To thunderous applause, 33-year-old Louis Linster was awarded the title of “chef of the year” 2024 by the Gault&Millau gastronomic guide this week. The son of the famous Luxembourg chef won over the yellow-covered guide for his perseverance, creativity, consistency and evolution.
“I’m very happy,” commented the Louis, who took over the family business in Frisange in 2019. A few months later, he was already making a name for himself by winning the “young chef of the year” 2021 award from the same guide. He has admitted to seeing the effect of this award, and is expecting a further boost from the prize he received on 23 October. Was it a surprise? “Not really,” he confided afterwards.
His mother made no secret of her emotion when the prize was announced: “I’m very happy, and it just goes to show that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” she said with a smile. “What I’m really pleased about is that the culinary arts and gastronomy are now in good hands with our young people.”
The award was accompanied by an increase in the restaurant’t rating to 17/20, propelling it into the club of the best-rated restaurants in Luxembourg alongside Ma Langue Sourit, La Distillerie, Fani and Mosconi.
Youth and innovation in the spotlight
The 2024 list in the gastronomic guide seems to reflect the fresh air that has been blowing through the Luxembourg gastronomic scene in recent months. Clovis Degrave, who has just opened the highly acclaimed Grünewald Chef’s Table opposite his other address, L’Hostellerie du Grünewald, was voted “young chef of the year.” Chef Morris Clip’s Specto restaurant, which opened last September in the La Belle Étoile Gang food court, won over the guide’s inspectors as “discovery of the year.”
Lisa Steffen’s BAC, in Pfaffenthal, was named “bar of the year.” Manzoku, now firmly moored in Belair, was named “hip of the year,” a prize awarded to establishments with an original concept and atmosphere in the country. To the south, chef Fernando Andreu’s Fevi Gaudium restaurant came out on top as “Mediterranean restaurant of the year.”
The big names were also praised, such as Ma Langue Sourit, where Paul Bungert was voted “pâtissier of the year.” At Mosconi, Olivier Petit was voted “sommelier of the year,” while at Guillou Campagne the mother-daughter duo of Lysiane and Katell Guillou were named “hostesses of the year.”
Local roots
This is the fifth time in a row that Gault&Millau has published a 100% Luxembourg edition. Active in this market for more than 20 years, the guide highlights its local roots with a host of special distinctions, such as the selection of the best chocolate-makers and the “stars of the moselle” wine-growers. The “restaurant de terroir” prize was also awarded to Becher Gare, a restaurant that works with many local producers.
In all, 141 Luxembourg establishments are included in this new edition of the guide, including 23 new entries. Alongside the paper guide, a mobile application and website boast more than 30,000 monthly visits in Luxembourg.
“We have already pre-sold 8,500 Gault&Millau guides in Luxembourg. By way of comparison, we sell 30,000 copies in Belgium,” said an enthusiastic Marc Declerck, CEO of Gault&Millau Benelux. For him, there is no question of drawing a line under the little yellow book that attracted so much attention on Monday 23 October at the Parc Hôtel Alvisse.
This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.