Michelin announced five Special Awards at the 2026 ceremony, with recipients including Shwen Shwen in Sevenoaks in Kent and Tom Earnshaw from Bohemia in Jersey.
Michelin’s Opening of the Year went to Shwen Shwen, the Sierra Leonean restaurant in Sevenoaks, Kent.
It was awarded a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2026 last week.
When collecting the award at the presentation ceremony at the Convention Centre in Dublin tonight, owner Maria Bradford said: “We literally represent the underrepresented, which is Sierra Leone.”