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Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

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Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#171

Post by gadders »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #2

Very 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...

The pizza was an artisanal one with sour-dough base and freshly made before it was deep fried. Also he had the good Irn Bru with the sugar still in it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_pizza

More seriously, though, in terms of produce - sea food, beef etc, I would think Scotland is world class.

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#172

Post by kragen »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #161
kragen wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I think your attempt to interpret restaurant ratings doesn't look very good. Well, it's too bad it doesn't suit your purposes. I hope you find an interpretation you like better!

I'm saying it doesn't suit your purposes either. You are assuming that all meals at a given restaurant have the same effect. This assumption is untrue, and this means that any prediction you make based on your interpretation will also probably be untrue.

No, I'm not making that assumption, and it serves my purposes fine, thanks for your concern.

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#173

Post by creamytaco »

stdbrouw wrote: post #155
pjc50 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 work…

If you do a wine blind taste test I bet you'll discover you're throwing your money away.

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#174

Post by [deleted] »

FDSGSG wrote: post #165
bjarneh wrote: post #151

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…

Dunno, I've known lots of rich kids who flew private to work these kinds of unpaid internships. They seem to think that the experience was more than worth it, at the very least it's something to brag about in any food related conversation.

[deleted]

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#175

Post by atlasunshrugged »

me_me_me wrote: post #168
atlasunshrugged wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, why is this like cruise ships? I thought people on cruise ships were paid alright (considering also the tips they can make) compared to the alternatives they have at home (my understanding is that the vast majority of workers are non-American/W. EU)

You tip dishwasher or floor cleaners? Cruise ships are set up to exploit every loophole out the being a legal entity on international waters under flag of loophole county. Everyone would be better of if that industry died already. Including environment.

No, but I assumed there was some sort of tip sharing deal between them; isn't this common in restaurants too (e.g. I tip the server because that's who I'm interacting with and it'd be weird if I walked through the kitchen giving individual small tips to the line cooks, busboys, etc.)

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#176

Post by zenon »

OJFord wrote: post #37
kragen wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you mean "the former"? Sandwiches are the principal dish served at McDonalds, but Starbucks has some sandwiches too.

Err, no? We may have an unexpected (to me) dialect barrier. To the best of my knowledge, McDonalds serves primarily burgers (is a burger what you're calling a sandwich?), Starbucks serves (coffee aside) mostly sandwiches, and also salads and stuff. (It is about ten and three years since I've been to one, respectively, but I doubt that much has changed!)

https://flowingdata.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Sandwich-...

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#177

Post by atlasunshrugged »

maeln wrote: post #169
atlasunshrugged wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, why is this like cruise ships? I thought people on cruise ships were paid alright (considering also the tips they can make) compared to the alternatives they have at home (my understanding is that the vast majority of workers are non-American/W. EU)

I don't know for the staff in the restaurant and entertainment position, but usually, the sailors are recruited from very poor country and paid very low wages. Only the captain and some officer are paid a decent salary.

To me unpaid and low paid are dramatically different. When you talk slave labor as OP did I think of people being exploited or coerced into jobs and not ever being paid, not that people from low income countries do a job that is low paid but probably better than what they get at home.

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#178

Post by moehm »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #94
moehm wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't say it's really objective, I just say it's way less subjective than one might think. Cilantro is not an off-flavor per se, it's just a flavor you like or don't. A cork tainted wine is an off-flavor. But if you don't like cilantro, it is indeed an off-flavor for you , but that is uninteresting. If I like burned meat, is a medium rare steak flawed for you? > What is the quantitative measure of "complexity" or "…

> Cilantro is not an off-flavor per se, it's just a flavor you like or don't. A cork tainted wine is an off-flavor. That isn't true at all. The flavor the cork adds is another flavor you like or don't like. People choose their preparation methods for flavor impact just like they choose ingredients for flavor impact. Look at smoked meat!

Eh, no wine maker adds TCA [0] into a wine bottle to make it taste like wet dogs. If you burn your sauce, that's probably an off-flavor. Smoked meat and cilantro taste like intended, no undesired flavors there.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4,6-Trichloroanisole

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#179

Post by rich_sasha »

bjarneh wrote: post #151

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…

> [...] that makes a few people obscenely rich [...]

No contest that relying on unpaid labour is awful. But "obscenely rich"? My overwhelming impression is that despite all this, no one really gets rich on running restaurants. Certainly not when you factor them going out of business all the time (or even falling out of fashion, that's basically death for a Michelin starred eatery).

Re: Confessions of a Michelin Star Inspector

#180

Post by thefounder »

bjarneh wrote: post #151

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…

>> that makes a few people obscenely rich

For some reasons I thought these restaurants are actually not very profitable .

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