Michelin 2003 results ...Promotions and Demotions

[vmilor]

Is there a not too hidden message by Michelin that they are promoting the chic over the traditional? I am joining the chorus re. Darroze. Nothing special, but she has very aesthetic presentations. By the way I was there in the hottest day of the summer last June and the air conditioning had broken! Besson and Faugeron, on the other hand, are classic chefs. Of these 2, I thought Besson is 1 and a half stars so depromotion is not a big surprise. Faugeron, on the other hand was always a solid 2 stars who has not changed his specialties but did them well. Besides they had a great sommelier. In our visit last winter we had ordered a 90 Jayer, cros Parentoux. Unfortunately it was corked and this was the last bottle. The sommelier was even more upset than I was and he gave me a substantial discount on my next choice. I feel sorry for them.

[cabrales]

The demotion of Jung would seem to be consistent with vmilor's theory, although four (Guy Savoy, Ledoyen, Le Cinq and Louis XV) of the five last three-stars (the final being L'Arnsbourg) could not be said to offer predominantly "chic" cuisine (they do not offer "traditional" cuisine either).

Note that Meneau and Loraine's cuisines (other demotees) were not particularly "traditional", particularly Meneau.

Edited February 7, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[Bux]

Cabrales, I assume you are speaking about last year's demotion of Lorain and Meneau. Then weren't demoted further this year, or did I miss that. I did not particuarly prefer Cotes St. Jacques to Lion d'Or or Domaine des Hauts de Loire, all two stars. [For some reason I can't explain, I entered three stars which I knew they were not last fall when I ate at the three restaurants. Thanks cabby for picking up my error.] I suspect there are many knowledgeable diners who would swap a few of the two stars and three stars in any given year.

As telling for me as the two and three stars are the one stars I've visited as a result of the Michelin guide. I see a great tendancey towards creative cooking. Maybe it's just a question of lots of provincial chefs moving in this direction and the best getting the star, but it appeared to me that creativity is what's bringing attention from Michelin at the introductory level. Is the lack of creativity being held against older two and three stars, I don't think so.

Are we talking chic food or chic decor and clientele?

[cabrales]

Cabrales, I assume you are speaking about last year's demotion of Lorain and Meneau. Then weren't demoted further this year, or did I miss that. I did not particuarly prefer Cotes St. Jacques to Lion d'Or or Domaine des Hauts de Loire, all three stars. I suspect there are many knowledgeable diners who would swap a few of the two stars and three stars in any given year.

Yes, I was speaking of prior demotions of Lorain and Meneau. I don't believe their demotions occurred in 2002. Their demotions also occurred in different years from each other, I vaguely call. On Lion d'Or or Domaine des Hauts de Loire, do you mean that they were three-stars when you visited?

I don't know if I would swap two and three stars, but, if I were the head of Michelin, I would demote, *among others*, Bocuse, Pourcels and possibly Georges Blanc and Taillevent under del Burgo.

[Bux]

Cabrales, I assume you are speaking about last year's demotion of Lorain and Meneau. Then weren't demoted further this year, or did I miss that. I did not particuarly prefer Cotes St. Jacques to Lion d'Or or Domaine des Hauts de Loire, all three stars. I suspect there are many knowledgeable diners who would swap a few of the two stars and three stars in any given year.

Yes, I was speaking of prior demotions of Lorain and Meneau. I don't believe their demotions occurred in 2002. Their demotions also occurred in different years from each other, I vaguely call. On Lion d'Or or Domaine des Hauts de Loire, do you mean that they were three-stars when you visited?

I don't know if I would swap two and three stars, but, if I were the head of Michelin, I would demote, *among others*, Bocuse, Pourcels and possibly Georges Blanc and Taillevent under del Burgo.

Opps, a slip of the keys. I said "all three stars" and of course they are all two stars. I will correct that, but future readers of this thread should understand what you referred to when you asked that question. I also did not think they were three stars places although with more time to sample their cuisines I might be more prepared to argue for two or three.

[vmilor]

I wrote the previous mail a bit too quickly expressing astonishment that Darroze is given a second star. If this is not AA a la Francaise, the only explanation I have is that she is capable of very artistic presentations.

Still I think Michelin is quite good, better than the competiton, but not as good as the collective judgment here. I am a bit taken aback with Cabrales' 4 depromotions. This is called meeting of the minds. Let's wait to see Taillevent under Soliveres though. I also think Guy Savoy is 2 and a half, and Legendre will never be a 3+. Well, Prince Rainer is just too powerful so we can not take issue with Monaco. But why not 3 stars for Chibois? And Chevrier at Chateauvieux/Geneve? Take my word and go there during the game season.

[Beachfan]

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

Yes, it vacillated between excellent and absent-minded within one meal. But mostly wonderful throughout, one of my top dining experiences.

Note for vegetarians: In France, only Beurheisel did as many creative things for 7 courses as they did at Les Loges. (Beurheisel has it as part of the regular menu, request in advance for Les Loges).

[lizziee]

vserna posted this on the Spain board and I didn't want it to be lost:

Christian Parra retired and sold his restaurant last year. But, lo and behold (and good surprise!) he has now teamed up, as part of what he calls "active retirement", with Alain Ducasse to re-open the Iparla, the village square café in tiny Bidarray, a few miles inland from Biarritz. They have installed a top notch team with Alain Souliac (cook), Michel Mialhe (maître d') and Martine Barbot (sommelier), and Christian insures the supervision, which I guess means they will have his signature 'boudin noir' black pudding - the best in the world. They're re-opening March 1, and next year will open a village hotel. Ducasse has bought a house in Bidarray - back to his roots.

[rpdkpd]

Here is what the critic from Le Figaro had to say two days ago about the promotions and demotions.

http://www.lefigaro.com/dossiers/adv/figar...imon_070203.htm

Edited to remove long string requiring morizontal scrolling to read page. Clickable link remains --Bux

Edited February 9, 2003 by Bux (log)

[Bux]

Christian Parra retired and sold his restaurant last year. But, lo and behold (and good surprise!) he has now teamed up, as part of what he calls "active retirement", with Alain Ducasse to re-open the Iparla, the village square café in tiny Bidarray, a few miles inland from Biarritz. They have installed a top notch team with Alain Souliac (cook), Michel Mialhe (maître d') and Martine Barbot (sommelier), and Christian insures the supervision, which I guess means they will have his signature 'boudin noir' black pudding - the best in the world. They're re-opening March 1, and next year will open a village hotel. Ducasse has bought a house in Bidarray - back to his roots.

Obviously an address to note. Ducasse is very active in the Châteaux et Hôtels de France group and may even own the umbrella organization outright, if memory serves me. He himself is well entrenched in both restaurant and hotel ownership and management. I believe all of his places operate under the banner of this group and none are connected to the Relais et Château group. By the way, vserna is a name to note when looking for information on food and dining in Spain, which is not to imply he's not up on other parts of Europe as well.

[vmilor]

Thanks for posting the Figaro article. It is very interesting. The gist of it is that perhaps Michelin is bending more to political and market pressures. They may be selecting the winners on the basis of advancing Michelin's marketability rather than the restaraunts' intrinsic value. The losers will be hard working but shy chefs who cannot self-promote. Le Figaro agrees with the collective judgment here about Darroze. Actually I had forgotten to note in an earlier post that the lobby of the restaurant is really trendy. For a split second I thought I was in a very upper end beauty shop. It was very impersonal, but with quite a few gorgeous women dressed in black which intimidated rather than exhilarated me. It could have been a place in New York. Le Figaro also notes the fickle nature of modern taste, and its quickly changing nature. Well this is the post-modern times, and France is not immune to trends, and crises of self-confidence may afflict the inspectors. But Michelin still has the guts to deservedly depromote Les Ambassadeurs (part of the powerful Taittenger group). Lets hope that they do not evolve towards the populistic direction under the new leadership.

[cabrales]

The Le Figaro article is Feb 7, Paris time. Much of our collective commentary preceded it. I was so happy to hear Jardin des Sens was perceived as being threatened by Figaro. Loiseau was also mentioned in that regard.

[robert brown]

M. Jamin must be turning over in is grave. Gerard Besson and Dominique Bouche both worked for him. Has anyone ever thought about how sophisticated and "gourmand" a typical Michelin inspector is? I am willing to wager that they are roughly equivalent to middle-class bureaucrats in terms of sensibility. Who comes closer to some kind of objective truth: Their guys or us eGullet diners in France?

[cabrales]

The Michelin inspectors must be stronger. I read somewhere that they have to have some relevant educational background, and they must eat more extensively than members do.

[vmilor]

Are Michelin inspectors mid to upper level Michelin employees or are they connoiseurs who are contracted by Michelin anonymously? In a book I read by Stuart Stevens(Feeding Frenzy), he talks about a certain Monsieur Hubert who had been a Paris-based restaurant critic and had worked his way up to become one of the 30 or so inspectors. 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? Also does anybody know whether Michelin is a family controlled small corp. or a public company with diluted ownership?

[robert brown]

Vedat, Michelin is a major company on the Paris Bourse. Cabby, I'm disappointed that you, me and Steve P. couldn't take away a star from Maximin. I trust the three of us more than the Michelin.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Now how did you guess that I have plans to start a food guide that will be more accurate, not to mention more influential, then Michelin.

[robert brown]

In France?

[Steve Plotnicki]

In the universe.

[Tonyfinch]

Now how did you guess that I have plans to start a food guide that will be more accurate, not to mention more influential, then Michelin.

You could call it "Fressing With Plotz". My Booba would buy it.

[Gavin Jones]

In the universe.

Including italy?

[Steve Plotnicki]

Is Italy in the universe? In fact Italy is the first place I am going to tackle.

Edited February 10, 2003 by Steve Plotnicki (log)

[menton1]

Anyone familar with the Guide Gantié? A wonderful, descriptive restaurant guide, but only covering the Southeast of France. Used it on my last trip and found it infinitely more helpful than Michelin. Also available online:

Guide Gantié

Anyone familiar with it?

[cabrales]

I was interested in Michelin's qualitative commentary from last year's guide on the two recently promoted three stars. From Michelin's website, the commentary from last year was:

Le Cinq -- "New dining room - a majestic reference to the Grand Trianon - opening onto a delightful garden inside. Refined atmosphere and classic cuisine created with great talent."

Louis XV -- "Breathtaking 18C styled dining room, with gilded wood panelling and a refined Mediterranean cuisine: a princely setting for a king's feast."

[hollywood]

Is Italy in the universe? In fact Italy is the first place I am going to tackle.

Block that metaphor.