# the michelin debate 2004



## cmj (Jul 10, 2002)

hi all

who won and who lost stars ?

and does any one really give a **** these days ?

and do you think that the fat duck should or should not be awarded the top prize from the bastion of old school french gastronomy.?

or am i just trying to stir things up ?

peas

cmj


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## cmj (Jul 10, 2002)

taken from the uk`s restauant magazine

Chef news

In an interview with Heston Blumenthal in the Financial Times, the chef asks himself if he is worth his third star: "I feel a little guilty...Is this deserved?" His current obsession, the paper states is to "taste a smell".

Moans and groans

Antony Worrall Thompson and Nico Ladenis have criticised Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal for "obsessively 'chasing the Holy Grail' of Michelin stars", reports the Sunday Telegraph. Thompson said Michelin encouraged "aggressive chefs because they got so paranoid". He would prefer three Michelin tyres outside his restaurant, he added. Ladenis argued that Michelin did "a great disservice to the industry" in rewarding so-called innovation such as Heston Blumenthal's egg and bacon ice cream. Derek Brown, Michelin's hotel and restaurant guide director acknowledged the comments, stating: "There has been a preoccupation with 'I've got to cook well so that I can get a star', rather than 'I've got to cook well so I can satisfy my customers'". Writer and chef Rowley Leigh added his weight to the argument, commenting: "The scoring system needs to be overhauled so that it doesn't place such emphasis on formal fine dining."

well said rowley-cmj

The Daily Telegraph's Jan Moir got to sample the now three-star molecular gastronomy of The Fat Duck this week. Beginning with what she described as a "culinary joke," Moir was served two squares of jelly - one orange, one beetroot coloured - which turned out to be of blood orange and golden beetroot. She found the food "oddly masculine", appealing to "chefs and industry professionals." She admitted it was "technically brilliant" but "challenging". The £85 tasting menu began with a "gummy" selection of amuse dishes: green tea and lime meringue, a single oyster in a pool of horseradish cream and passion fruit jelly, a teaspoon of mustard ice cream in a pool of red cabbage, and quail jelly with pea puree. Next, a spoon of snail porridge, a slice of poached and glazed foie gras that "melt[ed] on the tongue, not in an entirely pleasant way." Savoury ices followed, with Moir finding the experience "actively horrible". The textures were "relentless" and "pappy" and Moir was desperate for "a proper lunch".

desperate for "a proper lunch". not the usual remark after having a 3 star lunch-cmj


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## mike (Jan 24, 2003)

I thinkl the critics of Heston Blumenthal are rather missing the point. Sure he could cook classic French like the rest of them,but what he is doing is experimental & defies a classical approach.
Like El Bulli, these guys are playing with the science ,approach,flavours ,textures & presentations of foodstuffs.
If anyone has seen the El Bulli cookbook,id defy them to say that the ideas & presentations are not thought provoking.

Im not a fan of hot jellies & bizzare stuff but this does not detract from the fact that these chefs are thinking outside the box & deserve applause for their innovations. Its sad that when a chef is awarded 3 stars that people (often average tv chefs or non cook critics) are so gleeful in putting a downer on what is a FANTASTIC very rare achievement.

I work in a michelin kitchen & can tell you that its all hard work n dedication, two of our sous worked with Blumenthal & I believe them when they say that the guy ROCKS.


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## cmj (Jul 10, 2002)

hi mike hows it going ?

i thought this might get your attention.

peas

cmj


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## mike (Jan 24, 2003)

Like a mouse to the cheese !!! LOL....Im fine buddy n you ? Ill send you my MSN in PM forum...


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## coquille (Feb 16, 2004)

Drama on the frontpage of a major dutch newspaper !!
I'll try and translate:
It says : is michelin to be trusted?? An ex employee is writing a book about how the michelin works and it does not look good! After 16 years of employment Pascal Remy explains how the famous guide works. 90% of the restaurants are not frequented on a yearly basis because they only work with 5 people ! Restaurants are payed a visit every 3,5 years ! restaurants with stars get them because of friends politics.The book is said to contain a lot of secretes  
I think Michelin will survive this though!!!
My spelling is sorry....


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## david'75 (Jul 16, 2004)

Well its' a good one!!!

Although The Fat Duck is a fantastic restaurant with an exceptional chef in Heston Blumenthal with fairly off the wall ideas, when you taste and experience what he is doing there you won't even begin to doubt. In Chicago there is a restaurant that does similar things with his food and everyone is talking about it, so why not!!


Now Ramsay is another story very much the classical - contemporary - modern fernch whatever, but is he going too far with his television shows yes the make good reality tv, but for some on who said the likes of Anthony Worrall Thompson are only in it for the money and are crap chefs, which I agree but Ramsay now is going to do these shows in America now!! The question I ask is it better to have a paranoid Ramsay in the kitchen or on tv ruinning his career????

People criticize the likes of Blumenthal and El Builli because the are exceptional talents and yes you can have this type of food why not!!!It keeps everyone on their toes needing to come up with new ideas, it can only be good .

People ask me which guide do I prefer Michelin or Zagat. Well I answer they are different,but if you could have a guide incorporating the two principals. It certinaly answer a few of the critics????


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## gazzachef (Sep 14, 2004)

There was a time when it was a requirement that the Chef awarded the Michelin stars had to be the Chef working in that restaurant, so it seems to me that Michelin has sold out and gone for the accolades them selves of association with well named personality chefs to promote the michelin name. This is not to say Ramsay and the like are not great chefs just that the michelin system is no longer the true accolade it once was. As for Worral Thompson, I rember a friend working for him at Manage trois back in the 80's how the mighty winge as they fall, it was he who sought the elusive accolade then with the TV time to go with it, I have been away from the UK for 10 years so where is AWT now?


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