(Bloomberg) – Two of the world’s top chefs in France have lost one of their three Michelin (EPA:) shines in an ongoing downgrade that has hit reputable restaurants in recent months.
Renowned chef Guy Savoy’s restaurant of the same name in Paris suffered in ratings, the Michelin Guide confirmed in a statement Monday. That came after previous reports that the latest edition of the guide to France, due next week, will reveal the move.
It is the first time that the establishment on the banks of the Seine loses the top score it has had since 2002. Also Christopher Coutanceau, a 3-star hotel specializing in seafood based in La Rochelle, on the southwest coast of France.
The move is yet another shocking announcement from the guide, which stripped three of New York’s best restaurants — Carbone, Peter Luger and Marea — of their stars last October. While its impact has been questioned in recent years, the guide, headquartered in France, may still change the fate of the restaurants it endorses.
“It’s easy to choose Michelin, but anyone who says they’ve lost their influence has no idea what they’re talking about,” David Kinch, who was chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred Manresa in Los Gatos, told me last year. to Bloomberg News. . For him, “everything changed overnight” when his restaurant received a third star in 2016, bringing non-stop reservations from new customers who had read about Manresa. Almost immediately, Kinch said, 25% of the dining room became diners flying in from New York City. “At any moment you heard three different languages in the room,” he added.
But the restaurant industry is still reeling from inflationary pressures and global labor shortages as it emerges from the shadows of the pandemic.
Manresa closed its doors in December. “Three-star restaurant dining is very hard to change,” Kinch told Bloomberg. “Chefs used to having armies of people had to rethink their manual.”
And Noma, one of the world’s most famous restaurants, announced this year that it will close at the end of 2024, calling the fine dining industry model unsustainable.
France, which has the highest number of Michelin star restaurants in the world, is not immune. A Michelin spokesman said in response to questions from Bloomberg News that 25 restaurants across the country will lose stars. In addition to the two three-star restaurants being downgraded, three two-star restaurants are moving to one-star status; and 20 one-star restaurants are removed from the star list. The full announcement of France’s Michelin stars will take place on Monday, March 6 at a live event in Strasbourg.
“We are fully aware of the impact of our decisions on the restaurants involved,” Michelin said in its earlier statement. Readers “expect our recommendations to be serious and reliable to guide them in their choices,” it said.
(Corrects the number of restaurants downgraded from two stars in the ninth paragraph.)
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