Alain Ducasse regains crown as most-starred chef

Alain Ducasse has regained his crown as the most Michelin-starred chef in the world after his Mix restaurant in Las Vegas gained one star in the city's first Michelin guide.

The French chef, who opened his eagerly anticipated restaurant at London's Dorchester hotel earlier this week, now has 13 stars, putting him ahead of Gordon Ramsay.

Ramsay was briefly tied with Ducasse on 12 stars last month when his eponymous restaurant at the London NYC hotel in midtown Manhattan debuted with two stars in Michelin's New York 2008 guide.

The Las Vegas Michelin guide, which goes on sale this week at the same time as the Los Angeles guide, also awarded acclaimed French chef Joël Robuchon's restaurant at the MGM Grand hotel three stars.

Three restaurants in Las Vegas won two stars, including Alex, Guy Savoy and Picasso, while 12 restaurants won one star, including another Robuchon venue, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, also at the MGM Grand, and Nobu. In Los Angeles, three restaurants picked up two stars, with 15 eateries winning one star.

Robuchon, who also has restaurants in London, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong, was the only chef to be awarded the top accolade of three stars in both US cities.

Meanwhile, Heston Blumenthal, one of only three UK chefs with three Michelin stars, has revealed that he is in negotiations to open his first restaurant in London.

"We're in serious discussions, but it's not a done deal yet," he told financial news service Bloomberg. "It's with a site in London, a very good site in London, but I haven't signed anything. Fingers crossed, I'm hoping we might get something one way or the other in the next month."

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By Kerstin Kühn

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