More than a thousand stars. It is an extraordinary promotion that of the Michelin guide 2023, whose winners are revealed this Monday morning in Strasbourg (Alsace), in the presence of 500 guests. Among which, via a recorded video message, none other than Emmanuel Macron, who praised the“French art of living” and touched on a host of topics – from apprenticeships to school canteens to the place of women in the profession. If someone could remind the President of the Republic, in passing, that March 8 does not mark the International Day of Women’s Rights, but of Women’s Day, we would not be the worse for it…
But back to our stars. A bit like at cinema ceremonies, the first awards given are the equivalent of technical prizes – the only difference between the César and the Michelin, the recipients can talk as long as they want on stage without being cut off by insolent music. The first prize awarded concerns the sommelier. It was a man and a woman who received it equally: Thierry Schwartz (from the Cyril Kocher restaurant in Obernai, in the Bas-Rhin) and Gaby Benicio (Aponem, in Vailhan, in the Hérault). “It’s not every day that women are in this place”, noticed the latter.
It is then the service – an essential element but not often enough highlighted – which has been rewarded. Dominique Loiseau presented the prize: “I would like to encourage young people to do this job because it will allow them to travel. Look at all the other big schools, it’s not like that! I would like to encourage young girls in particular to embark on these promising paths: don’t hesitate any longer, dare! Frédéric Rouen (L’Alter-native, in Béziers, in the Hérault) and Claire Sonnet (the Louis XV, in Monaco) have shared it, there too in an equal way. “I wanted to salute my wife who sacrificed a large part of her career so that I could live my passion”, said Frédéric Rouen, widely applauded. Another trophy, awarded by pastry chef and jam maker Christine Ferber and pastry chef Christophe Felder, is the “passion dessert” prize, which rewards restaurants that pay particular attention to their desserts. Seven establishments were awarded.
The diversity of the terroirs put in the spotlight
For the second consecutive year, the Michelin ceremony left Paris. After Cognac (Charente) in 2022, Alsace has therefore been chosen to host the festivities. This relocation was an opportunity, according to the boss of the red guide, Gwendal Poullennec, to “enhance the regions, to engage with the terroirs”. Eighty percent of starred restaurants are already located outside of Ile-de-France. “This diversity of territories makes Europe the world’s leading tourist and gastronomic destination”, noted, Monday, Poullennec, announcing that the Michelin guide would now offer, in addition to good restaurants, hotel recommendations. For its 114th edition, the ceremony has thus crossed national borders since many European chefs, triple starred, were present in the Alsatian capital – a first.
The Michelin guide, launched in 1900, was first designed as a practical tool for motorists, before becoming a barometer of gastronomy. But getting a star is not a distinction that we necessarily keep ad vitam aeternam. Each year, the guide’s inspectors visit the country’s restaurants on several occasions to assess their quality. Last week, the red guide had made public the degradations of two restaurants hitherto classified three stars, ironed to two, and the loss of the second star of three other tables. The tables of Guy Savoy quai de Conti, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, crowned with three stars for twenty-one years, and that of Christopher Coutanceau, triple starred in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) since 2020, are thus ironed two stars. If the red guide is a reference for cooks, distributing the stars as so many good points, it remains above all, as Gwendal Poullennec reminded us, an indicator at the service of customers.
More information to follow…