In 2026, the Green Star was awarded to 41 restaurants across Austria. For many, it marked their first major recognition from the Michelin Guide since the legendary French restaurant guide returned to Austria nationwide. But now, the unmistakable green symbol beside the restaurants’ names has vanished from Michelin’s website. The award has been discontinued – not only in Austria, but worldwide. “We feel abandoned,” wrote The Guardian recently, quoting leading British chefs who had invested heavily in the accolade. In Austria, however, the response sounds rather different.
Criticism of the Selection Process
The comparatively high number of Austrian restaurants honoured for their sustainable practices reflected the country’s strong shift toward regional sourcing and environmentally conscious cuisine. Among them was the restaurant run by the Sicher family, tucked away in an idyllic corner of southern Carinthia. Chef Michael Sicher has long pushed the concept of sustainability beyond the expected. His fish-focused fine dining restaurant relies on its own produce and carefully selected regional ingredients. Twenty-four fish ponds are fed by a mountain stream, the house char caviar is harvested live and with minimal stress directly from the farm, and even exotic culinary herbs come from the restaurant’s own garden.
In principle, Sicher considers the Green Star an excellent idea. “But the way it was implemented simply wasn’t right,” the Carinthian chef tells us. “I criticised the entire process from the very beginning.” So what exactly was the problem? “The award is based on a questionnaire that restaurants fill out themselves. Occasionally there might be a phone call, but that’s about it. Nobody actually comes to the restaurant to see firsthand who or what they are awarding.”
Whether the simplified evaluation process stemmed from staffing limitations or budget constraints, the lack of transparency had already drawn criticism from restaurateurs internationally. “And rightly so,” says Sicher. In its current form, he argues, the initiative often felt less like a serious effort to support sustainable gastronomy and more like a marketing-driven response to the sustainability trend.
Recognition Means Visibility
Despite his criticism, Sicher says the award still mattered. “Of course we were happy to receive it,” he explains. “For us, awards primarily mean visibility — and in Michelin’s case, especially visibility among international guests who actively look for this kind of distinction.” For some time now, however, Michelin users have no longer been able to search specifically for Green Star restaurants on the guide’s website — a significant setback for businesses that had built part of their profile around the accolade. For Sicher, though, the disappearance of the category feels less like a loss and more like confirmation of the concerns he had raised about the selection process all along. The sudden removal of the Green Star category was handled with similar opacity. After all, Michelin had still awarded new Green Stars in Canada just two weeks earlier. In its place, Michelin is now introducing the editorial concept “Mindful Voices,” intended to spotlight individuals pioneering new approaches within the hospitality industry.
A format with potential, Sicher believes, “but only if the approach itself changes.”
