The highly-coveted and much anticipated Michelin Restaurant guide celebrated France’s crème of the crop with its unveiling of the country’s fine-dining eateries bringing the total number of editions since its first publication to 118. Before we delve into the results, let’s take a step back to remember how and why it all began, which surprisingly had nothing to do with food.
History
According to the official guide, it all started in Clermont-Ferrand in central France in 1889, when brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin founded their eponymous tire company. In order to help motorists develop their trips, thereby boosting car sales and in turn, tire purchases, the Michelin brothers produced the first edition in 1900 comprised of a small guide filled with handy information for travelers, such as maps, information on how to change a tire, where to fill up on petrol and a listing of places to eat or take shelter for the night.
In 1926, the guide began to award stars for fine dining establishments, initially marking them only with a single star. Five years later, a hierarchy of zero, one, two, and three stars was introduced, and in 1936 the criteria for the starred rankings began to be published. One star meant a restaurant was good and worthy of a stop. Two stars meant that the restaurant merited a detour and three stars signified that the eatery was so exceptional that it warranted a special journey.
Throughout the rest of the 20th century, the guides became an unequalled best-seller. Today, it rates over 40,000 establishments in over 24 territories across three continents, with more than 30 million guides sold worldwide.
Chef Alain Geaam
Surprises
French Chef Sebastien Bras who had shocked the culinary world by asking in September of 2017 for his three-star restaurant Le Suquet to be left out of the 2018 guide, was stunned to find himself back in the prestigious guide’s new edition with two stars. Other unexpected announcements saw Chef Marc Veyrat’s Maison des Bois restaurant lose its third star after only earning it last year. Another surprise came when a 51-year 3-star restaurant, Auberge de L’Ill run by Chef Marc Haeberlin was downgraded to two stars. Lastly, Pascal Barbot, whose Parisian restaurant l’Astrance had held three stars for 11 years, also dropped a notch to two stars.
Commenting on last night’s festivities, Lebanese Chef Alain Geaam, who in 2018 received his first star said in a phone interview, “The atmosphere was electric with plenty of tension and anticipation, especially since the disappointed chefs far outnumbered the happy ones. However, what was quite noticeable, is the fact that an increasing number of foreign chefs cooking French cuisine and awarded one or more stars is growing. Though a number of chefs present at the event thought I was in attendance to receive a second star, I clarified saying that on average, it takes 3-5 years for that to happen and that I was simply happy to have preserved the star we worked so hard to receive in the first place. In looking ahead, I plan to relocate my restaurant, which currently is located at the 16th borough closer to the center and am considering a number of locations that offer a bigger space in aid of offering our visitors a better quality experience.”
Breakdown
Michelin-starred restaurants of the 2019 Michelin guide France edition as it stands:
In total, there are 632 Michelin-Star restaurants in France to date
A record 75 restaurants earned new spots in this year’s rankings
The guide has 2 new three-star eateries, 5 new two-star eateries and 68 new one-star eateries
27 restaurants kept their three stars with 2 new eateries making the cut:
Le Clos des Sens
Mirazur
85 restaurants kept their two stars with 5 new eateries making the cut:
AM by Alexandre Mazzia
La Maison d’à Côté
David Toutain
The Shellfish
La Scène
520 restaurants kept their one star with 68 new eateries making the cut:
Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector.
Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC).
She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book.
She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter.
Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler.
It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.
