Soon the pass of three? That’s all you can wish for Duende and its chef Nicolas Fontaine. The gastronomic restaurant in Nîmes at the Hôtel L’Impérator has just won its second star in the Michelin guide on Tuesday. The ceremony takes place in Cognac. Le Duende opened in December 2019, the menu is signed Pierre Gagnaire. The restaurant had already won its first star in 2021.
In total, the 2022 vintage of the Michelin Guide France rewards this year two new three-star restaurants (Villa Madie in Cassis and Plénitude – Cheval Blanc Paris), and six new two-star restaurants, as well as 41 new 1-star restaurants.
“The emblematic Emperator Hotel has regained all its luster and the Duende restaurant is now one of its jewels. Very committed and talented (like the service, by the way), the kitchen team has completely embraced the philosophy of Pierre Gagnaire who hones in on this address by carving out a magnificent cuisine with a Mediterranean orientation, which borrows as much from Catalonia as from the rice fields of the Camargue via the Cévennes.” Michelin Guide
You can find all the new stars here.