German chef Knogl, who arrived to run the Cheval Blanc restaurant at the famous Basel hotel in 2007, achieved his first star by the end of that year and his second a year later.

The 47-year-old now joins only two other chefs in Switzerland – Benoît Violier at the Hôtel de Ville in Crissier and Andreas Caminada at the Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau – in holding three Michelin stars, generally acknowledged as the highest accolade possible for a chef.

Revealing the new guide, Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin guides, said in a statement that Knogl’s cuisine “hasn’t stopped evolving over the last few years”.

He praised the chef’s “refined ideas” which make dining at his restaurant “a unique experience”.

Reacting to the achievement, Knogl said it was “a life-long dream come true”.

In total Michelin awarded 116 restaurants one star or more in the 2016 guide, one fewer than last year.

The impressive haul means Switzerland retains its status as the most Michelin-starred nation per capita in Europe.

“The choice of our inspectors, who work independently and anonymously, confirms once again for 2016 the high level of Swiss gastronomy and reflects the huge culinary diversity in the country,” said Ellis.

He also praised Switzerland’s mix of traditional restaurants and innovative, modern establishments.

Among the 95 restaurants receiving one Michelin star, 13 are newly-starred, including Geneva’s La Bottega, Eligo in Lausanne and modern Japanese Yu Niyo at the Kameha Grand Zurich hotel.

Meanwhile 14 restaurants have lost the star they held last year.

Switzerland’s 18 two-star restaurants retain their rankings in 2016.

The publication of Michelin’s 2016 guide to Switzerland comes hot on the heels of rival guide GaultMillau, which announced its 2016 rankings earlier this week.