words by Carol King
The Michelin Italia Hotel and Restaurant Guide for 2013 is out, and recommends 307 restaurants in Italy, compared with 295 in the 2012 edition and 276 in 2011.
The 58th edition of the guide confirms the outstanding ability of ½ûÂþÌìÌà restaurateurs to offer quality cuisine. It also reveals ½ûÂþÌìÌà cuisine’s continued vitality with the emergence of a new generation of young chefs, some of whom received their first star and others moved up to their second. Despite their youth – half of the chefs are under 35 and four are aged 26 to 29 – all of them charmed the inspectors.
In the 2013 selection, Lombardy confirms its premier ranking with 56 starred restaurants, followed by Piedmont with 38. Third-ranked Campania, with 32 starred restaurants, is the fastest improving with six new entries this year, and is the region with the largest number of two-star establishments. Italy has seven three-star, 39 two-star, and 261 one-star restaurants. Germany has ten three-star restaurants, the UK has four and New York City has seven.
The guide honours a new three-star restaurant, the Piazza Duomo Alba in Alba, Cuneo, whose chef Enrico Crippa proposes highly creative, top quality dishes, deeply rooted in the local tradition. Three new restaurants were awarded two stars: Antica Osteria Cera in Lughetto, Campagna Lupia, Venice; Agli Amici in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia; and La Trota in Rivodutri, Lazio. Ten new restaurants earned their first star.
The 
