Mandarin Oriental hotels have long been renowned for their excellence and innovation in food and beverage, and the Group's passion for creating memorable dining experiences has once again been recognised, with no fewer than nine diverse restaurants from around the world being honoured in the 2011 Michelin Guides.

In Europe, Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona celebrates its first anniversary with the news that Moments restaurant, headed by the renowned chef Carme Ruscalleda and chef Raül Balam has been awarded a Michelin star in the newly launched Spanish Guía Michelin. For the celebrated Catalan chef, this is one more star to add to her collection of five stars shared between her two other restaurants located in Sant Pol de Mar and in Tokyo. 

Rasoi by Vineet has maintained its coveted one star status by Michelin's 2011 Guide for Switzerland. The restaurant offers the cuisine of London-based Michelin starred chef, Vineet Bhatia, who specialises in deliciously spectacular "evolved" Indian food.  In Munich, Restaurant Mark's at Mandarin Oriental, Munich again retained its coveted Michelin star status. The restaurant's Chef Tobias Jochim delights diners with predominantly French dishes that have been inspired from travels around the Mediterranean.

In Asia, the Group is delighted to have a total of three Michelin starred restaurants in Hong Kong. The Group's flagship property, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is home to two Michelin starred restaurants. Pierre on the top floor of the hotel, which features the bold cuisine of multi award-winning, three Michelin starred chef, Pierre Gagnaire has achieved two Michelin star status, while the Mandarin Grill + Bar, a Hong Kong dining institution, where artistic Executive Chef Uwe Opocensky serves a modern interpretation of grill classics and the city's finest seafood, has retained its one Michelin star.

Amber at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, also maintained its coveted two Michelin star status. The restaurant features the innovative and exhilarating cuisine of talented Chef Richard Ekkebus.

In Japan, Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo is the only hotel in the capital to have three Michelin-starred restaurants in the latest Japanese guide. Signature (serving contemporary French), Sense (Cantonese) and the creative TapasMolecular Bar (serving innovative molecular cuisine) each received a single star: Signature for the fourth time, and Sense and the Tapas Molecular Bar for the third time.

"We are truly delighted to receive these prestigious accolades," said David Nicholls, the Group's Corporate Director of Food and Beverage. "It speaks volumes about the dedication to fine dining excellence that all of our hotels offer."

The Group also continues to be acknowledged for its ability to appoint enthusiastic culinary talent. Recent openings include Bar Boulud, featuring the award-winning French inspired cuisine of Lyon-born chef Daniel Boulud at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London. Chef Heston Blumenthal, who has won international acclaim for his unique and multi-sensory approach to cooking will also open his first restaurant outside of the village of Bray, at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London in early 2011.

The restaurant, called Dinner, will feature the chef's inimitable style of culinary alchemy with a menu heavily influenced by his ongoing research and discovery of historic British gastronomy. Elsewhere in Europe, Michelin starred chef Thierry Marx will introduce his award-winning cuisine to Mandarin Oriental, Paris when the hotel opens in the summer of 2011. This will be Chef Marx's first gastronomic venture in the French capital.