years, I started to notice a shift in the dining scene.
Now, Michelin is on the scene.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Autry said. “It validates us. We’ve come into our own.”
This story was originally published by Stet News Palm Beach, a WLRN News partner.
