Sollo: winner of the first Green Michelin Star

In keeping with the times and a renewed focus on sustainability, Michelin added a new category in 2021: the Green Star. It recognises not only the finest quality dining experience, but specifically celebrates restaurants that innovate and build their offering around a respect for the environment and its natural cycles. Always an innovator, fine dining restaurant Sollo in Reserva del Higuerón was the first establishment in Málaga province to win the coveted Green Michelin Star.

This sleek modern restaurant in Reserva del Higuerón has long been known for its avant-garde thinking and commitment to food that is as healthy and sustainable as it is delicious and creative. The result has been a long list of accolades from food critics to environmentalists, but Sollo went a step further to become the first restaurant in the province of Málaga to be awarded the prestigious new Green Michelin Star.

This ground-breaking international award recognises special contributions to creating ethical and sustainable gastronomic concepts that maintain the highest culinary standards, and it came in the wake of the first Michelin Star awarded to a vegan restaurant in France. The industry is breaking new ground, and Sollo led the way on the Costa del Sol, not only following its very own gastronomic journey but in the process also satisfying the strict requirements for the Green Michelin Star.

What it takes to win a Green Michelin Star
To begin with, the same very high culinary standards of excellence apply, yet the difference with other Michelin stars is that in addition restaurants are judged on a new range of criteria that focus specifically upon sustainability, respect for the environment and also ethical practice in the sourcing of ingredients, their preparation and menus that reflect the seasonal cycles of nature. The addition of this category is a clear reflection of the growing importance of organic, vegetarian, vegan and also generally sustainable agricultural practices in the food industry.

‘Respecting the rhythms of nature’ is therefore an important element that signals a return to working with what nature provides seasonally and indeed locally, adhering also to a philosophy that incorporates the 0-kilometre goal while also allowing for exotic additions brought from afar. Another important factor for chefs and restaurant owners to strive for is to be creative in their cooking and logistical management in order to reduce waste to a minimum. For Sollo, this is like preaching to the converted, for chef and creative force behind the restaurant, Diego Gallegos, has been championing the sourcing of local, organic ingredients as well as creating dishes that resonate with their natural and cultural surroundings.

Little wonder then that Sollo would indeed become the first restaurant in the Málaga region to receive this modern accolade, and for those in the know it is just recognition for a venue that brings together fine cuisine and ecological thinking like no other.

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