How green is your star?

The Michelin Guide, the world’s leading restaurant guide, announced its 2025 selection for Istanbul, İzmir, and Muğla provinces in Türkiye. In its third year, the list gave positive vibes that sustainability and environmentally friendly venues will be on the rise in the future with the increase in Green stars. The concept of farm-to-plate has been officially given the green light!

The 2025 selection included 32 new restaurants, two of which are Michelin-starred and have qualified to be included in the guide. Narımor in Urla, İzmir and Casa Lavanda in Şile, İstanbul received their first stars, while nine new restaurants were awarded Bib Gourmand. All previously starred restaurants maintained their places on the list. Among the new entries, six new restaurants were awarded the Michelin Green Star for their environmentally conscious approach. Special Awards were in three different categories: “Young Chef” went to Serhat Doğramacı from Mezra Yalıkavak, Bodrum; “Sommelier Award” was given to Yunus Öztürk, which made OdUrla decorated with three awards, in addition to the venue’s one Michelin star and one Green star; last but not least, “Service Team” went to Nicole, already holding one Michelin star since the first year.

50 shades of green

This year, the Turkish Michelin list has literally gone green. Although the criteria for getting on the Michelin list and especially for getting the coveted red stars are clearly explained, the Green Star criteria for environmentally friendly venues are not that detailed. Obviously, the Green Star emphasizes concepts such as sustainability, seasonality, locality and waste-free cuisine, but it is also true that it is very difficult to evaluate these assets, and in some cases, it is even impossible for the inspectors to assess the veracity of these criteria. It is very difficult for inspectors to trace the supply chain of the food being served, or to weigh the plausibility of such eco-friendly stories that many restaurants like to tell. “From Farm to Plate” is a concept that many places often use to describe themselves. Certainly, all restaurants that were awarded the Green Star deserve this title, but it must be admitted that some are much greener than others. Buğra Özdemir, the chef of The Barn, who has demonstrated his dedication to this path, even to the point of getting a Green Star tattoo on his wrist a few years ago, deserves the deepest green title, while some others seem to remain on the lighter shades of green. Likewise, Emre Şen, the chef of Casa Lavanda, situated at the countryside of İstanbul, emphasized his relationship with the soil, growing their own products and foraging their mushrooms from the forests nearby. Casa Lavanda has long deserved to be on the list, and finally this year, after repeatedly questioning the borders of Istanbul, the venue was under the inspectors’ radar, not only receiving a star but also a green one. Of course, there are also other places that try to be green, and may deserve this title but are not awarded as such. It seems that the restaurant’s own storytelling is crucially important. For example, Michelin-starred restaurant Araka’s chef Pınar Taşdemir, established her own kitchen garden, reviving the Istanbul tradition of growing salad greens, aromatic herbs, and vegetables in the very same neighborhood, and named it just as in Ottoman times as “Bustan.” Apparently, her intention was not aimed at receiving the much-desired Green title, but to grow her own fresh greens, she did not or could not explain her very green approach. That case demonstrates that it is also a matter of explaining oneself; otherwise, it is not easy for the inspectors to evaluate the green criterion.

How are the borders defined?

In many countries, especially in countries like France, Spain, Italy or Switzerland, Michelin stars are awarded to places located outside the city center, even in faraway locations in the countryside. In fact, the definition of a star includes places with cuisine so good that it is worth diverting the route to visit, or even can be a destination in their own right. The Michelin guide, which started out as a travel guide, has always emphasized this fact. With this in mind, I had consistently asked why places like Şile or Adalar, which are districts of Istanbul, were not included. As a matter of fact, this year we received a partial answer to our persistent questions. Casa Lavanda in Şile was finally on the radar, plus The Barn in Silivri was also included. Just two weeks ago, at Istanbul Greater Municipality’s Gastronomy Days event, this issue was discussed in the panel titled “Can there be Fine-Dining in Şile?” and an answer to this question was sought with Chef Emre Şen, owner of Casa Lavanda, as a guest panelist. Now we have the definitive answer: Yes!

However, the fact that other districts such as the Adalar or many districts in İzmir and Muğla provinces are not included in the scope shows that the question of where the “Provincial Border” starts and ends still remains. The inclusion of the Agora Pension in Kapıkırı village, Lake Bafa, on the list is an example of an answer to this question, but it is clearly not enough. İzmir is not just a center, and Urla, Alaçatı, or Çeşme are not the only highlights, nor is Muğla all about Bodrum. There are countless districts that deserve a detour for a bite of good food.

Time temporal?

Michelin stars can be awarded to seasonal restaurants all over the world. Many places that open only in summer in summer resorts, or open in winter in ski resorts, especially in countries like Switzerland and France, can receive stars. However, the concept of pop-ups is a bit different, the concept of time is relative. In Türkiye, in recent years, many chefs have been opening pop-ups in places like Bodrum during the summer months for that season only, often for two to three months. While some of them become permanent, others may not exist the following season. This year, a venue that was only open for two months this summer made it to the list, while chef Aret Şahakyan's Ayla restaurant, which has permanently opened at Maçakızı, failed to make the cut, despite being expected to earn at least one star — even two stars in my opinion. This issue was on the talk of many people at the ceremony, and even jokes were made such as “They forgot to put it on the list when they were debating whether to give Ayla 2 stars or 1 star!” It seems that the notion of time is relative. Of course, it is very difficult for inspectors to know this, sometimes very new places come on the radar by chance, even if they are very, very temporary.

The Michelin Guide was once again the talk of the week. There are many other questions that can be raised, such as my usual one: Single-dish venues, a strong suit of Türkiye’s culinary scene, why are they not considered worth a detour? Let’s see the Gault&Millau list that will be announced this evening, and seek answers to this particular topic next week!