“It was a surprise and not so good news among much worse news”: Ljubomir Stanisic reacts to the loss of the Michelin star at the restaurant

It was on the day of the Michelin Gala, to which he was invited, that Ljubomir Stanisic learned that he would lose the star at his restaurant 100 Maneiras, in Lisbon. The chef acknowledges that this is “not very good news”, but that it does not stop him from continuing to work to “please the customers, the teams and ourselves”.

It was on the morning of February 25, just after arriving in Porto to participate in the second Michelin Gala in Portugal, that Ljubomir Stanisic was informed that he would not be renewing the Michelin star at the 100 Maneiras restaurant. It is worth remembering that the restaurant in Bairro Alto, in Lisbon, had held the distinction since it was first awarded in 2000. In the room, and before the ceremony began, there was much speculation about the absence of the famous chef and the reason was eventually known and confirmed at the end of the gala: the 100 Maneiras restaurant, in Lisbon, had lost its Michelin star. This year, it was the only one “demoted” compared to the list of award winners for 2024.

When contacted by Boa Cama Boa Mesa, Ljubomir Stanisic was pragmatic in his responses: “Our goal is not to win awards, but simply to recognise the work we do every day. And this year, as in other years, a lot of work and investment was done by everyone involved in the 100 Maneiras project. It was – and is – a particularly difficult year for the restaurant industry in Portugal. So it was a surprise and not very good news amidst much worse news, such as the closure of many restaurants, especially those that are independently run and do not have any supporting economic groups”.

Regarding the possibility of regaining the Michelin star in the next edition of the guide, the Sarajevo-born chef , who is a naturalized Portuguese citizen, prefers to approach the issue from a different point of view: “Our focus can never be on the awards, but rather on continuing to work to become better and better. Not to get the star again or any other award, but because we owe it to our customers, our team and ourselves.”

“Michelin Star is like Dodot” Much talked about behind the scenes, as justification for not renewing the star by Michelin, was the interview given by the chef to Daniel Oliveira, on the program Alta Definição broadcast by SIC, at the end of September 2024, on the eve of the premiere of another edition of Hell's Kitchen. “The Michelin Star is like Dodot, it's used to wipe your ass. It gives status, it's useful, but now it's only used to pay the bills”, said the leader of the group 100 Maneiras.

When asked whether this issue could have influenced the decision of the “red guide”, Ljubomir Stanisic considers the mere possibility as “unbelievable and even unethical”, reinforcing that the work of a restaurant can never be “evaluated by what the chef says or does outside of it”. The answer to this question can only be clarified by the management and inspectors of the Michelin Guide, who are responsible for “responding on the evaluation criteria”.

The 100 Maneiras restaurant (Rua do Teixeira, 39, Lisbon. Tel. 91091818) opened in February 2019 and just nine months later it was already included in the 50 Best Discovery, a list compiled by the organization The World's 50 Best. It offers three tasting menus, the “História” (€170), the “Conto” (€140) and the “Eco do 100” (€150). The first is a journey to the land where the chef was born with 17 moments. The second has 11 moments with some new additions and the last is dedicated to vegetarian cuisine. The restaurant was distinguished in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with the Fork of Silver from the Boa Cama Boa Mesa Guide.

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