On Monday morning, Luxembourg’s business leaders were seated in neat rows in the main hall of the Handelsbeurs. Regulars sat alongside newcomers: 
Kim de Dood: mission accomplished
It took just a few months. Having opened in June 2025, Le Lys has secured its first Michelin star on its very first appearance in the Guide. Kim de Dood, who honed his culinary skills in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur before returning to Luxembourg, has achieved a result that the Grand Duchy’s culinary community had been anticipating. “From day one, we really started at a very high level. This cuisine, which is unusual for Luxembourg, with its Luxembourgish foundations and the lovely Asian touch I’ve brought back from my experiences in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur – I think that really clicked,” explains the chef. He adds, in the heat of the moment: “It’s wonderful, we’re very proud, we’re very happy. We’ve worked hard for this.” Returning to Luxembourg was a natural choice for him. “It was really a life’s mission: to work all over the place and one day come back to do something special.”
Stéphanie Raimbault, general manager of Villa Pétrusse, pays tribute to the team’s collective effort. “The teams have worked so hard. A great deal of thought, countless trials, hours and hours of discussion about the dishes – a team that has given its all.” She sums it up: “Earning a Michelin star is a matter of endurance and discipline. Haute cuisine is about every plate, every moment, every guest, every day. It’s a wonderful celebration of our team’s resilience.”
The favourites are biding their time
Milan Brée, head chef at La Cristallerie (which he took over a year ago), makes no secret of his disappointment, though he plays it down. “A bit disappointed, but it’s all right. I was pleased to be invited and to have been part of the occasion.” The aim remains the same: “To carry on doing the same thing, perhaps even better – always improving, that’s the goal.”
Clovis Degrave (Grünewald Chef’s Table) made the trip with Valérian Prade, his new executive chef, who joined the team at the start of the year following the departure of his former sous-chef. “Getting more done better and faster as a team is very important, especially in a world that’s changing so rapidly,” he says, already looking ahead to the next edition.
Louis Linster, for his part, was calm. He saw Kim de Dood as the clear favourite in Luxembourg. “This year, I was mainly looking at Kim – and there were others, but I think they opened too late in the year.” Retaining the second star after a year of upheaval (new name, new dynamic) was already a challenge. “Keeping the second star in the first year is tough, because there are so many changes. It was a really trying year.” As for the third? “Not so fast. It takes time.”
A vintage considered poor for the French-speaking world
This view is widely shared. Cyril Molard does not mince his words, as is his custom: “It’s a shame for Luxembourg, it’s a shame for French speakers, it’s a shame for Wallonia. People have worked very hard, and this doesn’t really reflect the effort they’ve all put in.” He is thinking in particular of Baptiste Heugens, head chef at Equilibrium: “As far as I’m concerned, if anyone deserves a star, it’s him. That’s for sure.”
René Mathieu shares this view, with one caveat. “Overall, we’re expecting more. The whole region, the French-speaking part, Wallonia – there’s been nothing. It was still very strong in the North.” He is nevertheless delighted for Le Lys.
As for Kim de Dood, he doesn’t dwell on the matter. “I always say: after the guide, it’s back to square one. We’ve brought in some excellent reinforcements for next year and we’ll be pushing to do even better.” Is a second star already on the cards? “We’re always aiming higher.”
Good news for the Grand Duchy: no Luxembourgish restaurant has lost a star in the 2026 guide. The country now boasts 12 distinguished restaurants – Louis Linster and Ma Langue Sourit with two stars, and ten establishments with one star: Le Lys, Fields by René Mathieu, Archibald De Prince, Grünewald Chef's Table, Mosconi, Ryôdô, La Villa de Camille et Julien, Fani, Guillou Campagne and Apdikt.
