Moss Restaurant receives a Michelin star
Agnar Sverrisson is over the moon having received a Michelin star for Moss Restaurant in the Blue Lagoon. mbl.is/Kristinn Magnússon
The restaurant Moss in the Blue Lagoon has been awarded the coveted Michelin star. This was announced this afternoon at a formal celebration in Helsinki.
“This is great news,” says Agnar Sverrisson, head chef at Moss, who attended the ceremony. “Michelin star is a tremendous influence and it’s probably going to have a big impact. More people want to come to us and possibly spend more money. In contrast, of course, more pressure comes, to live up to expectations."
Sverrisson has tried to find his own way, but in 2010 he became the first Icelander to be awarded a Michelin star for his restaurant Texture in London. He kept it for a decade or so until the place was shut down because of the pandemic.
He says Moss secretly aimed to receive a star, but the Michelin Guide recommended the spot last year, which is often seen as a triumph. “It’s been under control for some time, and the expectation was high. It’s not healthy for the soul at all,” he laughs. “We thought we had a chance, but of course you’re never confident; everyone can have a bad day at the office. It’s like this. It’s going to hit your very being because you have such ambition to do well.”
Moss Restaurant is in the Blue Lagoon. Photo/Blue Lagoon Iceland
Just come and go
He does not know for certain when the Michelin agent visited Moss, but he suspects that it was at the beginning of the year. “A guest came from the area that I thought was likely to be doing this. Before, these men came announced themselves after the meal, but apparently they are no longer doing so now. At least we weren’t notified. Michelin hasn’t shown much interest in Iceland in the past and we have heard that one person comes here and takes out four or five places and then just leaves. In London, people from Michelin are regularly on the move. There is no way to ridicule them, as they always book under a false name; otherwise they would be in danger of being recognized.
- Isn't that just fun?
"No, it's a diabolical tack," he says and laughs.
Sverrisson says it’s delightful to attend the formal ceremony, but when Texture was awarded the star, it was just announced online.
It is an unquestionable achievement to be awarded a Michelin star, but it is no less an achievement to keep it.
“Don’t mention it in the unrelenting. You will not sleep much the next year for fear of losing your star. It’s a very bad thought,” he scoffs.
However, he didn't experience that when Texture got its star, and hopes it won't happen now either.
Dill was the first restaurant in Iceland to be awarded a Michelin star in 2017.
