While in prison she won a third Michelin star, and is finally getting ready to reopen her young London restaurant: Britain’s Claire Smith is making a comeback to her region amid a storm.

The 42-year-old North Irish woman is the first and only British woman to receive three Michelin stars in the UK, and only the fourth British chef to receive the award. One difference announced last January was a “dream” in the midst of a pandemic nightmare: “It’s amazing what happened in such a difficult year”, the 42-year-old cook, with beautiful hair and clear eyes, comes to power from a quiet place. In complete captivity, the festivities ended abruptly: “We celebrated it with a bottle of champagne and pizza”, and video conference calls with the team began in August 2017 in its restaurant, Notting Hill District.

The hotel and catering sector was particularly affected this winter and was closed for long months. From Monday, restaurants will again welcome diners, who will not be able to count foreign tourists, some of which are due to border restrictions. During the lockdown, the core team cooked hundreds of meals for the associations each week and offered their customers take-off or home delivery menus, the first of which worked “very well”.

Claire Smith, 42, from Northern Ireland, is the first, and only British woman to score three stars in her “Michelin” guide to her restaurant core, during a storm in her area with Kovid. -19 Infectious Disease and Control. Justin Talis / AFP

The reopening promises to be auspicious: reservations are full until August. Celebrities such as the family of former footballer David Beckham say, “We are very fortunate to have a regular customer base. To suit the health background, the number of covers has been reduced from 54 to 44. For 42 employees, they are screened on Kovid-19 every week.

The shelf is filled with old cookbooks, liquor and comfortable seating and the core is intimate and cozy. Michelin Guide “praises modern dishes that offer exquisite flavors and textures, but in a calm and sensible way”. For French chef Helene Doros, Claire Smith is “a monster of toughness and precision”. “She has this quality in this work, it’s absolutely incredible, and I appreciate it so much,” Miss Darros said.

In the kitchen, Claire Smith makes one-and-a-half-year-old products like potatoes or carrots. The main dish is potato and roe, served with white butter mixed with potato trout and herring roe. A recipe that pays homage to the northern Irish roots of the Triple Star: “I grew potatoes by the shore every day. So these fragrances are “very nostalgic”.

In the kitchen, Claire Smith makes one-and-a-half-year-old products like potatoes or carrots. The main dish is potatoes and roe, served with white butter mixed with potato trout and herring roe. Justin Talis / AFP

Everything on the core is “made in the UK”, from new products to utensils and silverware, the team intends to keep international, Claire Smith, despite tightening immigration conditions after the release. Union. “We need to continue to bring in these workers,” they plead, despite fears that Brexit will have a huge impact on recruitment.

Deciding to pursue a career in the kitchen, Claire Smith left Family Farm in County Antrim, west of Belfast on the 16th, to train in England and pursue her dream. She worked for 13 years at Louis XV-Alain Ducas in Monaco, then at Gordon Ramsay, a restaurant in the Chic district of Chelsea, London, where she rose to prominence to lead a popular three-star restaurant. British Chef.

In May 2018, Prince Harry and Megan Markle chose her to make their wedding dinner: “It was like a fairy tale, it will be remembered for a long time. She has also appeared on culinary shows in the UK and Australia, including Masterchef, The Final Table on Netflix, and the American version of Top Chef. In July, she plans to open her first restaurant in Australia, known as Angkor, at the Crown Sydney Hotel.

With Helena Doros’ The Connaught, Core is the only restaurant in the United Kingdom to enter the three-star closed club this year, which is Michelle’s highest difference. Two women at the top of the podium, a fact that is “very rare” but “I think we see more and more women at a higher level,” Claire Smith predicts. “There are very few people in my kitchen and I hope to earn their own Michelin stars in the next five to ten years. ”

Pauline Froisart / AFP