Spanish cuisine will lose 59 Michelin stars overnight

Guillermo Elejabeitia

Spanish cuisine is about to lose fifty-nine Michelin stars overnight. The red guide has decided to end the green stars, a distinction created in 2020 to recognize restaurants committed to sustainability and good environmental practices. Instead, the French company is now launching Mindful Voices ("voices with conscience"), a new editorial concept aimed at highlighting individuals —not establishments— who "are rewriting the rules" in the fields of gastronomy, hospitality, and wine.

The project will officially debut on June 1st at the Michelin gala for the Nordic countries in Copenhagen and will progressively roll out globally throughout 2026. Michelin explains that this new platform will serve to give visibility to chefs, hoteliers, and producers whose initiatives "are transforming the way things are done".

The disappearance of the green stars marks the end of a distinction that was born just six years ago but has fallen prey to a certain indefiniteness. Conceived as a parallel category to the traditional star system, they aimed to highlight those restaurants particularly committed to issues such as local products, waste reduction, energy self-sufficiency, and the circular economy.

In Spain, the 2026 edition of the guide included 59 restaurants with a green star, five more than the previous year. Among the latest additions were the Basque Ama, Bakea, Garena, Hika, and the Majorcan Terrae. According to Michelin, establishments can continue using the green distinction until the presentation of the next edition of each national guide, at which point it will definitively disappear.

The movement also reveals a change in focus. Unlike the classic stars, which are based on intense inspection work and relatively stable criteria, the green star operated in a much more difficult to define area. It did not only reward culinary excellence but also a certain narrative in presenting the restaurant.

This was part of the problem. Without a concrete measurement system, the line between actual practice and narrative was too blurred. Michelin ended up entering delicate territory for a brand that has historically built its prestige on the idea of reliability. For the public, the 'green star' denomination was somewhat confusing, as it was not necessary to reach the technical level required by the classic distinction to benefit from the media impact of "having a star", albeit of a different color.

The solution chosen by Michelin seems to acknowledge this ambiguity. With Mindful Voices, the focus shifts from establishments to individuals and their stories. Less of a gastronomic category and more of an editorial platform. It is revealing that the guide, which for over a century has made inspection and criteria its main capital, is embracing increasingly narrative language, especially in one of the most difficult areas to objectify within contemporary high cuisine: sustainability.

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