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Michelin 2003 results ...Promotions and Demotions


Patrice

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I just learn that Le Louis XV ( Monaco) and Le Cinq (Paris) have won a third star from Le Guide Michelin.

Le Louis XV, Ducasse first restaurant to won this incredible distinction,losted his third star in 2001.

3 restaurants won a second star: Michel Sarran, Madealine à Sens and Hélène Daroze.

Patrice Demers

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Nobody lost their third star but...

From 2 stars to only one: Les Ambassadeurs, Gérard Besson and Faugeron

From 2 stars to nothing... Astor and La Galupe

Those who won a first star: Chamarré, Trou Gascon, Table and Camélia

Those who lost it: Maxence, Port Alma, Timgad and Gishlaine Arabian...

Patrice Demers

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Patrice -- Good news re: Chamaree. Although the cuisine is not as strong by any means as that at L'Astrance, the according of a star so soon after the opening of Chamaree (like L'Astrance -- the first possible year) confirms the superior training received by both young chefs.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...242&hl=chamarel

On the demotions from 2 stars to nothing, there must be precedent for that in the absence of a chef change. Why could Galupe have experienced this misfortune? Did the Robuchon disciple at Astor (LeCerf) quit to join the new Robuchon venture?

Wasn't Trou Gascon (Dutournier affiliate still?) in possession of one star at some prior point in time, prior to a demotion? The Ghislaine Arabian demotion is natural, as the restaurant has changed chefs and names and cuisine style.

What's the most significant, apart from the new three-stars, is the demotion of Dominique Bouchet at Les Ambassadeurs and perhaps the demotion of Guerard Besson. I have never eaten at GB, although I have read about GB in Richard Olenay's "Reflexions". :hmmm:

Edited by cabrales (log)
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The non-promoted restaurants with respect to three stars is another interesting aspect. Roellinger doesn't get his third star (which is not inappropriate an outcome, in my mind, although I am not making any relative assessments about current three-stars that might also be undeserving). Neither does Chibois. Lorain, unfortunately, does not regain his third star. Things are also looking much dimmer for Dutournier, if he were still in the running to begin with.

2003 has added significance for the non-promoted because 2002 was the first Derek Brown-supervised edition. With a second DB-supervised edition, one would have thought that any preferences of DB might have manifested themselves in a promotion of Roellinger or Chibois.

Edited by cabrales (log)
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When we visited La Galube in March 2002, the reception was warm, service throughout the meal was excellent. The food was at best ordinary. We felt that they probably started with top quality produce and meat, but the cooking showed neither perfection in simplicity nor any attempt at complexity. The meal was completely lacking in soul or inspiration. We left shaking our heads in puzzlement at its 2-star rating.

eGullet member #80.

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Patrice -- It's too bad the Galupe chef has left. Has he retired; I don't recall him being of that age? I am interested in that restaurant in part because Steingarten has written about the termination of a whole pig at Galupe and the preparation of boudin noir. :laugh:

Edited by cabrales (log)
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Cab-yes, Trou Gascon had one-star, which was taken away last year...

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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Hate to say i told you so, but...

Posted: Jan 6 2003, 11:57 AM

Group: Members

Posts: 115

Member No.: 7186

Joined: 3-January 03

Philippe Legendre at Le Cinq in the Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris will get three stars.

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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Here (in French) is the full list of promotions and demotions in the French Michelin Red Guide (not forgetting "Le Cinq" in the Hotel George V, which now has three-stars, and Ducasse, who got his three stars back in Monte Carlo)

DEUX ETOILES (par ordre minéralogique des départements)

Trois promus :

- Haute-Garonne (31) : Michel Sarran à Toulouse

- Paris (75) : Hélène Darroze, 6e

- Yonne (89) : Madeleine à Sens

Trois passent de deux étoiles à une

- Paris (75) : Gérard Besson, 1er

- Paris (75) : les Ambassadeurs, 8e

- Paris (75) : Faugeron, 16e

Deux étoiles à aucune

- Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) : Auberge de la Galupe à Urt

- Paris (75) : l'Astor, 8e

UNE ETOILE

24 promus :

- Parentèle (Villemoyenne, 10), la Terrasse et l'Assiette (Honfleur, 14), le Pressoir (Caen), Chez Serge (La Rochelle, 17), l'hostellerie du Chapeau Rouge (Dijon, 21), la Vieille Tour (Sous-la-Tour, 22), le Manoir de Lan-Kerellec (Trebeurden, 22), Rive Gauche (Tain-l'Hermitage, 26), le Relais de Pigasse (Capestang, 34), les Agapes (La Mézière, 35), Villa Stings (Saubusse, 40), Château de Mercuès (Mercuès, 46), Mariottat (Agen, 47), le Foch (Reims, 51), Relais de la Poste (La Wantzenau, 67), hostellerie de l'Abbaye la Pommeraie (Sélestat, 67), les Loges (Lyon, 69), l'Essentiel (Chambéry, 73), Bouitte (Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, 73), le Chamarré (Paris 7e), Au Trou Gascon (Paris, 12e), la Table du Baltimore (Paris 16e), le Camélia (Bougival, 78), le Pré du Moulin (Sérignan-du-Comtat, 84).

38 perdent leur étoile:

- Côte 108 (Berry-au-Bac, 02), Neat (Cannes, 06), Auberge de Sainte-Maure (Sainte-Maure, 10), Cantine (Troyes, 10), Parc de Villeneuve (Bar-sur-Seine, , l'Assiette Gourmande (Honfleur, 14), Jarrousset (Murat, 15), Château de Nieuil (Nieuil, 16), Montrachet (Puligny-Montrachet, 21), le Pré-aux-Clercs (Dijon, 21), les Millésimes (Gevrey-Chambertin, 21), Jean-Michel Tannières (Malbuisson, 25), l'Ambroisie (Quimper, 29), la Ferme du Letty (Bénodet, 29), Plaisirs d'Ausone (Bordeaux, 33), Clos du Chanoine (Saint-Malo, 35), l'Aubinière (Saint-Ouen-les-Vignes, 37), Balandre (Cahors, 46), Côté Garonne (Tonneins, 47), la Chaldette (La Chaldette, 48), les Agapes et Maison Forte (Revigny-sur-Ornain, 55), Cornet d'Or (Bergues, 59), Café de Biarritz (Biarritz, 64), Côté Théâtre (Perpignan, 66), Auberge du Roua-la Belle demeure (Argelès-sur-Mer, 66), Au Père Rota (Fougerolles, 70), Château d'Igé (Igé, , Manoir de Sornat (Bourbon-Lancy, 71), Saint-Georges (Chalons-sur-Saône, , Maxence (Paris 6e), Ghislaine Arabian (Paris 16e), Port-Alma (Paris 16e), Timgad (Paris 17e), Beffroy (Rouen, 76), le Tourville (Tourville-la-Rivière, , Hiély-Lucullus (Avignon, 84), le Mas des Herbes Blanches (Joucas, 84), le Sabot d'Annie (Belfort, 90)

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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thanks for that list fresh_a i've just spent a fruitless 20 mins searching the net for the full details

i think i must be jinxed, it seems every year at least one of the 1 starred restaurants i visit loses its star!

last year a la duchesse anne in st malo lost, and this year assiette gourmand in honfleur and montrachet in puligny montrachet have slipped. I have to say in the last two instances, deservedly.

interested to see foch in reims promoted. good rating in gault-millau, not visited but have scanned the menu several times.

gary

you don't win friends with salad

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Yes, thanks also for the list.

Having recovered from the :shock: of seeing that le Relais de Pigasse (Capestang, 34) gets a star, what's interesting is that there are only three promotions to two stars.

Is this a typical number or a record low? Does it tell us anything - have Michelin raised their standards; are restaurants not trying hard enough; is the Michenlin route being shunned?

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Who knows? I was pretty surprised to hear that Helene Darroze got two stars, as most aren't really blown away by the cuisine

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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I don't remember what I posted about my meal at Maxence. We enjoyed it, but not any more than several other meals that were less expensive. We had expected something special after first tasting Van Laer's rillettes de leivre au cacao at the Chocolate Salon the year before. I wondered if we hadn't just ordered poorly, but the loss of the single star is not a shocker to me.

The loss of la Ferme du Letty's star in Bénodet, Brittany is, if not a surprise, a shock of sorts. Some years back it had a high GaultMillau number and only one star from Michelin. We felt it was not a two star, but a remarkable find for a one star. A few Breton restaurant people in NY have shared our opinion about the restaurant, although none have told me about a recent experience. I noticed that GaultMillau had dropped it from their guide altogether for the past two years, so the element of surprise is gone. I wonder what happened.

We had a superb lunch at Auberge de la Galupe, but it was over two and a half years ago. It was suggested that Parra sold the place. I find it hard to imagine another reason for the loss of both stars.

Thanks for the list.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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My wife and I were on our honeymoon in June and we went to Ducasse in Monte Carlo the last night we were there. I had asked our waiter why a star was removed and I could see a slight change in his temperment. A little flustered as he told me that the Michelin guide is looking at larger places now, and that it is a 3 star no matter what the books says.

The meal was outstanding. I never doubted that it was a 3 star, but I guess I can not say that I have been to a 3 star Michelin restaurant.

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... but I guess I can not say that I have been to a 3 star Michelin restaurant.

On the contrary. As the stars are awarded for past perfomance, and as the money market funds are careful to note in their ads, that's no guarantee of future performance. You ate in a three star restaurant. This year's diners will have to wait to know for sure.

:biggrin:

I am only half kidding and for all the credibility Michelin has, it's still a subjective rating, if not seen as subjective as those given by any single reviewer.

In fact, I've always said the smart diner eats in a two star that's going to get its third star the following year. The restaurant is bound to be trying its hardest, the reservations are bound to be a little easier to get and the staff will be less cocky and the restaurant less overwhelmed with business. Of course the diner with real prescience will eat for free on his winnings at the casino tables.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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That meal at Ducasse was possibly the best meal I've ever had, and I've done a great job blowing pay checks all over Manhattan. Now I'm not sure if it was because it was the end of a great vacation and all the other factors weigh in on that decision. That room in unbelievable, I had never seen service like that. There are 16 tables and 25 members of the waitstaff. If you are thinking you might want another bottle of water or wine, they are there with it. Reach into your pocket to have a cigarette and there is fire in front of your face before you get your hand out of your pocket.

We had a tasting menu. For some reason, a 5 course tasting was only about 10 or 20 Euro's more than a la carte. He really loves his olive oils out there. We had seafood salad, risotto with a tempura vegetable and lemon & olive oil, grilled turbot (not at the calibur of the rest of the meal), and a veal dish.

outstanding

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I absolutely agree with you regarding Helene Darroze.  To me this is a real shocker.  I didn't even like her foie gras, and she is considered a foie gras specialist.

Ditto. I have tried several of her foie gras dishes, including the one that has both cold duck and cold goose foie. Another dish that was average at best was the utilization of foie gras in a rabbit soup during game season, in a sort of ice cream quenelle. :hmmm:

Another interesting change was Les Loges, which received one star. This is a confirmation of sorts that Nicolas Le Bec, who was somewhat controversially denoted by Gault-Millau as chef of the year in 2002, does have some sort of cuisine. Note I have not eaten at Les Loges.

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Oh, I forgot about les Loges. A well deserved star I think. Certainly a star for the food. Service varied and I might have a better memory of the service if they had showed some concern for my inquiry about another table as we seemed to be between the two tables of diners who were smoking heavily from aperatifs on through the meal. The wine steward seemed particularly inattentive as well, while the other servers and runners couldn't do enough for us. Noteworty food and a nice package of chocolates bonbons for Mrs. B along with the check for me. An exceptional space if a bit theatrical.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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