Michelin Man Squeals

[Bux]

Feud Over Michelin Guide Grips French Food Sector

"A French restaurant critic has lifted the lid on the secretive inner workings of the Michelin guide, alleging that a third of the top-rated venues in France's foremost gastronomic handbook are not up to scratch.

Pascal Remy, sacked in December after 16 years as an inspector at the illustrious guide, smashed an industry taboo by giving a series of interviews to French media on Thursday."

"Establishments are not visited every year," Remy told the weekly Le Figaro Magazine in an interview due to be published on Saturday. "More than a third of three-star restaurants are not of the standard expected."

Michelin is denying much of this, of course.  Disgruntled ex-employee?  Does anyone have more info about this?

Jamie

Posted in the France forum. I've moved the responses over to this board as it's a story that's of broader interest in terms of News and Media and food guides in general. A post or two may now appear as a non sequitur, apologies for that.

It's a most interesting story. Unfortunately it smacks of a little sensationalism, but what's telling to me, is that Michelin is not saying every restaurant is visited every year. It's generally been felt by most observers that Michelin is conservative when it comes to altering a rating, but I, for one, have always believed that every establishment has been visited at least once a year and that multistarred restaurants are visited more often and perhaps by different inspectors.

Brown is quoted as saying "We have never said that we visit every hotel and every restaurant every year." I suspect many who have had faith in the Michelin ratings will be a bit shocked to hear that.

On the other hand, there's no need for the sensationalism of repeating last year's oft published inaccuracy that "top chef Bernard Loiseau committed suicide following the decision by the renowned GaultMillau guide to cut its rating for his flagship La Cote d'Or." I recall that Loiseau committed suicide after the announcement was made that he hadn't lost a star, in spite of the rumors that he did. "Flagship" is a curious word to use in this case as well, although it's true that he had another restaurant in Paris.

[menton1]

It's really not surprising that they don't visit every restaurant every year; the numbers just don't add up. With the existing restaurants already listed plus all the new openings, they would need a staff of a couple of hundred reviewers plus an enormous budget to cover all of them, not to mention the large geographical area needed to be covered as well.

It seems we now need to use several guides and take a consensus from all of them, or, better yet, have an Egulleter review the place for us!

Edited February 13, 2004 by menton1 (log)

[winemike]

We have never said that we visit every hotel and every restaurant every year

I believe this has been said many times by the Michelin. Certainly said on a TV show

about the Michelin guide I've seen some years ago (Des racines et des ailes on France3 or Envoye Special

on France2, can't really remember...some big show like that anyway).

[PROVOCATIVE MODE ON]

Reflection on the Michelin guide :

Anyway, this is all about marketing, we keep everything secret and we issue a very simple

review (1,2 or 3 stars) with just a list of few dishes for the starred places.

Btw, that's why we have 80% of the market for restaurant guides in France.

And then, we just let people talk about it and how good we are....

[PROVOCATIVE MODE OFF]

Bux, I think you're right, Pascal Remy (whoever he is) ... is all about sensationalism !!

Anyway, I do not really care about how they do it. Generally speaking, it's a good guide and I tend

to agree with their ratings. They're slow to put the good places in and slow to put the bad ones out

but that's known to everyone. It still sells. A lot.

[Jinmyo]

A French restaurant critic has lifted the lid on the secretive inner workings of the Michelin guide, alleging that a third of the top-rated venues in France's foremost gastronomic handbook are not up to scratch. Pascal Remy, sacked in December after 16 years as an inspector at the illustrious guide, smashed an industry taboo by giving a series of interviews to French media on Thursday.

[Cynthia G]

Ah, the intrigue of it all!

[Jinmyo]

En Francais.

[ExtraMSG]

And people rag about the Zagat effect. At least that's just a popularity contest.

[menton1]

This story was again reiterated by Agence France Presse and has gone out in English on the Expatica.com web site; While a lot of the story does seem to be a disgruntled former employee's rantings, the most telling part is the head of Michelin being quoted as saying that they have only 100 reviewers for ALL of Europe! This presents not only a numbers problem, but a geography problem.

As restaurant reviewers often say that it takes multiple visits to get a fair appraisal of a restaurant, the esteem in which Michelin reviews are held up to seems highly undeserving, to say the least.

Although quite different in scope, the power of Michelin and relative newcomer Zagat seems overhyped and we should probably take a lot more seriously the views of people like Jules Pudlowski and Jacques Gantié, to name just two reviewers in France that seem to spend a lot more time and effort reviewing a restaurant.

Expatica Michelin Story

[foodie52]

Help me out. I heard the tail end of a story on NPR this evening (National Public Radio) here in the USA. It was about a former Guide restaurant critic who lost his job and who supposedly maintains that not all the restaurants are actually visited. There was also some mention that perhaps the stars are not allotted fairly.

Can anybody tell us more?

[menton1]

Help me out. I heard the tail end of a story on NPR this evening (National Public Radio) here in the USA. It was about a former Guide restaurant critic who lost his job and who supposedly maintains that not all the restaurants are actually visited. There was also some mention that perhaps the stars are not allotted fairly.

Can anybody tell us more?

Just read this entire thread!!

[Bux]

Just read this entire thread!!

In all fairness, foodie52 didn't post to this thread. Her separate post was merged with the thread and then directed to the thread. I'm truly surprised we haven't had more comment on this subject. Are not the rest of you all as surpised as I was to learn of how few inspectors there are and how few visits are made.

[menton1]

Are not the rest of you all as surpised as I was to learn of how few inspectors there are and how few visits are made.

Bux, as I've stated above, I'm really not surprised. The sheer number of restaurants to be reviewed combined with the large geographic area to be covered combined with a "review" that rarely exceeds 25 words makes it quite unsurprising to me that they don't visit every year. I was always puzzled by the esteem to which Michelin is held to by some...

Have you ever seen the Pudlo books?

[patrick]

Bux, I am suprised to learn of these allegations concerning numbers of inspectors. Whilst it is obvious that not every restaurant and hotel listed will be visited annually, the public and industry have every right to believe that there are sufficient inspectors to ensure consistency at the highest level.

After working at a 3 star restaurant in Paris, i was certainely given the impression that inspections are very regular at that level. Likewise, during conversation with a highly placed individual at a British 3 star restaurant, i was also led to believe that there may be anything upto 20 visits between the 2 and 3 star status.

Derek Brown says there are about 100 inspectors across Europe and that the allegations are sad. I agree! In my own experience, i have always found the guide very informative and the recipients of stars all very worthy.

Maybe it is a case of sour grapes from Pascal Remy or maybe there is some truth in his allegations and comments....i believe the former at present.

[Bux]

What Brown hasn't said is that all two and three star restaurants are revisited every year, let alone several times a year. I've always assumed they were and I'm assuming that if they are, Brown would say so. I've not found Michelin faultless, but it's been reliable. Naturally, I may disagree about certain restaurants, especially based on the single meal I've had, but by and large I've respected Michelin largely because I'm assumed they've made the many visits necessary to be assured of constency.

[Scott]

I think michelin has been very cagey about their words.

They often describe the assessment process of a top restaurant being visited up to 20 times, and it sounds like they mean that when it is 'in play' they will assess thoroughly. But after that, they have other fish to fry.

very disappointing, and quite disingenous for me.

[admajoremgloriam]

This Michelin inspector was interviewed at length in Le Figaro Magazine last week-end. What he had to say was not very different from what has been said here, but there was an interesting name and shame bit in which the magazine listed all two stars deserving three and vice versa (after asking their opinion to about ten other specialists working in French press). According to their survey:

Two stars deserving three:

- General agreement: on Roellinger, Fréchon, Dutournier, Anton

- Were also quoted: Etchebest, Marcon, Llorca, Raimbault, Thorel, Chibois, Oustau de Baumanière, Lasserre, Duchesse Anne

Three stars deserving two:

- Wide agreement on Jardin des Sens

- Agreement on Taillevent, Les Crayères, Ledoyen Haeberlin, Guy Martin, Lemeloise, Bocuse, Blanc, Lorain, Meneau, Loiseau, Trama

- Quoted once or twice: Legendre, Veyrat, Troisgros, Pacaud, Guérard, Westermann

Obviously, for those only quoted once, or even twice, the listing is not very telling, but for the others I find it interesting. Surprisingly enough, a few pages before one can read "One has never eaten better at Les Crayères" and about the same comment for Guy Martin. I was also suprised to find them on the list.

[paulbrussel]

In the past couple of years, I have the impression that more competitors are in the field of restaurant guides in Europe. Especially Michelin and GaultMillau are competing. GM has invested much more in their guides and wants to become the leading guide for France and Benelux, instead of Michelin. I think it is also about the quota for stars of Michelin, whilst GaultMillau is much more flexible. Furthermore, Michelin tends to be more conservative (although it is changing) but GM wants much more emphasis on the revelations, as they had in their great years of the 1970s.

In the Benelux the two guides really compete in their publication policy.

When Michelin announced a second three star restaurant for the Netherlands for 2004, GM stroke back immediately by announcing that in a few weeks they would publish their guide with a 19.5/20 restaurant in Belgium.

And I must say that I have doubts about (three) starred restaurants in the Benelux as well.

E.g.: GM 2004 wrote that the three starred chef Jean-Pierre Bruneau in Brussels had a very good year 2003 and kept it's 19/20. On the other hand, he lost it's third star in Michelin 2004; I have been there three times in 2003, three times before, once this year, and I didn't see much of a difference.

[Bux]

Now that we're speaking of Michelin outside France, at the starred levels in particular, they seem really out of touch with what's happening in Spain.

[BigboyDan]

The Michelin Guide is just that - a guide. And it's star-rating system only matters in France and French speaking Switzerland and Belgium; same with GaultMillau. Rating restaurants in Germany, say, using a French inspired mind-set results in an inacurately decribed view. In Germany most restaurant reviews (by Germans) are concerned with food and drink offerings, environs and service are not considered all that important. Except for the quality of buxom of the waitress, of course... Spain and Italy have their own mindsets that require other guides.

[Bux]

Spain and Italy have their own mindsets that require other guides.

Nevertheless, the Michelin guide plays a part in the choices of foreign tourists, if not the local population. I wouldn't count out the local population either. Those interested in food beyond the normal eating to satisfy hunger quote the Michelin guide as often as any other. Madrileños are quick to tell us how many stars a particular restaurant has when they mention it and those Spanish chefs who have Michelin stars for their restaurants, feature that proudly in their publicity literature. At a certain level they care. That may be most apparent at the haute cusine level, which has been most influenced by French cuisine. I'm aware of Michelin's place in Italy.

[John Whiting]

I'm aware of Michelin's place in Italy.

Italy has the resolutely anti-snob Slow Food Osteria Guide, listing traditional "bistros" costing around 35€ or less. Their bias may well go too far in that direction, but I love them nevertheless.

[menton1]

There seems to be a growing disdain for Michelin on the continent, and no wonder. Somehow we want more from a restaurant review than a few symbols and a 20 word description. Michelin and Zagat, although arrived at by a different formula, are little more than a phone directory with some symbols and a very cursory description.

The Pudlo, the Gantié, and in the Provinces the Petit Futé guides are alot like capsulated newspaper reviews telling of the entire experience, whether it's describing a chandelier, the artwork, the biography of the chef, or the type of china and silverware used for serving. This is helpful information when deciding where to dine and what to expect. Reliability can be factored in by using more than 1 guide.

Bux, I recommend you take a first-hand look at the Pudlo to see how really excellent a restaurant guide it is!

[John Whiting]

The NYT seems to have caught up with this in some detail.

NOTE: I'm a Times News Tracker subscriber. If this URL doesn't work for others, I hope someone will provide an alternative.

[Pan]

It doesn't work for me, and I am registered with the NYT but not a subscriber to News Tracker. I'm guessing it may work for you alone.

[John Whiting]

Try this