Heston Blumenthal outside his Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire.
Heston Blumenthal outside his Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire.

The Michelin-starred chefs in your backyard



YANNICK ALLENO

The Frenchman, who oversees three dining concepts at the One & Only Palm Jumeirah - Zest, 101 and Stay by Yannick Alléno - has three Michelin stars in Paris for Le Meurice.

VINEET BHATIA

Bhatia, of Indego at Grosvenor House in Dubai, became the first Indian-born chef to win a Michelin star for his Rasoi restaurant in London, following a star for his Rasoi By Vineet restaurant in Switzerland. He is only the second British chef to hold Michelin stars in more than one country.

PIERRE GAGNAIRE

The Frenchman who brought Reflets Par Pierre Gagnaire to the InterContinental Dubai Festival City has earned nine Michelin stars during his career, most notably three for Pierre Gagnaire in Paris.

GIORGIO LOCATELLI

Responsible for the Italian cuisine eatery Ronda Locatelli at Dubai's Atlantis, The Palm, Locatelli has won two Michelin stars for his London restaurants, one for Zafferano and one for Locanda Locatelli. His family also ran a Michelin-starred restaurant at his home in Northern Italy.

NOBU MATSHUISA

The Japanese chef responsible for Nobu at Atlantis, The Palm, and more than 20 other restaurants across the globe has received a Michelin star for Nobu Las Vegas, one for Nobu London and one for Nobu Berkeley Street, London.

MANSUR MEMARIAN

From Al Mahara, Burj Al Arab, Memarian is the first Iranian chef to receive a Michelin star, one for managing the kitchen of Jagdhof Glashutte in Germany and two more for the Pavillon restaurant in Innsbruck, Austria.

GORDON RAMSAY

The Scotsman of Hilton Dubai Creek's Verre has attained six Michelin stars including three for his restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London.

GARY RHODES

The Briton of Rhodes Mezzanine at Grosvenor House and Rhodes Twenty10 at Le Royal Meridien has six Michelin stars in a 30-year career.

MICHEL ROSTANG

The Frenchman behind Rostang at Atlantis, The Palm, won two Michelin stars for his restaurants in France and two for a family restaurant.

SANTI SANTAMARIA

Responsible for Ossiano at Atlantis, The Palm, the Spaniard has been awarded three stars for his restaurant Can Fabes and two for Santceloni, both in Spain.

MARCO PIERRE WHITE

The Brit behind Abu Dhabi's Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr and Frankie's in Dubai and Abu Dhabi had three Michelin stars by age 33 but renounced them when he gave up day-to-day cooking. He is M's cooking columnist.

... and some notables who aren't here (at least yet):

HEINZ BECK

The German-born chef runs the world-famous three Michelin-starred La Pergola at the Cavaleri hotel in Rome and recently opened a restaurant at London's Lanesborough Hotel.

HESTON BLUMENTHAL

The self-taught British chef is responsible for the three Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire, England, which is renowned for its scientific and quirky approach to food with menu highlights such as Flaming Sorbet, Crab Ice Cream and Mock Turtle Soup.

EMERIL LAGASSE

The American TV chef spent the formative years of his career mastering the art of French cuisine before launching 12 award-winning restaurants across the United States.

THE ROUX FAMILY

The French family began its revolution of British cuisine after Michel Roux and his older brother Albert opened Le Gavroche in Sloane Street, London in 1967 followed by the Waterside Inn in 1972 - the only restaurant outside France to keep three stars for 25 consecutive years. Today their sons are in charge, with Albert's son Michel Roux Jr at Le Gavroche and Michel's son Alain as the chef patron of The Waterside Inn.

WOLFGANG PUCK

The Austrian-born chef is synonymous with culinary art, having worked in some of the best restaurants in France before launching the celebrity haunt Spago in Los Angeles in 1983, which just gained two Michelin stars.

CHARLIE TROTTER

The self-taught chef's Chicago restaurant, Charlie Trotter's, is regarded as one of the finest in the world. The American is also the author of 14 cookbooks.

JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN

The French chef fell in love with the aromatic flavours of the East working in Asia and now has a range of quality restaurants in the US, the UK, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

New schools in Dubai
MATCH INFO

Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')

Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')

The biog

Name: Marie Byrne

Nationality: Irish

Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption

Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston

Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books

The bio

Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.

Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.

Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.

Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.

Where to submit a sample

Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain