Michelin 2003 results ...Promotions and Demotions

[vserna]

Are Michelin inspectors mid to upper level Michelin employees or are they connoiseurs who are contracted by Michelin anonymously? (...) I wonder if they have a full time job doing this then. But I guess Figaro mentiones the number of inspectors as 20.  20 in France or for all of Europe?

The Michelin inspectors are headed since 2001 by a Briton, Derek Brown - which as you can imagine was a bit controversial fact at first in proud France! They're full-time employees, and all have a professional restaurant/catering background. There's 20 for France alone. My own very limited experience with them and their methods indicates that they are rather bureaucratic in style and preferences, that they are relatively autonomous only as far as 1-star and 'bib gourmand' restaurant go, and that the big 'political' decisions (i.e., the two- and three-star restaurants) are all made by Brown and the Michelin bigwigs.

A marked turn to favor ever more modern cuisines is obvious in the past few years. Also an effort to reduce the bloated list of stars in France, where the overall quality level of restaurants is undeniably lower today than 10 or 20 years ago. Problem is, they're doing likewise throughout Europe, even in places where the trend has been just the opposite, i.e. to marked across-the-board improvements, as in Spain. The Michelin brass got an earful from Spanish restaurant critics in December when they went to Madrid to present the 2003 Spain guide and had to admit that there were no more stars in it than in the 1990 Spain guide - without being able to offer a plausible explanation for this fact, given that Spain's culinary explosion is such a well-documented story... But the French have a very hard time admitting that they may be going through a hollow period while others are buoyant. It's a bit ridiculous, because such pendulum swings have been common throughot culinary history, but they have real trouble facing that fact.

[Tonyfinch]

A marked turn to favor ever more modern cuisines is obvious in the past few years.

Weeell.........only just. I don't know about France so much but from a UK perspective, given the huge interest in and market for non-European cuisines the impression is that Michelin has had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era.

Even now it barely acknowledges the massive importance of Indian and Chinese cuisine in Britain and those few Indian restaurants it does recognize are Frenchifying the food,decor and service.

And very high end and cutting edge restaurants such as Nobu and Nahm would never be awarded more than one star no matter how high the quality because to do so would mean questioning the hegemony of French cuisine.

[Michael Laiskonis]

A marked turn to favor ever more modern cuisines is obvious in the past few years.  Problem is, they're doing likewise throughout Europe, even in places where the trend has been just the opposite, i.e. to marked across-the-board improvements, as in Spain.

Perhaps the answer lies hidden somewhere in these boards, but does Michelin employ 'local' inspectors, i.e. Spanish inspectors in Spain, Italian in Italy, etc., or do French inspectors review all of Europe? Is this a flawed system, or objectively fair (though based on French standards)?

Maybe irrelevant with the recently perceived shift toward modern styles... I remember reading an interview with Ferran Adria several years ago, in Spain Gourmetour, where he asserted, to the best of my recollection, that if Paul Bocuse (or some other at-that-time three star from the same generation) deserved a three star rating, then he (Adria) did not, and vice versa. Essentially, having an 'apples-to-oranges' argument with the Michelin system.

[vserna]

And very high end and cutting edge restaurants such as Nobu and Nahm would never be awarded more than one star no matter how high the quality because to do so would mean questioning the hegemony of French cuisine.

They do have trouble recognizing traditional 'exotic' restaurants, and that extends to modern 'exotic' restaurants. But not to modern European restaurants - after all, there are many two- and three-star restaurants in Italy and Spain that are markedly 'non-French' in concept.

[Bux]

The issue Tony raises has been discussed at some length on the site, but I forget which board. As I recall there was great support for the sentiment that Michelin's system works best when one only has to compare apples to apples and that Michelin's relative success has ben dependent on the fact that throughout it's entire existence, at least until recently, there has been one dominant type of restaurant in France. Even the foreign or ethnic restaurants have adopted certain French standards as the minimum three courses and wine. I have nonetheless found Michelin reliable. That means the restaurants it lists generally please me and to a great degree according to their stars. It does not mean Michelin is not overlooking restaurants that don't fit their mold and that may be the problem that is greatest for them today.

So Michael's post follows Tony's quite naturally. Who does the inspecting in Spain? In a strange town or region without a good personal recommendation, I've usually found the Michelin Guide reliable and in planning a trip in Spain, or northern Spain at least, I've found the two and three star place well worth going out of my way to visit or worthy of the trip. But what am I missing? Perhaps if the average food oriented traveler is not best served by Michelin, are there better guides to Spain. This part of the discussion might better serve on the Spain board. To a great extent so might any discussion about the explosion of cooking in Spain, except for the single factor that most American, and I suspect, British gourmets rarely target Spain as a food destination and even when American magazines write about Spain, I get the impression they are not aiming at the same level of sophistication they do when they write about French food and chefs. We haven't quite gotten it yet here on this side of the Atlantic, but maybe I'll finish this rant in the proper place when I have a bit ot time.

[vserna]

Robert: I think there is much better awareness of the Spanish culinary scene in the US than in France, even though the French are catching up fast. Re the nationality of Michelin inspectors: they are all Spanish in Spain and Italian in Italy, but again the 'big' decisions are made in Paris.

Edited February 10, 2003 by vserna (log)

[robert brown]

Menton1, I buy the Gantie every year and use it extensively. Jacques Gantie is the restaurant reviewer for Nice-Matin and appears to eat for free because he never disparages any restaurant. However, the Guide is indispensable for people spending significant amounts of time in Provence or the Cote d'Azur because it includes just about every restaurant of any signficance. If you can read the descriptions, you can learn about some oddball and otherwise unusual places you might otherwise remain in the dark about. He even includes a woman in Carros (just north of the Nice Airport on the N202) who serves dinner in her house. I have gotten to know her and she comes and cooks for us from time to time when we have a group of friends in for dinner. Whenever possible, it is wise to get a second opinion from Michelin or Gault-Maillau. Otherwise, you're on your own.

[vserna]

Jacques Gantie is the restaurant reviewer for Nice-Matin and appears to eat for free because he never disparages any restaurant.

Is that a commendation?

[vmilor]

A marked turn to favor ever more modern cuisines is obvious in the past few years. Also an effort to reduce the bloated list of stars in France, where the overall quality level of restaurants is undeniably lower today than 10 or 20 years ago

Vserna, thanks for providing crucial information.

Is the overall quality of restaurants undeniably lower in France than 10 or 20 years ago? It depends on what is meant by OVERALL. If you mean the median, you are probably right, that is if somebody comes from Mars and accidentally enters in a restaurant, statistical chances are that he will eat worse today than 18 years ago(when I started dining in France). But if you factor in the upper end there may be more top places today in France than 18 years ago. This is partially because of international competition from other newcomers in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, etc. The unfortunate thing is that there is increasing polarization in eating habits in France which is more like US and less like Italy.

TonyF: what made Michelin reasonably dependable was that they did not bend to populism. The minute they star Nobu I will do probono work for Steve Plotnicki's future guide. But if they star a simple seafood restaurant in a Basque fishing village I will take my hat off.

[Steve Plotnicki]

The minute they star Nobu I will do probono work for Steve Plotnicki's future guide. But if they star a simple seafood restaurant in a Basque fishing village I will take my hat off.

That will make two inspectors plus me. Anybody else?

I'm also intrigued by this woman who lives north of the Nice airport. Will she come to the upper east side of Manhattan and cook at a dinner party?

[Bux]

I'm also intrigued by this woman who lives north of the Nice airport. Will she come to the upper east side of Manhattan and cook at a dinner party?

I'm not sure if she comes to Robert's house in Nice or if he brings his friends to her house, but I know a few good cooks who will cook for you at a dinner party if you buy them a house on the upper east side.

[Bux]

Is the overall quality of restaurants undeniably lower in France than 10 or 20 years ago?  It depends on what is meant by OVERALL. If you mean the median, you are probably right, that is  if somebody comes from Mars and accidentally enters in a restaurant, statistical chances are that he will eat worse today than 18 years ago(when I started dining in France).  But if you factor in the upper end there may be more top places today in France than 18 years ago. This is partially because of international competition from other newcomers in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, etc.  The unfortunate thing is that there is increasing polarization in eating habits in France which is more like US and less like Italy.

I've been thinking somewhat the same thing, but without too much confidence because my connection and experience with various levels of cooking in France has changed so much over the course of my travels in France. Are those mid level meals so unrewarding because the food is bad or because my tastes have improved? Nevertheless I feel the polarization is growing between the connoisseurs and those who eat to subsist.

[robert brown]

Victor, do you know Jacques Gantie? Maybe he does dine "anonymously"and pays his way. Outside of Michelin, do you know any French guys who do? I thought I was making the point to take his recommendations with the proverbial grain of salt.

The woman, Claude Chartron, would probably love to be invited to your place, Steve, as she may have never been to New York. It's nice home cooking, but I think if you are going to get a chef from France, you would be happier with Passard.

I remember reading aninterview with Derek Brown in the Financial Times in which he said restaurants in France were better than ever. (Talking about grains of salt).

[Steve Plotnicki]

At least she will have home grown olive oil at her disposal.

[marcus]

Cabrales -- On reading through this thread I noticed your comment re Roellinger. Have you posted on his restaurant and I missed it? Up to now, I've thought that I've been just about the only nay sayer on his restaurant.

[cabrales]

marcus -- I did not post about my 2002 meals at Roellinger. I took in three consecutive meals there, and found that many of the signature dishes (Selles d'agneau roti a la broche "epices grande caravane" -- roasted saddle of lamb "grand caravan spices"; Saint-Pierre "retour des Indes" -- John Dory "Return from the Indies") were stark and lacked appropriate balance.

I believe Roellinger clearly merits two stars, but not, to my tastes, three.

[Bux]

marcus -- I did not post about my 2002 meals at Roellinger. I took in three consecutive meals there, and found that many of the signature dishes (Selles d'agneau roti a la broche "epices grande caravane" -- roasted saddle of lamb "grand caravan spices"; Saint-Pierre "retour des Indes" -- John Dory "Return from the Indies") were stark and lacked appropriate balance.

Subjectively, I like stark. In terms of balance, what was inappropriate about their balance in your view or did you just find them unbalanced? I ate there only once and had the tasting menu which I found no less balanced than a kai seki meal, although I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of fine Japanese cooking. On the basis of one visit, I'm not in a position to present a strong argument for any rating, but I can talk about the balance of that meal as an entity. Oddly enough I've heard the thought expressed that the food at Blue Hill is unbalanced. I find their food exceptionally well balanced and I know you do too.

I have had several other meals at two star restaurants in Brittany and felt that at least two of the places in which I ate were either very good or very interesting, but that not only did they not belong in the same classification as Roellinger's but that there might even be a middle group that separated them.

[marcus]

I had a number of those dishes and I think that stark is a good description, although I found the spicing actually verging on unpleasant.

[cabrales]

I had a number of those dishes and I think that stark is a good description, although I found the spicing actually verging on unpleasant.

marcus -- I agree. For me, those two particular dishes were bordering on unpleasant. Also poor in the same sense of starkness/aggressiveness/overspicing:

-- Petit homard cuit a la commande aux saveurs de "L'Ile Aux Epices" (Small lobster cooked to order with flavors of "islands of spices"). Among the items on the plate was a "line" of dense sauce that tasted like vinegar with sweet sensations (almost maple-ly; note I do not have Roellinger's book). This dish had Indian cuisine connotations that were not helpful.

-- In the "Aventures Marines" appetizer sampler, the Lames de Bar Acidulees de Vinaigre Celtique (Strips of Bass, with the Acidity of Celtic Vinegar) were very disappointing as well. Two long strips of translucent bass meat with a reddish-brownish row of sauce in between the strips and along the side.

[Bux]

I found the spicing actually verging on unpleasant.

Interesting. The person who most highly recommneded the restaurant to me some years back also warned me, knowing my general appreciation of traditional French food and my displeasure with most American attempts at fusion, that I might find the spicing objectionable. I didn't. Only one item that seemed satay-like was odd and out of balance to me and that was on a plate of three bites that were more like amuses.

[cabrales]

Below is additional select commentary from third parties on the Michelin determinations:

-- There is a trend towards strong financial backers for three-stars and other restaurants. Often, the owners are non-French: Brunei (Plaza, Meurice), Saudi (Cinq); or large corporations, like Lenotre (Pre Catelan), Vivendi (Ledoyen), or Taittinger (Les Ambassadeurs and Grand Véfour).

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/030207/202/31fkp.html

-- Louis XV was demoted from three to two-stars in 2001. It was generally viewed as a reminder to chefs that their "elitist and expensive" cuisine obligated them to stay "artisans in the noble sense" who remain in the kitchen. Ducasse reemergers from a time in "purgatory".

Edited February 12, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[fresh_a]

Concerning the "non-French" owners of "French" establishments, I think that these "foreigners" were the only ones willing to spend the money necessary to rejuvenate these great establishments. I know that no French company was willing to take any risk on the Meurice and George V, and luckily these people stepped in... and were able to provide maximal funds to make them as new

[vserna]

I'll stick to my guns on the "overall" level of French restaurants: undeniably lower than in 1983. Are there 15 'true' three-star places (i.e. places that deserve the rating, not Bocuse) now instead of 12 then? Perhaps. (I'm not even sure.) But obviously such a small difference in a nationwide restaurant scene cannot compensate, on its own, for the precipitous drop of standards across the board. IMHO, of course.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I'll agree with Victor about the loss of quality. But I also want to know why that is so? The ingredients available to the Spanish chefs and French chefs are the same. Aside from inventiveness in cuisine, why would the quality be any worse if the quality in Spain is now so high?

[Bux]

Are the ingredients available to the Spanish chefs and French chefs the same? In theory they are, but it's the same theory that holds these ingredients are available by air frieght all over the world. I don't have Mort Rosenblum's A Goose in Toulouse at hand, but I believe it was he, in that book, that cited the indredible shift of France from an agricultural country to an urban society where now a relatively small percentage of people work the land or are in any way involved in raising crops or livestock. France now imports snails and frog's legs.

When you bypass the Spanish three star restaurants, you begin to get a sense of how rustic the food can be in Spain and how much if varies from region to region and how dependant it often is on local ingredients or traditions. Then return to the multistarred places and I think you will see the influences of tradition. Visit the multistarred places in France and it's harder not only to tell what part of France you are in, but if you are in France at all. Oddly enough the strong rustic traditions of Spanish cuisine don't seem to be as hampering to creativity as perhaps the legacy of the tradition of haute cuisine is in France.