#45 - 27 February 2009 - "Meals Worth Flying For..."

Daniel Boloud has published a list of 5 Meals worth flying for. They are; The Inn at Little Washington, Restaurant Arzak, Restaurant Bras, Inn at Blackberry Farm and The French Laundry. Hmmm. Maybe I'll have to dine at The French Laundry while I'm here in Napa... Oh, yea! That's tonight. So, don't miss tomortow's blog. This list got me thinking about my top restauarnts to visit. They are;

1. The French Laundry
2. The Fat Duck
3. elBulli
4. The Inn at Little Washingtom
5. La Pyramid (with Fernand Point at the stove) - M. Point died in 1955...
6. Lutece (with Andre Soltner) - closed...
7. Nobu
8. Arzak
9. Restaurant Daniel
10.Commander's Palace

Some of you may be wondering what all the fuss is over the Michelin Guide and the star-system. I'm attaching my notes from Classical French Cuisine, a class I started and taught at The Art Institute. The rating system may be french-biased and seclusionary but those chefs and mangers at fine food restaurants certainly know what rating system is the most important to them - and that would be THE GUIDE MICHELIN.

The first restaurant guides, such as de la Reynière’s Abnanach des Gourmands (1803) and Blanc’s Guide des Dîneurs (1814), were published in the early nineteenth century in response to the growing popularity of restaurants in Paris. But it was not until a tire company saw the value to its business of encouraging expeditions by car that France’s provincial restaurants began to receive the stimulus of an objective system of rating.

Each year in early March before the new Guide Michelin is published, the whole restaurant world of France is in a frazzle of apprehension. Rumours fly: someone’s sister-in-law is the printer’s cousin; he has hinted that a three-star restaurant in the South is to lose two stars. A girl, whose uncle has had an affair with an inspector’s wife, is sure that the Michelin will introduce a fourth star.

The rumours may not be true, but they are a measure of the importance that restaurateurs attach to their ratings, or possible ratings, in the Guide Michelin. As Alain Chapel says, ‘What other profession is there in which you can be impartially rated, in a manner which you know is just?’

The Michelin introduced a single-star rating in 1926; two- and three-star ratings were added in 1931. The first post-war edition to give three-star ratings came out in 1951, with three in Paris and four in the provinces. There is striking evidence of the way in which the Guide Michelin has inspired country restaurants, in France and around the world, to strive for standards which before were rarely found outside Paris. Another major change is the rise of three-star provincial chefs-patron restaurants, which are owned solely or jointly by chefs.

The Michelin’s main sources of information are letters from the public and reports from their full-time inspectors. The inspectors are usually recruited from the management level of the hotel and restaurant industry and must know how every classic dish should be prepared. Every eighteen months or more, they recheck every listed restaurant.

An inspector eats incognito. After the meal, which is always paid for, he explains who he is and asks to see the kitchen and cellar. He is looking for exactly what a discriminating customer would notice – quality, service and imagination. The wine list is almost as important as the menu. In the case of humbler establishments, inclusion rests solely with the inspector. Much consultation precedes any promotion or demotion at this level; nothing ever happens quickly. No restaurant can get two stars until it has had one, nor three until it has had two. The Michelin will never advise a restaurant how to improve its rating. The taking away of an award is very carefully deliberated, for Michelin realize that this can ruin a business. If a chef has had troubles, they stay their hand, hoping that any decline is temporary. It would certainly be two years from the first doubts to actual demotion.

The Guide Michelin has never taken payment or advertising. They prohibit any mention of Michelin in a hotel or restaurant’s advertising, on its notepaper or its signs. Michelin are aloof, cool – and supremely powerful.

Without the ingenious use of symbols, the information in one year’s Guide Michelin would fill six books of the same size. The most famous symbols are, of course, the good food stars: one for ‘good cooking in its class’; two for ‘excellent cooking, worthy of a detour’; and three—‘here one will find the best cooking in France, worthy of a special journey.’ Crossed fork and spoon symbols rate the amenities: one, plain but good; two, fairly comfortable; three, very comfortable; four top class; five, luxury.

Since 1955, the guide has also highlighted restaurants offering "good food at moderate prices", a feature now called "Bib Gourmand". They must have a menu priced at no more than £28 in the case of the UK, or €40 in Ireland. The name comes from Bib (Bibendum), the Michelin Man, Michelin's logo for over a century.

The guide also recognizes many restaurants without any stars or Bib Gourmands. These restaurants are usually rated solely on the scale of "forks and knives". The forks and knives rating is given to all restaurants recognized in the guide, and range from one to five. One fork and knife being "Quite comfortable restaurant" and five being "Luxurious restaurant". If the forks and knives are colored red they designate the restaurant to be "pleasant" as well. The forks and knives scale is designated to speak of the overall comfortability and quality of the restaurant, however any listing in the guide requires a relatively high standard of the kitchen as well.

Restaurants, independently of their other ratings in the guide, can also receive a number of other symbols next to their listing.

The coins are given to restaurants that serve a menu for a certain price or less. The price depends on the local price-standard.

Interesting view or Magnificent view, designated by a black or red symbol, are given to restaurants that offer dining with a view.

The grapes are given to restaurants that serve a somewhat interesting assortment of wine.

Anyone care to share your list...? 3 hours and 29 minutes until I dine... Peace.

~R