Paulo Airaudo reaches ten Michelin stars, passing Berasategui
Two first stars in Thailand, in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, take the Argentine chef behind Amelia in San Sebastian past Martín Berasategui's nine in the Spain-based count.
Paulo Airaudo now holds ten Michelin stars across his restaurants, after the Michelin Guide Thailand 2027 gave first stars on Tuesday to Belén by Paulo Airaudo in Chiang Mai and Sartoria by Paulo Airaudo in Bangkok. The Argentine chef, whose flagship is Amelia in San Sebastian, moves past Martín Berasategui's nine to become the Spain-based chef with the most stars, according to a tally published by Directo al Paladar.
The Thai selection, the guide's tenth edition in the country, was unveiled in Bangkok on 10 November. The Tourism Authority of Thailand counts 53 starred restaurants among 507 listed addresses. Both Airaudo venues were promoted from the Michelin-selected category, and Belén becomes the first restaurant in Chiang Mai to hold a star.
Belén sits inside the InterContinental Chiang Mai The Mae Ping; Sartoria occupies the 56th floor of The Empire tower in Bangkok's Sathorn district. According to Directo al Paladar, Matteo Santalucia runs the kitchen at Belén and Bjørn Tischner at Sartoria, the usual arrangement in a group that now operates eleven restaurants in seven cities.
Michelin gives its stars to restaurants; the chef rankings are arithmetic done by the press.
Where Paulo Airaudo's ten stars sit
Half of the total is in Spain. In San Sebastian, a city that already rewards anyone following our guide to what to eat in San Sebastian, Amelia holds two stars and iBAi one. Aleia, at the Casa Fuster hotel in Barcelona, gained its second star in the Michelin Guide Spain 2026 last November.
Outside Spain, Noi at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong has two stars, and Luca's in Florence won one in the Michelin Guide Italy 2026, Airaudo's first in Italy. Before Tuesday the count stood at eight, the figure Bonviveur and Reporter Gourmet gave. Ten stars now spread over seven restaurants, four guides and six cities, and four of them arrived in under twelve months.
One caveat applies to every ranking of this kind: Michelin awards stars to restaurants, not to chefs. Totals like these are sums compiled by the press, not an official figure.
Berasategui's nine and the shrinking twelve
Martín Berasategui is often credited with twelve stars. Directo al Paladar and Bonviveur put the live figure at nine: three at his restaurant in Lasarte-Oria, three at Lasarte in Barcelona, two at M.B at The Ritz-Carlton Abama in Tenerife and one at Ola Martín Berasategui in Bilbao. The missing three, according to Directo al Paladar, went with the closure of Etxeko in Ibiza, the loss of Oria's star in Barcelona during the Monument hotel's renovation and the end of his contract at Fifty Seconds in Lisbon. San Sebastian celebrated Berasategui's 50 years at the stove only last month.
The same tally makes Airaudo the most-starred Argentine chef, ahead of Mauro Colagreco of Mirazur in Menton. The order may not hold for long: the Michelin Guide Spain 2027 is presented on 1 December in Huesca, and a third star for Amelia or a star for Bera, the renamed Oria, would move the count again.
