World’s oldest Michelin-starred restaurant loses its third star

For nearly a century, the Blanc family’s name has been synonymous with Michelin-starred excellence: the Georges Blanc restaurant in Vonnas, an hour north of Lyon in the Ain department, is the longest-standing Michelin-starred establishment in the world, with an unbroken run since 1929. But now, after 44 years at the summit with three stars, the legendary restaurant has been demoted to two. 

Not surprisingly, the Michelin Guide’s latest judgment has shaken the culinary world. Blanc himself, now 82 and the patriarch of a gastronomic empire, reacted with the stoicism of a seasoned chef who’s seen it all. “One star will be missing, fading away, so we will manage with two stars,” he said. 

His reaction is fitting. After all, the Maison Blanc has been basking in Michelin’s glow since the days of Art Deco and flapper dresses. It was Blanc’s grandmother, Élisa Blanc, who first earned the restaurant a star in 1929. A second followed in 1932, and when Georges Blanc took the reins in 1968, he elevated the establishment to the rarified three-star level in 1981.  

Yet even for a kitchen with this pedigree, Michelin’s standards remain exacting. According to guide director Gwendal Poullennec, their 125-year-old criteria haven’t wavered: ingredient quality, technical mastery, harmony of flavours, the chef’s personal touch, and – most crucially – consistency. By that measure, something must have slipped at Vonnas, though the guide hasn’t specified what. 

Blanc is not alone in facing Michelin’s froideur this year. Twenty-three establishments have lost stars in the 2025 guide, including another two-star demotion and 21 single-star casualties. Yet his restaurant’s status as the longest-standing Michelin-starred venue gives this particular fall added weight. 

And what now? For a restaurant of this stature, a demotion isn’t so much a death knell as a challenge thrown down by the Michelin inspectors. The Georges Blanc, steeped in tradition but never stuck in the past, may well take it as fuel to reclaim that missing star. After all, in the world of haute cuisine, nothing is permanent – except, perhaps, the pursuit of perfection. 

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