Top restaurants maintain Michelin stars despite kitchen brigade changes

Several restaurants in this year's Michelin Guide have managed to retain their stars amid significant staff changes.

Restaurants with a star are often at risk of a deletion if a head chef moves or leaves.

Matt Worswick, head chef at Glenapp Castle since January this year, felt especially moved to congratulate his new team, who he assembled after Adam Stokes left in December â€' Stokes himself has gone on to win a Michelin star in this year's guide for his new Birmingham restaurant Adam's.

Worswick said: "It's a credit to the guys who carried on and stayed with us. It's a brand-new team. It wasn't my star before, so I don't see it as retaining it, I see it as being awarded my own."

The Black Swan at Oldstead â€' whose former head chef Adam Jackson left in June this year, replaced by the owners' son and former sous chef Tommy Banks â€' was also especially pleased. This morning the restaurant tweeted congratulations to its team, saying their star was the "icing on the cake for all the hard work".

Banks, who also brother to James, who runs the front of house, said the continued success was down to a "fantastic" team. He told Caterer and Hotelkeeper: "We've gone to every effort to try and maintain the star. It's a pat on the back for everybody. In my mind, I always felt the food was definitely of the standard, but the thing is with Michelin, and with the quick turnaround, you're never completely sure."

The Box Tree has also had its fair share of change this year, but equally saw its name stay on the coveted Michelin list. Head chef Lawrence Yates, who used to work under Daniel Clifford at Midsummer House, only joined the Ilkley restaurant in June, working in partnership with owner/executive chef Simon Gueller.

Commenting on the site's maintained star, Yates said: "It's nice to know that we're going in the right direction. I think the hard work is about to start but we've got an excellent team here at the Box Tree - the management, the owners. I couldn't wish for anything better than the team that we've got and the team that we're building in the kitchen. It gets better every day."

Adam Jackson leaves Black Swan at Oldstead>>

Lawrence Yates named head chef at Michelin-starred Box Tree >>

Glenapp Castle appoints Le Champignon Sauvage's Matt Worswick as head chef >>

Michelin-starred chef Adam Stokes to leave Glenapp Castle to open solo venture >>