Makes total sense to opt out on top. I'm surprised more chefs don't do the same. If people say that "it's not the same" after a few years, you can make a come-back with all the free PR that entails.
French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
11–20 of 138 posts
Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
#12> You’re inspected two or three times a year, you never know when. Every meal that goes out could be inspected. That means that, every day, one of the 500 meals that leaves the kitchen could be judged. It sounds like he wants to be able to relax the quality without hurting his reputation. I can't help but to feel that it's disingenuous somehow, but maybe I'm being unreasonable.
Or maybe he just wants to relax.
Movie stars generally seem to feel it's harrowing to have your every single move and word scrutinized and photographed. Maybe this is the same way.
Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
#13> You’re inspected two or three times a year, you never know when. Every meal that goes out could be inspected. That means that, every day, one of the 500 meals that leaves the kitchen could be judged. It sounds like he wants to be able to relax the quality without hurting his reputation. I can't help but to feel that it's disingenuous somehow, but maybe I'm being unreasonable.
Or maybe he just wants to relax. Movie stars generally seem to feel it's harrowing to have your every single move and word scrutinized and photographed. Maybe this is the same way.
I’m sure that’s exactly it. Always being under that sort of pressure isn’t easy.
Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
#14> You’re inspected two or three times a year, you never know when. Every meal that goes out could be inspected. That means that, every day, one of the 500 meals that leaves the kitchen could be judged. It sounds like he wants to be able to relax the quality without hurting his reputation. I can't help but to feel that it's disingenuous somehow, but maybe I'm being unreasonable.
I don't know what Michelin's standards are or how they decide whether and at what level to put a chef in their ratings. However, it seems to me he believes that his entire Michelin rating might hinge on one inspection. That's a lot of pressure given all the things that can go wrong in a given preparation. Perhaps he feels it's a bit like being required to write code that compiles with no logic bugs on (more or less) the first try (per customer), every time, and wants a break from that.
Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
#15> You’re inspected two or three times a year, you never know when. Every meal that goes out could be inspected. That means that, every day, one of the 500 meals that leaves the kitchen could be judged. It sounds like he wants to be able to relax the quality without hurting his reputation. I can't help but to feel that it's disingenuous somehow, but maybe I'm being unreasonable.
I don't know what Michelin's standards are or how they decide whether and at what level to put a chef in their ratings. However, it seems to me he believes that his entire Michelin rating might hinge on one inspection. That's a lot of pressure given all the things that can go wrong in a given preparation. Perhaps he feels it's a bit like being required to write code that compiles with no logic bugs on (more or less)…
At the risk of sounding flippant, isn't that just another way of saying he wants to relax his standards?
Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
#16> You’re inspected two or three times a year, you never know when. Every meal that goes out could be inspected. That means that, every day, one of the 500 meals that leaves the kitchen could be judged. It sounds like he wants to be able to relax the quality without hurting his reputation. I can't help but to feel that it's disingenuous somehow, but maybe I'm being unreasonable.
> “Maybe I will be less famous but I accept that,” he said, adding that he would continue to cook excellent local produce “without wondering whether my creations will appeal to Michelin’s inspectors”.
It sounds to me like he wants to be more adventurous.
Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know what Michelin's standards are or how they decide whether and at what level to put a chef in their ratings. However, it seems to me he believes that his entire Michelin rating might hinge on one inspection. That's a lot of pressure given all the things that can go wrong in a given preparation. Perhaps he feels it's a bit like being required to write code that compiles with no logic bugs on (more or less)…
At the risk of sounding flippant, isn't that just another way of saying he wants to relax his standards?
It's more like a teacher saying that they don't want standardized testing because they want to stop teaching to the test; the chef wants to stop optimizing his cooking for Michelin reviewers. Standards are multidimensional.
Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
#18> You’re inspected two or three times a year, you never know when. Every meal that goes out could be inspected. That means that, every day, one of the 500 meals that leaves the kitchen could be judged. It sounds like he wants to be able to relax the quality without hurting his reputation. I can't help but to feel that it's disingenuous somehow, but maybe I'm being unreasonable.
Maybe he just wants to focus on cooking interesting food to a high quality, and less on the many factors that might also hurt his rating. Doesn't sound like he'll be hurting for customers, so what's the point of having the ranking?
Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
#19Part of me wonders if he wants to be removed in protest, or if he wants to sort of exit with three stars, and not have to deal with being perceived as lower quality by losing a star. I don’t speak French, but here’s the video announcing it: https://www.facebook.com/BrasOfficiel/videos/vb.190323656659...
"In the silence and solitude, one only hears the essential"
He basically says that he does not want the pressure to preserve his 3-stars status, has no grudge with the Michelin guide that he thanks, and wants to continue his little business without caring more about rating than about the "art de vivre" of his region.
Re: French chef asks to be stripped of three Michelin stars
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know what Michelin's standards are or how they decide whether and at what level to put a chef in their ratings. However, it seems to me he believes that his entire Michelin rating might hinge on one inspection. That's a lot of pressure given all the things that can go wrong in a given preparation. Perhaps he feels it's a bit like being required to write code that compiles with no logic bugs on (more or less)…
At the risk of sounding flippant, isn't that just another way of saying he wants to relax his standards?
Do you do your best work when someone is constantly hovering over your shoulder with a clipboard, their one off checkmark making or breaking your career?
Or do you do your best work when you are free to focus on the problem at hand?