DUBLIN'S Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is one of only two restaurants to be elevated to the status of two stars in the 23rd edition of the Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland.
The stars are awarded by the guide as a mark of "exceptional gastronomic achievement" and this year Guilbaud joins London's Pied a Terre in this select band of restaurants, which numbers no more than 10 in these islands.
This is the first time Michelin has bestowed more than a single star on an Irish restaurant, and Mr Guilbaud was understandably delighted. "I was astonished. The staff are over the moon. It's great, I think, for Dublin and for Ireland, but it's only the start", he told The Irish Times yesterday.
"I think this shows that we are recognised as a nation with good food and service. Ireland is no longer a country where, if you visit and want to eat well, you need to bring your food with you.
It is, likely that Mr Guilbaud's elevation signals a continuation of the change of approach which has characterised the guide over the last three years. Following protests from British restaurateurs, who felt their efforts received rather less attention than their counter parts in France, Michelin considerably upped the number of one and two star awards while reserving the ultimate accolade of three stars for a quartet of restaurants all of them characterised by expensive, classic French cooking.
Indeed, this bias towards French style, cooking continues to draw criticism of the Michelin Guide from restaurateurs, and the fact that it is Patrick Guilbaud's quintessentially French cooking which has earned elevation will do little to draw the criticism of those who feel Michelin has too much regard for luxurious surroundings and cuisine franchise.
But what is truly important about the first Irish two star restaurant is the fact that it demonstrates that Michelin is finally beginning to pay attention to the culinary revolution in Irish restaurants.
The great work of chefs such as Michael Clifford, Bill Patterson and William O'Callaghan of Cork, Gerry Galvin and Stefan Matz of Galway, Kevin Thornton, Derry Clarke and Conrad Gallagher in Dublin, and Noel McMeel and Robbie Millar in the North deserves accolades, for these are just some of the cooks who have pioneered and invented the new Irish cooking. As the torch bearer who has demanded to be taken seriously, and who has been taken seriously, Mr Guilbaud has set a powerful example.