Michelin Guide inspectors are banned from entering restaurants in the French ski resort of Megeve. This is the decision of the owner and chef Marc Veyrat, who six years ago filed a lawsuit against the culinary guide for taking away one of his stars, CNN reported.
It is believed that a Michelin star is the most important culinary distinction for a restaurant, and for gourmets it is an assurance that the restaurant offers top-shelf dishes. Further stars – a maximum of three – are proof that the place and its chef reach the heights of gastronomy. There is great pressure not only to obtain, but above all to maintain this status.
Chef and taken away Michelin star
In 2019, after visiting the Veyrata alpine restaurant – La Maison des Bois – inspectors found several shortcomings in the dishes served. This gave them an excuse to downgrade a three-star restaurant to a two-star restaurant.
The Michelin inspector said the decision was due to the use of cheddar cheese in the soufflé. Veyrat argued that he used local cheeses, including reblochon and beaufort, and that inspectors may have been misled by the note of saffron.
– They are incompetent – says Veyrat to this day, quoted by CNN. For this decision and – in his opinion incorrect assessment – the chef sued the guide for the damages he allegedly suffered due to this degradation. He then demanded a full explanation of this decision and symbolic compensation. – I have been stripped of my honor. Take away all my stars, he thundered.
Ultimately, the French court dismissed the lawsuit. It was then found that the chef had not provided any evidence that he had suffered material damage. She herself left the restaurant, handing over the reins of the restaurant to her daughter.
New restaurant, new ban
Vayrat recently opened a new establishment – Le Restaurant Marc Veyrat – located in the elegant French ski resort of Megeve. And again it serves top-shelf dishes. In a restaurant that can accommodate 18 people, a menu for one person costs EUR 450, or over PLN 1,900. And although the chef has not given up cooking in the spirit of haute cuisine, he no longer intends to fight for culinary awards – he has banned guide inspectors from entering his new place.
“I even have a little sign on my front door,” he told CNN. – This year I turn 75 years old. I don't want to take exams and be graded, he added.
When asked why, despite losing the battle, he decided to return to gastronomy, he emphasized that he missed working in a restaurant and the joy he derived from hosting people.
CNN reported that it had contacted the Michelin Guide for comment.
Chefs don't want stars
Vayrat is not the only chef who distances himself from this classification. Sébastien Bras asked for his restaurant to be removed from the guide. He called the decision the price of freedom, although two years later the place was included in the guide with two Michelin stars. Frédéric Ménager also refuses to evaluate his work.
CNN pointed out that the examples of other chefs, such as the chef of the South Korean restaurant Eo, show that an explicit ban on their part does not deter anonymous inspectors who evaluate their establishments anyway.
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