There was the usual joy and frustration this year, as Michelin proved its little red book still had the power to surprise.

Daniel Clifford at Midsummer House was the only new restaurant to win a second star, despite establishments like Marcus Wareing's P‚trus, Tom Aikens and the five-AA-rosette Orrery being hotly tipped for the next level.

There were no new three-star awards, but 17 restaurants claimed their first. In London, this included Alan Yau's dim sum restaurant Yauatcha in Soho, the second property in his portfolio to receive a star.

Yau told Caterer: "I was very surprised. Yauatcha is a focused proposition, it's a fairly quick affair and I've always seen the image of a Michelin star as a much more formal thing. From the food side we want to do the best dim sum, so it must be on that basis we've been rewarded."

Michelin also awarded a star to Marlon Abela's modish Umu in Mayfair after only five months in operation. It was joined by Sketch and Rhodes Twenty Four.

It was a good year for Birmingham, where Jessica's was rewarded with its first star, as was Simpson's, which last year relocated from Kenilworth to Edgbaston. "It's a dream come true - we've only been open 15 months and it's my first head chef job," said Jessica's Glynn Purnell. "It's the icing on the cake."

Further north, the Lake District now has four Michelin-starred restaurants after the Samling in Ambleside and L'Enclume in Grange-over-Sands, both in Cumbria, were rewarded.

In the Cotswolds, Martin Blunos reasserted his reputation at the Lygon Arms with a first star, and Martin Burge chalked up a similar accolade at Whatley Manor in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

Not everybody went up, however, with seven restaurants losing their one-star status.

London's Zaika, McClements in Twickenham and L'Oranger in Westminster all lost stars. In Wales, Carlton House in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, lost its star, as did the Chesil Rectory in Winchester.



Michelin Stars 2005


Going Up

One star
- The Samling, Ambleside, Cumbria
- Jessica's, Birmingham
- Simpson's, Birmingham
- The Goose, Britwell Salome, Oxfordshire
- The Lygon Arms, Broadway, Worcestershire
- Bohemia, Channel Islands, Jersey
- The New Angel, Dartmouth, Devon
- L'Enclume, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria
- Box Tree, Ilkley, West Yorkshire
- Whatley Manor, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
- Drakes, Ripley, Surrey
- Sawyards, Storrington, West Sussex
- Rhodes Twenty Four, City of London
- Assaggi, Kensington, London
- Sketch, Mayfair, London
- Umu, Mayfair, London
- Yauatcha, Soho, London


Two stars
Midsummer House, Cambridge


Going Down

One star
- Zaika, Kensington, London
- McClements, Twickenham, London
- L'Oranger, St James's, London
- Carlton House, Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys
- Chesil Rectory, Winchester, Hampshire
- Fleur de Sel in Storrington (now one-star Sawyards in Storrington)
- Simpson's in Kenilworth (now one-star Simpson's in Birmingham)