Elite Traveler May-June 2016

elite traveler MAY/JUNE 2016 107

TIMELINE

The annual publication of the Michelin Guide is an eagerly awaited moment that will tell chefs if they have made the cut, if they’re rising even higher or if they have more work to do to merit receiving one of the coveted stars. For diners, it provides a reliable guide to where they can find the best food. If a restaurant has a star, it is going to be good; if it has been awarded the highest accolade of three stars, it is accepted it is among the best restaurants in the world. British chef Gordon Ramsay admitted to crying when Michelin retracted his two stars at The London in New York. In France, Bernard Loiseau committed suicide amid rumors that one of his three stars at his La Côte d’Or restaurant was about to be taken away. It was later reported that Loiseau was struggling with debt issues, but Michelin still received blame from some people – testament to the power and influence wielded by the little red book. Consider Singapore-based French chef Bruno Menard – he has a constant reminder of his three stars tattooed on his forearm. He describes clinching them akin to winning an Oscar in Hollywood. “It is amazing. It sounds like a lifetime achievement, but getting the three stars is probably just the beginning of something new. Your life changes,” he says. At a time of countless lists, bloggers and user generated restaurant reviews, Menard insists the Michelin Guide is still the one that matters. “You have to agree that Michelin is still the main reference. It is what made me dream as a kid and it is the reason I am a chef today,” he says. Serious commitment Indeed, achieving stars is the primary goal of many young chefs when they set out on a tough career. It is the reward for hard work, skill and commitment. “If you ask a 16-year-old chef what their ambition is, they won't say ‘I want to get two AA Rosettes or six out of 10 in The Good Food Guide ’,” says British critic Andy Hayler, who has visited every three-star restaurant in the world. He calls the Michelin Guide the gold standard. “Having supposedly multiple anonymous visits by people who eat out a lot and who are not taking any money, advertisement or disguised consultancy from restaurants is the most objective way to design a food guide,” he says. Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt says that being awarded a star a year after opening his Stockholm restaurant Ekstedt meant a great change. “I think all chefs have a love-hate relationship with Michelin, but it was very important for me,” he says. “When we have

1900: The first edition of the blue Michelin Guide is launched by André and Édouard Michelin.

1904: First Michelin Guide for Belgium.

1910: First guides for Spain and Germany.

1911: Guide to Great Britain & Ireland is launched.

“You have to agree that Michelin is still the main reference. It is what made me dream as a kid and it is the reason I am a chef today” Bruno Menard

1920: A charge of seven francs for the guide is introduced.

1926: The first stars are awarded.

1931: Two- and three-star ratings introduced, and the guide changes to red.

holidays or bank holidays Stockholm is dead as Swedes leave the city to go to their summer houses, and Michelin really helps us. People look in the guide and come to us.” French superchef Guy Savoy, now operating Restaurant Guy Savoy at the iconic Monnaie de Paris, thrives on the perceived pressure of holding the three stars. “The Michelin stars are like the gold medal in the Olympic Games for an athlete,” he says. “They don’t add pressure, only passion.” Others find the stars a burden. Marco Pierre White – at the time the youngest chef ever to be awarded three stars, at just 33 – famously handed back his stars in 1999 and quit cooking altogether. It is fair to say it is a complex relationship. The Michelin Guide is the oldest European hotel and restaurant reference guide, dating back

1937: First Michelin Guide to Paris.

1939: The last guide before the Second World War is printed.

1944: Destroyed road signage meant the forces needed another way to navigate their way around France, so copies of the 1939 guide were reprinted.