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TV chef Kerridge tips restaurant with hygiene issues for third Michelin star

Oscar EdwardsBBC Wales
News imageGetty Images Tom Kerridge in a white t-shirt and wearing a black chef's apron. There are people walking in the background. He is standing in a Formula One paddock.Getty Images
Tom Kerridge holds two Michelin stars for the The Hand & Flowers, making it the first pub in the UK to achieve such a feat

Tom Kerridge has backed a Welsh restaurant to be awarded three stars in this year's upcoming Michelin Guide.

The celebrity chef said "all the buzz" was around Gareth Ward, chef patron of Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms in Ceredigion, which was recently given a one-star hygiene rating.

Becoming the first restaurant in Wales to earn three stars would be a defining moment on the Welsh culinary scene.

The Michelin Guide recommends restaurants and hotels worldwide, with its iconic star rating signifying exceptional food quality.

Kerridge, a Michelin-starred chef himself, made the comments on Instagram about the upcoming ceremony which takes place in Dublin on 9 February.

"The big talk - is there going to be any new three stars?" he said.

"All the buzz is Gareth Ward at the Ynyshir Hall."

The restaurant, currently Wales' only two-Michelin star restaurant, recently made the headlines after being awarded a one-star hygiene rating.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said this score means "major improvement" is necessary.

But Ward said the restaurant was working "at the highest standard in the world" and doing "something different".

News imageGetty Images Giles Coren attends the press night performance of "Opening Night" at The Gielgud Theatre on March 26, 2024 in London, England. He wears a blue suit jacket and a pink shirt. It is a head and shoulders shot.Getty Images
Restaurant inspectors need to modernise, according to critic Giles Coren

Kerridge's comments come after food critic Giles Coren said Michelin-starred restaurants should not have to abide by normal health and safety rules.

The writer previously claimed inspectors needed to "modernise" adding that high-end restaurants were "a different sort of world".

News imageThe gated entrance to Ynshir restaurant. A black cast iron gate leads up a drive. On the wall is a bronze coloured sign with the restaurant's name on it.
Chef Gareth Ward said he was "not embarrassed" by the one-star hygiene rating at his restaurant

Kerridge also mentioned Vraic, in Guernsey, as one to watch in this year's Michelin Guide.

The restaurant is helmed by Nathan Davies, who links the menu "to his Welsh upbringing with flecks of Welsh ingredients," according to the restaurant's website.

"I think those restaurants are going to be the two to watch this year," said Kerridge.

There are currently seven restaurants in Wales that have been awarded a Michelin star.

Ynyshir, in Machynlleth, sits at the top of that list with two, while a further six restaurants currently hold one.

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