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‘Disappointing’, ‘regret’: Michelin retires Green Star accolade, sparking mixed reactions

Once a beacon for sustainable dining, Michelin’s Green Star is being phased out globally in favour of a platform called Mindful Voices

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Richard Ekkebus of Amber and Mandarin Oriental The Landmark has pioneered many of the sustainability initiatives at the hotel. Amber gained a Michelin Green Star in 2022 and has retained it since. Photo: Amber
Victoria Burrows
When the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau first launched its Green Star for sustainability in 2021, Amber at Mandarin Oriental The Landmark was a glaring omission.

The fine-dining restaurant had two Michelin stars at that point and, over the previous 16 years, had become one of the leading lights for sustainability in Hong Kong.

“We got so many messages … asking why Amber didn’t get the Green Star. I could only reply, ‘Well, I have no idea,’” says Richard Ekkebus, the hotel’s culinary director, who has helmed the hotel’s flagship restaurant since day one. “Sustainability is part of the DNA we’ve grown over the years.”

He adds that many of the initiatives they pioneered – such as phasing out plastic bottles for glass and setting up an in-house water filtration system back in 2017 – were subsequently adopted across the Mandarin Oriental’s global network.

Ekkebus realised the restaurant and hotel needed to better communicate their sustainability efforts. As a result, his team put together a document to record the restaurant’s three sustainability pillars: social, sourcing and natural resources. With everything spelled out, Amber gained a Green Star the following year, joining Roganic, the sole Hong Kong restaurant awarded a Green Star in 2021.
Amber works with the regenerative organic farming co-op Farmhouse Productions in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Photo: Amber
Amber works with the regenerative organic farming co-op Farmhouse Productions in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Photo: Amber

Dropping the Green Star for Mindful Voices

How exactly Michelin audits for sustainability has remained shrouded in mystery.

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