Australian chef Curtis Stone’s Los Angeles restaurant Maude has been awarded his first ever Michelin star in the 2019 California Michelin Guide.
The chef opened the restaurant, named after his paternal grandmother, in 2014. He is also behind LA’s butchery and meat-focused restaurant Gwen.
Degustation-only restaurant Maude originally based its menus around a singular seasonal ingredient, and shifted direction early last year to focus on wine regions of the world, including Western Australia’s Margaret River region recently.
Stone received the news on a trip to Australia where he is best known for his role as an ambassador for Coles supermarkets. He said he and the Maude team are already striving for a second star.
“It’s an exciting moment for us, because while we’re super happy with what we’ve just achieved and want to celebrate, we all can’t wait to get back in the kitchen and do even better,” Stone said in a statement.
The current Californian edition of the prestigious Michelin restaurant guide is the first for the American state in almost a decade. Other American city-based editions include New York City, Chicago and Washington. Originally from France, the guide’s “inspectors” award restaurants one to three stars.
