What Can We Learn From Food Hygiene Failures of Michelin-Starred Kitchens
💡 This blog is part of our Food Safety Help Centre – your one-stop resource for food business owners who want clarity, not confusion.
A Michelin-Starred Chef. A Norovirus Outbreak. Lives Affected
A former Michelin-starred restaurant in Japan has been linked to a norovirus outbreak. With nearly 80 confirmed cases of food poisoning reported in February, the story has now caught international media attention. The owners later admitted they underestimated the seriousness of norovirus.
👉 You can read the fully story about Kiichi here.
Kiichi’s reputation — built over years of culinary excellence — collapsed overnight.
This prompted us to take a closer look at Michelin-starred kitchens. We reviewed cases from 2009 to 2025. Not to assign blame, but to explore whether there are patterns around food safety compliance. The themes are summarised below.
1. A Michelin Star on the Door Does Not Guarantee Food Safety
You’d expect the highest-rated restaurants to lead the way in food safety. But this is not always the case.
🔹 In 2024, the Chef’s Table in Kent dropped to a 1-star hygiene rating. During the EHO inspection, the Head Chef could not explain their food safety manual. Neither could he demonstrate control of sous vide procedures. The deficiencies highlighted in the EHO Report were quickly turned around.
🔹 Rand Fishkin’s wife reported her husband’s allergen requirements were “largely ignored” at Bros’, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Lecce Italy. Allergen safety isn’t optional. It’s a legal and moral duty — for all kitchens, Michelin-starred or not.
🔹 The Fitzrovia News once reported that two out of six Michelin-starred restaurants in one London district failed to meet basic hygiene standards.
🔹 And a 2015 study showed just 55% of Michelin-starred restaurants held a 5-star hygiene rating — compared to 83% of chain restaurants.
It’s clear that prestige does not guarantee food safety.
2. Lack of Knowledge from Those in Charge
At Noma in Copenhagen, 63 guests were struck down by norovirus in 2013. The source? An employee came to work while infected. There were several failings identified in the EHO Report. Including a sink that wasn’t hot enough for staff to wash their hands properly.
At The Fat Duck in Berkshire, at least 240 guests fell ill between January and February 2009. This is the largest norovirus outbreak ever documented at a restaurant.
The cause was contaminated oysters. Yet the public apology from the owner focused more on the dining experience than on guest safety.
When you’re leading a Michelin-starred operation, it’s not enough to create magic on the plate. You also have a duty to protect people from what they can’t taste 🦠
3. Reputation Won’t Save You from Norovirus
Norovirus doesn’t care about your Michelin stars.
🔹 At Piccolo Lago in Italy, the owner was not just fined. He was handed a suspended prison sentence after 53 wedding guests fell ill. The culprit? Raw clams in a risotto contaminated with norovirus. This food safety risk could have been avoided by cooking them first.
🔹 At Kiichi, the restaurant carried on trading while under a suspension order.
High-end or not, norovirus strikes fast. And it exposes gaps in staff training, illness policies, and hygiene practices.
4. Cutting Corners Costs More Than Compliance Ever Will
🔹 At Chucs, mouse droppings were found inside a cheese grater. The restaurant was prosecuted and fined over £15,000.
🔹 Dabbous in London dropped to a 0-star hygiene rating. This was due to a widespread pest infestation 🐁. There was also a lack of effective HACCP controls in place.
🔹 At Geranium in Copenhagen — a three-star Michelin restaurant — shellfish was stored at 9.2°C 🦀 🐚
This put food at risk because it was in the danger zone. This means food was kept as a temperature that allows bacteria to multiply. Dirty backrooms were also flagged.
These aren’t minor oversights. They’re failures that put public health and safety at risk. And they happened in some of the most acclaimed dining rooms in the world.
5. Food Safety Doesn’t Kill Creativity
The owner at Chez Bruce defended poor ratings across Michelin establishments, saying ever-changing menus made it hard to track everything safely:
He went onto say... “We have to be able to show that all these pieces of produce have been handled correctly. For example we were downgraded from five stars because we couldn't prove that we had frozen some fish at the correct temperature."
These are important safety controls – guard rails to protect people.
Creativity does not excuse risking the life of any customer.
Every food business has challenges. What matters is whether you build systems that rise to meet them.
6. Michelin-Starred Restaurants Must Try Harder
According to the Food Standards Agency:
“A 5-star rating is within reach of any conscious operator.”
If England ever makes it compulsory to display food hygiene scores — like Wales and Northern Ireland have — then Michelin establishments will no longer be able to hide behind their star rating.
When the public can see the hygiene score in the window, reputation may only take a business so far.
Now is the time for these kitchens to sort it out. No excuses. No special treatment. Just the same standard every other business is held to.
Final Thoughts: When Experts Lead - Others Follow
We look up to Michelin-star chefs. They’re at the top of their game 🥇 — held up as the gold standard of what’s possible in a kitchen.
So when things go wrong, it matters more than just one restaurant’s name. Michelin chefs shape food safety culture — whether they like it or not.
They influence how staff think, how younger chefs train, and how the public trust what’s on their plate.
Diners come for brilliance — a theatrical eating experience.
They expect to leave safe, too. In other words, the true mark of a Michelin chef isn’t just technical perfection. It’s the leadership to ensure food safety never slips behind the performance curtain.