Australian-born, UK-based chef Brett Graham has landed one of the most prestigious accolades in the culinary world with his Notting Hill restaurant The Ledbury recieving three Michelin stars overnight.
Graham’s coronation marks him as one of Australia’s most lauded chefs working internationally. Only eight other restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland currently hold the three star honour, with The Ledbury joining the ranks of icons such as Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, helmed by Sydney-raised chef Matt Abe.
At a ceremony at Manchester’s The Midland Hotel, 18 restaurants picked up a Michelin star for the first time, with a further six receiving a second. But it is Graham’s ascent to the pedestal of “three-star chef” that not only rewards his decades of excellence, but rights one of the great oversights in the Guide’s century-long history.
"Super produce has always been the bedrock of what they do here, including the mushrooms grown in-house and deer from their own small estate," said the new listing in the Michelin Guide 2024. "From its refined combinations to exemplary depth of flavour, The Ledbury has it all."
Graham has been one of the most respected chefs of his generation since his tenure at Sydney restaurant Banc, receiving the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award in 2003. He made the move to London soon after, where he was taken under the wing of Phil Howard at Mayfair diner The Square, before the pair opened The Ledbury in Notting Hill in 2005 to widespread acclaim.
Here, Graham’s singularity came to the fore, showing his talent as a gifted chef with a strong connection to the provenance of his adopted home’s produce. He led The Ledbury to two Michelin stars in 2012, and a top 10 position in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. In 2009 he became culinary director of Fulham’s Harwood Arms, and the gastropub became the first of its kind in London to receive a Michelin star, and he was later profiled by Broadsheet in 2014.
When The Ledbury closed in 2020, citing the uncertain conditions of Covid and a lack of international tourism, there was a feeling that Graham would never receive the recognition his career warranted. But in April 2022, The Ledbury reopened and retrieved its dual Michelin stars in its first year back. Rather than adapt to trends that may influence the Guide, the chef leaned further into his obsession with wild and sustainable British game and ultra-seasonal produce.
After almost two decades of consistency, The Ledbury now finally has its third Michelin star, and with it, Brett Graham becomes the first Australian owner/operator to achieve the accolade. For a chef who is well known for his aversion to the spotlight, it's finally Graham’s time to shine.
