Michelin Guide France 2026: Les Morainières joins the three-star elite

The Michelin Guide’s highest accolade is famously difficult to attain – and even harder to keep – which makes the arrival of a new three-star restaurant one of the most closely watched moments of the annual ceremony. This year, that honour goes to Les Morainières in Jongieux, Savoie, where chef Michaël Arnoult has quietly built one of the most compelling restaurants in France. 

Founded in 2005 by Arnoult and his wife Ingrid, Les Morainières sits high on the slopes overlooking the vineyards and lake country of the Avant-Pays Savoyard. Over the past two decades the couple have transformed the property into a destination restaurant that reflects the landscape around it, with Ingrid overseeing the hospitality while Arnoult focuses on the kitchen. 

Arnoult’s path to the summit of French gastronomy has been a classic one. Trained at the Montargis hotel school, he worked in restaurants across France and abroad before spending a formative period in the kitchens of Flocons de Sel in Megève, where he served as second to Emmanuel Renaut. The experience helped shape his deep attachment to mountain ingredients and alpine landscapes. 

At Les Morainières, the cuisine is built firmly around the products of Savoie and the surrounding region. Michelin inspectors highlight a cooking style guided by the seasons and by the work of local producers, artisans and farmers – a kitchen that pays close attention to both the quality of ingredients and the people who cultivate them. One dish that illustrates this approach is crayfish tartare set in jelly, lifted by a frothy mandarin and tagète butter and accompanied by cooked crayfish enhanced with an intensely flavoured shell jus. 

And if you don’t want to leave after your dining experience, book a stay at the couple’s guesthouse, located in a converted farmhouse in nearby Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille, where six warmly designed rooms allow you to unwind in the tranquillity of the Savoyard countryside and explore the surrounding mountains and vineyards. 

With this promotion, Les Morainières joins the 31 restaurants holding three Michelin stars across France and Monaco, the guide’s highest distinction and one awarded only to restaurants deemed “worth a special journey”. 

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Lead photo credit : Michaël Arnoult is awarded three stars © Michelin Cedric Le Dantec