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French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars

theguardian.com

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Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars

#81

Post by cbcoutinho »

vacri wrote: post #41
rjzzleep wrote: post #4

He's not the only one. [1][3] In fact some places like Kyo Aji from Kenichiro Nishi - who is apparently a very good and famous chef - go as far as ban michelin tourists. Or at least try to. Just look at this discussion on chowhound [2]. Interesting comment: > Kyoaji is probably sick of rich foreigners trying to book via 5 star hotel concierges. Maybe change your strategy, and stay at a budget salaryman hotel and use…

> stay at a budget salaryman hotel and use their concierge? Budget hotels have concierges?

I think the technical term at the budget hotels for concierge is 'the front desk'

Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars

#82

Post by Loic »

blubb-fish wrote: post #75
mcv wrote: post #66

I find it odd that he prefers losing all three stars over losing only one star. If he's willing to lose stars, can't he just ignore Michelin and simply cook the way he wants? I'm reminded of Ron Blaauw, a Dutch 2-star chef who was also tired of the pressure of his 2-star fine-dining restaurant (not sure if it was Michelin or just the kind of restaurant), so he started his more informal "Gastrobar" for just a quick bi…

It seems that cheffing is a lot about acting "rebellious" (food rebel revolutionizing how apples are served) and creating big theatre and drama.

At this level, not at all. 3 stars means that every single serving is perfect by itself, the quality of the ingredients, the texture, the taste. Everything.

You cannot allow yourself to not be perfect. For example, you cannot serve something new where you know it is really good but fails a bit on the texture side or it is hard to produce so the quality varies a bit, not a lot, but a bit.

If he goes out of the system, he can reintroduce this little bit of freedom.

As a programming analogy, 3 stars is like every single piece of code you produce is perfectly structured, integrates nicely in the software, respects the conventions and idioms, has no code debt. You cannot just patch a bit and see how the users react and refactor later. It must be perfect for the user from low level code to the interaction as soon as you put it in the hands of real users.

I am full of respect for such decision.

Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars

#83

Post by scotty79 »

mantas wrote: post #61
piva00 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It surely helped to change how black people are treated in America, no government-mandate would mean "no blacks allowed" signs still hanging somewhere to this day...

Treating a part of your own society like shit is a bit different from society as a whole deciding they want less outsiders.

In the era of modern travel outsiders are a part of your society.

Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars

#84

Post by scotty79 »

kodfodrasz wrote: post #49
nimchimpsky wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So what? Lots of people don't like xenophobia. > have the right to choose who to do business with? Ah here we go. Like the hoteliers who don't allow gay people to stay ?

> Lots of people don't like xenophobia. And lots of people don't like foreigners. > Like the hoteliers who don't allow gay people to stay ? Even that is OK in my opinion. The market will sort it out. There are clubs where gay people can have a good time. If gay accomodation becomes a niche market, there will be people seizing that opportunity. The law shall not discriminate people, but telling people what to think an…

If you leave it to the market you'll get segregation, and whites only stores and buses on no Jews and dogs allowed signs.

Allowing this kinds of things in public space wouldn't advance humanity.

Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars

#85

Post by yitchelle »

wavefunction wrote: post #30
mlorenz wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

French speaker here. He's essentially saying: "At 46 years of age, I want to run my business the same as before (with thanks to Michelin for the acclaim they have afforded us) but without the pressure of the three stars." Totally get it, and totally agree. The meaning I take from the video: "Let us do our best without worrying about being judged every second of every day." Must be exhausting to be in that situation.…

My first inclination is "Why doesn't he just ignore Michelin" but then I realize that a poor ranking in Michelin could do real damage to his business beyond the segment of his guests that is aware of Michelin ratings. Thanks for the translation by the way.

But he is cooks food that no-one eats, his business will still suffer also.

Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars

#86

Post by kodfodrasz »

scotty79 wrote: post #83
mantas wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Treating a part of your own society like shit is a bit different from society as a whole deciding they want less outsiders.

In the era of modern travel outsiders are a part of your society.

No, they are not.

Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars

#87

Post by kodfodrasz »

scotty79 wrote: post #84
kodfodrasz wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lots of people don't like xenophobia. And lots of people don't like foreigners. > Like the hoteliers who don't allow gay people to stay ? Even that is OK in my opinion. The market will sort it out. There are clubs where gay people can have a good time. If gay accomodation becomes a niche market, there will be people seizing that opportunity. The law shall not discriminate people, but telling people what to think an…

If you leave it to the market you'll get segregation, and whites only stores and buses on no Jews and dogs allowed signs. Allowing this kinds of things in public space wouldn't advance humanity.

A private business is not a public place.

Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars

#88

Post by tedeh »

mcv wrote: post #72
tedivm wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dropping out of "competition" will be better publicity than losing a star.

But if doing this for publicity, then it's insincere.

True, but I assume the publicity of dropping out would be temporary. A year from now everyone has forgotten about this request anyway, and he will presumably no longer be listed in the Michelin guide anymore.

Keeping your Michelin stars is definitely a form of publicity, and a more lasting one at that than a temporary stunt just to get some press.

So it would seem to me like a bad move to do this only for publicity.

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