Its that time of year again, well I say it is but it isn’t really is it? These Michelin boys seem to have more leaks than the proverbial sieve. This year they have decided to announce their listings for Great Britain & Ireland early due to a potential leak. I seem to recall that being an issue last year as well?
Anyway this year’s listing does provide some movement, possibly a sign of the hard financial times in the year that passed. Some restaurants made adjustments to their menus to better suit their diners’ budgets hoping to keep them around. However, Michelin seem to have a different take on how to deal with the declining market. Indeed I believe this is the first time I have heard one of their executives state that Michelin is concerned with “value for money.” What?! Has the “value for money” monster taken over the mighty Michelin guides? It was supposed to be the definitive list of top restaurants based on an absolute scale, wasn’t it? One star equals one star anywhere in the world, an easy guide for the wary traveler. The guides used to say that one star was worthy of a stop, not best meal under £50. Remind me to write a complete blog on the faults of the “value for money” disaster that seems to getting a grip on society all over.
Inhale…exhale…and relax…
Oh yes the movements on the UK list, some restaurants have take steps in the right direction according to the guide. And the big winner this year is Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester taking that final step onto 3 stars. And don’t get me started on the French chef bias of Michelin. This combined with a less than great year for Gordon Ramsay takes Alain to second place with regards to who has the most combined stars worldwide beaten only by Joel Robuchon. Of course the internal competition between these three has widely been considered to be silly, as they clearly are not cooking at all these restaurants themselves. However, if you consider this as more of a struggle to be the best restaurateur and not the best chef it might make more sense.
Gordon Ramsay at Clariges is one of the less fortunate this year and they are striped of their one star following the departure of Mark Sargeant late last year. Indeed if I do a quick count it seems to me that Gordon may have lost five or more stars this year, with the loss of his LA, New York and Versailles restaurants to other operators. If I have forgotten any please feel free to correct me.
Also the Capital lost both stars following the departure of Eric Charvet and Foliage lost its star after Chris Staines packed up his knives following rumors that Heston Blumenthal was in talks to take over. As some of you may know these were two of my favorite restaurants in London, I can only hope that they will re-emerge as wonderful as they once were. Foliage of course sits in the same room that was once Marco Pierre White’s three star restaurant, and we expect nothing less than greatness from its new occupants. The room will keep its current split and both Heston Blumenthal and my friend Daniel Boulud are confirmed tenants of the two restaurants. Two three star chefs under one roof in the Mandarin Oriental, all designed by Adam Tihany. That will be hard to beat as a destination hotel in London.
No comments:
Post a Comment