‘1,000 bookings in 20 minutes’ – The impact of a Michelin star
We are just days away from finding out the 2026 selection for the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland.
The best chefs from across the country will descend on Dublin on Monday, to see if they have earned one, two or three stars this year.
Last year saw 22 restaurants join the esteemed list of restaurants in the country to hold a Michelin star.
Among them were Tom Waters, at Gorse in Cardiff, and Mark Poynton at Caistor Hall in Norwich.
Both chefs are at different stages in their careers. Tom previously worked at restaurants such as The Square, Bonhams and The Fat Duck, before launching his first solo venture in May 2024.
Meanwhile, Mark has around two decades more experience in the industry than Tom, formerly holding a Michelin star at his now-closed restaurant Alimentum.
But for both, hearing their name called as holding a Michelin star in February 2025 at the ceremony in Glasgow provided a huge, instant, boost to their businesses.
“Michelin itself as a guide, not including the star, is the most important guide and will always be the most important guide,” Mark told The Staff Canteen.
“Anybody that says any different is talking absolute nonsense.
“The metrics of that are definitely measurable.
“On the night in Glasgow, I gave Sam Carter (chef owner at Restaurant 22 and Margaret’s) my phone, because we'd been invited so obviously we were hopeful we were going to get a star.
“When I took my phone back off Sam 20 minutes after I got off the stage, I had over 1,000 notifications for bookings for the restaurant there and then.
“That's immeasurable against anything else.
“If Jay Rayner comes into your restaurant, you don’t get that. That’s how big it is.”
Overnight impact
While Mark had experienced the feeling in the past of holding a Michelin star, for Tom, it was new territory.
His restaurant had only been open for a few months, before it too saw an astronomical boost in interest.
“The impact is huge. You see it overnight,” he said.
“We're a 20-cover restaurant in Cardiff. At the time we had two of us in the kitchen - myself and Ollie O'Toole, junior sous chef - and we had two front of house.
“Overnight it just exploded. We needed an extra two chefs, an extra front of house.
“We'd gone from being half full throughout the week, especially midweek, to being completely fully booked every single service.
“I think from last February - when we got the star - till now, I think we've had maybe one or two services that haven't been fully booked.
“That is the power of Michelin and it's why it's still the most respected guide in the world by quite a distance, I think.”
Historic Michelin star
Not only was it Tom’s first Michelin star, but it was also an historic moment for the city of Cardiff. The Welsh capital had never before been home to a Michelin-starred restaurant.
That was always Tom’s goal, when he decided to use all his previous high-level kitchen experience and put it into his own place.
“I'd be lying if I said it wasn't on our radar to be the first (in Cardiff),” he said.
“As a Cardiff boy, it fills me with so much pride. It means the world that we were the first to get it.
“When we got that email two weeks before from Michelin to say we were invited to the ceremony - obviously you want to be excited, but you don't really know for sure until you get there.
“That day in Glasgow, to be honest, was horrendous - until our name got called.
“My wife and I were out for lunch and deliberately thought we'd pick something quite low key.
“So we were sat at the counter having our lunch. And I turn around and Claude Bosi walks in.
“And then two minutes later, Clare Smyth walks in and then Brett Graham walks in, and then Tom Kerridge walks in. And I'm thinking, oh God - I want to be anywhere else right now.
“And then an ex-colleague of mine, Josh Cutress from the Harwood Arms walked in and noticed me straight away and congratulated me. And I was thinking: oh no, stop. We don't know anything.
“I'm getting a bit emotional… when you're there and you're in the room and they call Michelin star goes to Gorse in Cardiff, there's no feeling like it.”
He added: “I remember Mark Birchall saying to me afterwards, three stars is amazing, but nothing will compare to when they call your name the first time.
“It is extraordinary, the feeling that you get from the validation.
“I know you shouldn’t be after these sorts of things, but you work so hard your whole career thinking that you can do it, you worked in all these places and to get one for your own name means the world, it really does.”
Follow our dedicated Michelin 2026 page and stay close to The Staff Canteen website and socials from Monday, February 9 for all the latest from Dublin as it happens.
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‘1,000 bookings in 20 minutes’ – The impact of a Michelin star
