Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
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Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
1–10 of 314 posts
Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
#2Very cool (Michelin Guide is a very opaque company), but there is one thing that caught my attention:
>Hailing from Scotland where, as a child, he was regaled with some of the world’s best meats and produce
Maybe they meant somewhere other than Scotland?
Like, anywhere?
My mother was British, and she was an excellent cook.
Of non-British dishes...
Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
#3Went to Paris and dined at a number of Michelin-starred places, including Le Cinq. The food was fine, but... I didn't get it! I think there is a culinary language that I understand as little as a typical Michelin-starred chef would be able to evaluate a tightly-written C program. On the other hand I was lucky enough to dine at Poppy Seattle every year of its existence and felt their completely original approach to thalis would have absolutely merited three stars. Poppy was well known to be one of the best restaurants in town, but I still wonder how I would have reacted if I understand the language better.
To calibrate, on a scale of 1-10 I would rate Cheesecake Factory and Starbucks food at a 3, Tim Horton and McDonald's at 4, and Olive Garden at 6. I'd put LeCinq at 8 and Poppy at 10.
My wife has more sophisticated taste. She though 3 stars for LeCinq made sense. I have double-blind tested her a number of times and her taste is unerring, including one trial where she correctly guessed Osetra, Beluga, and Sevruga caviar back when they were all legal, and 4 different kinds of Wagyu beef at a steakhouse.
Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
#4Very cool (Michelin Guide is a very opaque company), but there is one thing that caught my attention: >Hailing from Scotland where, as a child, he was regaled with some of the world’s best meats and produce Maybe they meant somewhere other than Scotland? Like, anywhere ? My mother was British, and she was an excellent cook. Of non-British dishes...
That's pretty funny, but my guess was that it was all locally produced. Fresh grass-fed beef is hard to beat.
Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
#5Very cool (Michelin Guide is a very opaque company), but there is one thing that caught my attention: >Hailing from Scotland where, as a child, he was regaled with some of the world’s best meats and produce Maybe they meant somewhere other than Scotland? Like, anywhere ? My mother was British, and she was an excellent cook. Of non-British dishes...
That's pretty funny, but my guess was that it was all locally produced. Fresh grass-fed beef is hard to beat.
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Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
#6When I last used the Michelin guide, about ten years ago, it was a little bizarre: IIRC descriptions would give 2-3 sentences about the decor or service, a short phrase about the food, the rating, and that was it. My choice was to blindly trust the rating or to look elsewhere. I took the rating into account, but I need much more information. Is it still that way? Did I misunderstand something?
Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
#7Went to Paris and dined at a number of Michelin-starred places, including Le Cinq. The food was fine, but... I didn't get it! I think there is a culinary language that I understand as little as a typical Michelin-starred chef would be able to evaluate a tightly-written C program. On the other hand I was lucky enough to dine at Poppy Seattle every year of its existence and felt their completely original approach to th…
In every domain - food, vpns, literature, etc. - I have more or less sophisticated taste (as does everyone). When I was young, I was skeptical of and even sometimes mocked the 'so-called experts' - possibly because (naturally, due to time) I'd developed sophistication in so little. I was very wise.
But over time I found that when I develop sophistication in things, the 'so-called experts' suddenly become very smart and were invaluable (at least many of them). Now when I don't understand the expert, I see it as a signal: here is an opportunity to learn a lot, to make a big leap. (Of course, I'll never have time to become sophisticated in everything.)
Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
#8Went to Paris and dined at a number of Michelin-starred places, including Le Cinq. The food was fine, but... I didn't get it! I think there is a culinary language that I understand as little as a typical Michelin-starred chef would be able to evaluate a tightly-written C program. On the other hand I was lucky enough to dine at Poppy Seattle every year of its existence and felt their completely original approach to th…
Looks like it is very personal. I'd swap your Cheesecake factory and Olive Garden ratings.
Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
#9Went to Paris and dined at a number of Michelin-starred places, including Le Cinq. The food was fine, but... I didn't get it! I think there is a culinary language that I understand as little as a typical Michelin-starred chef would be able to evaluate a tightly-written C program. On the other hand I was lucky enough to dine at Poppy Seattle every year of its existence and felt their completely original approach to th…
I think your rating system is too focused on food. The service, environment and food sourcing also play a large part in the rating. I bet you would see a difference if you try sparking a conversation with the staff from LeCinq.
Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector
#10When I last used the Michelin guide, about ten years ago, it was a little bizarre: IIRC descriptions would give 2-3 sentences about the decor or service, a short phrase about the food, the rating, and that was it. My choice was to blindly trust the rating or to look elsewhere. I took the rating into account, but I need much more information. Is it still that way? Did I misunderstand something?
This is me with movies and video games too. Like, sure the Metacritic ratings count for something, but ultimately it's far more significant to me to find a handful of reviewers whose taste I trust who can describe in longer form what it was that worked for them and didn't, and in particular when there are one or more X-factors that make something significantly more than the sum of its parts.