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Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

luxeat.com

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Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#151

Post by bjarneh »

The worst part about some of these 3 star restaurants, is that staff are often unpaid. It's basically what Americans call an internship, i.e. the only "salary" is that you can add working in a 3 star restaurant to your CV.

I once visited a 3 star restaurant in Spain (Arzak), where this was the case. If you look at the cost of eating there, and consider that most of the staff is unpaid, it really leaves a bad taste in your mouth. The business model is similar to cruise ships. You buy something very expensive produced by slave labor, that makes a few people obscenely rich, while all others suffer.

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#152

Post by jackmoore »

praptak wrote: post #133
jiggawatts wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been to two Michelin-starred Sushi places in Japan. I thought they were both amazing, but I realised that my parents would not have thought so. They grew up relatively poor, and still have the habit of eating at home from a rotating menu of relatively straightforward recipes. Stews, soups, that kind of thing. They've gone to restaurants maybe a few dozen times in their lives , if that. I've been to so many Sushi…

It always makes me question whether it is good to have a well developed taste. Having taste makes you require more dollars to get the same level of satisfaction from a meal or a drink.

Hedonic adaptation

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#153

Post by nicolas_t »

yawaworht1978 wrote: post #144

I think it often comes down to personal preference from a consumers view. The second best food experience i have had was a Hilton evening buffet, the best was a Marriot a la carte dinner, by far. The Michelin rated restaurants I felt don't come close. But I am not a big foodie or expert, but all i know a lot of this is pretentious marketing, who's is to guarantee that the meals will be the same when the inspectors ar…

The wine degustation story got retold and retold to the point where it got mangled http://sciencesnopes.blogspot.com/2013/05/about-that-wine-ex...

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#154

Post by sva_ »

yawaworht1978 wrote: post #144

I think it often comes down to personal preference from a consumers view. The second best food experience i have had was a Hilton evening buffet, the best was a Marriot a la carte dinner, by far. The Michelin rated restaurants I felt don't come close. But I am not a big foodie or expert, but all i know a lot of this is pretentious marketing, who's is to guarantee that the meals will be the same when the inspectors ar…

> And there are many food places who never "enroll" into such programs.

I don't think Chefs actually enroll to get Michelin stars, or anything. They will be awarded, if the Chefs want them or not.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/michelin-guide-seoul-...

> "Including my restaurant Eo in the corrupt book is a defamation against members of Eo and the fans. Like a ghost, they did not have a contact number and I was only able to get in touch through email. Although I clearly refused listing of my restaurant, they included it at their will this year as well."

> "There are thousands of restaurants in Seoul that are on the same level or better and more honest than those listed on the Michelin guide. It is a sad joke that a mere 170 of them are representing Seoul."

There are some cases like this

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#155

Post by stdbrouw »

pjc50 wrote: post #142
jiggawatts wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been to two Michelin-starred Sushi places in Japan. I thought they were both amazing, but I realised that my parents would not have thought so. They grew up relatively poor, and still have the habit of eating at home from a rotating menu of relatively straightforward recipes. Stews, soups, that kind of thing. They've gone to restaurants maybe a few dozen times in their lives , if that. I've been to so many Sushi…

> The difference would be completely lost on them. I've definitely heard the life advice to avoid trying this kind of thing in case you do like it, then everything less is permanently tainted with the knowledge that it's not as good. However, western super-high-price dining tends to be one or both of "demoscene for food" or "NFTs for food" - demoscene: a series of increasingly elaborate and labor-intensive techniques…

> I've definitely heard the life advice to avoid trying this kind of thing in case you do like it, then everything less is permanently tainted with the knowledge that it's not as good.

Does that actually happen though? I know a thing or two about wine and sometimes buy bottles in the 50-100 euro range, which I feel are totally worth it, but I'm still happy to drink cheap plonk with friends most of the time. This works because (1) you forget about what the high end experience was like quite quickly and/or (2) you drink it in a very specific setting so you're not likely to conclude "I now always need/want this" and (3) a lot of what makes high end cuisine / wine / spirits so fun to try is not just that they're better but that they're different from what you're used to, the scale is not just worst-best but also ordinary-extraordinary, and you're not always in the mood for extraordinary.

My guess would be that the phenomenon of permanently hankering for the good stuff after having tried it once is probably more likely to happen with everyday luxuries: good bread, slightly-above-average wine, etc. And in that case, you get a little bit more enjoyment out of your food for a little bit more money, which seems like a fair deal. But even in that case, I don't know anyone who, after trying craft beer, has vowed to never drink a cheap pilsner again.

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#156

Post by FDSGSG »

jiggawatts wrote: post #138
praptak wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It always makes me question whether it is good to have a well developed taste. Having taste makes you require more dollars to get the same level of satisfaction from a meal or a drink.

> Having taste makes you require more dollars to get the same level of satisfaction I have carefully avoided trying excessively high quality things because once I've experienced something truly luxury then it becomes an ongoing expense to keep up that level of experience. The irritating part is that before I was perfectly happy in my ignorance of something better being available out there, but aftewards I feel like I…

>I have had headphones ruined for me because I tried the Sennheiser HD 800 once and then there was no going back to cheap plastic cans.

It's not really the same as being unable to appreciate anything but a glass of Petrus or DRC. For a one time payment of $1k the HD800s will easily serve you for the rest of your life. If you prefer fine food and wine that $1k might not even get you a single meal.

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#157

Post by phreeza »

kragen wrote: post #18
tomcam wrote: post #3

Went 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 there's a significant question about the linearity of the scale. Is this quadratic, linear, logarithmic, exponential? If quadratic, then the Cheesecake Factory experience gives you 9 "utils" and Poppy gives you 100 utils. You'd rather eat at Poppy once a month than Cheesecake Factory 11 times a month, but you'd rather eat at Cheesecake factory 12 times a month than either. (If 12 times a month is too much, sw…

Important factor is novelty, going to a new restaurant once is likely to give you more than 0.5x the utilons as going to the same place twice in most cases, though maybe that curve inverts eventually as you become a "regular".

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#158

Post by FDSGSG »

tomcam wrote: post #26
werdnapk wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, ambience and service are a huge part of top end restaurants. You're not gonna get your linen napkin folded for you each time you come back from the washroom at olive garden.

I hate that stuff, to be honest. It makes me uncomfortable.

Only until you get used to it, I think over time most people end up appreciating it even if it seems weird at first.

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#159

Post by xiphias2 »

jiggawatts wrote: post #89
tomcam wrote: post #3

Went 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've been to two Michelin-starred Sushi places in Japan. I thought they were both amazing, but I realised that my parents would not have thought so. They grew up relatively poor, and still have the habit of eating at home from a rotating menu of relatively straightforward recipes. Stews, soups, that kind of thing. They've gone to restaurants maybe a few dozen times in their lives , if that. I've been to so many Sushi…

For me the worst thing was when I invited my parents to more expensive restaurants (more the $50 category in a cheap country) that my father was complaining about how small and expensive is the food, and making jokes about it to the waiter. They got used to it after 10 times going to these places, but I still felt ashamed for some time.

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#160

Post by Scoundreller »

pjc50 wrote: post #142
jiggawatts wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been to two Michelin-starred Sushi places in Japan. I thought they were both amazing, but I realised that my parents would not have thought so. They grew up relatively poor, and still have the habit of eating at home from a rotating menu of relatively straightforward recipes. Stews, soups, that kind of thing. They've gone to restaurants maybe a few dozen times in their lives , if that. I've been to so many Sushi…

> The difference would be completely lost on them. I've definitely heard the life advice to avoid trying this kind of thing in case you do like it, then everything less is permanently tainted with the knowledge that it's not as good. However, western super-high-price dining tends to be one or both of "demoscene for food" or "NFTs for food" - demoscene: a series of increasingly elaborate and labor-intensive techniques…

> demoscene: a series of increasingly elaborate and labor-intensive techniques for showcasing skill in a constrained environment. The Heston Blumenthal/molecular gastronomy approach.

I’d add on: anything that’s difficult/time-consuming/etc. to make at home even if you could, but scale makes it a lot easier.

I know a Ukrainian guy that, without fail, orders borscht if it’s on the menu. He could make it himself, but his wife forbids him from stinking up the house with beets and cabbage for the afternoon it takes to prepare.

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