For restaurants, winning accolades from Guide Michelin has always been a holy grail. There are legendary stories about the lengths to which chefs were willing to go to attain a precious star, or two, or three.
I was delighted for Zach Engel and Andres Clavero when their Chicago restaurant, Galit, got its star last year, a fitting reward after surviving the pandemic.
I have eaten in starred restaurants in New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Germany, and Switzerland. Those were truly fine meals.
Michelin stars have been plot points in movies like The Hundred Foot Journey as well as the most recent season of Emily In Paris (we aren’t officially sure if hot chef Gabriel got the coveted award).
But stars are no longer the only Michelin designations.
Expanding the brand
In recent times, Michelin has been vastly expanding both the number of cities where it provides ratings, and the types of endorsements that it makes. It now has 16,712 restaurants in its database, of which 3,446 have stars. The rest fall into a variety of categories.
The latest example is Colorado, where it announced its awards last week. Only five restaurants in the entire state received stars. The low tally makes you wonder whether they didn’t miss some places, and why they chose the state over other obvious candidates with great food scenes.
There is no guide for New Orleans, which has imaginative and traditional restaurants all over town. Houston continues to wait. I wonder if Michelin will ever get around to the Detroit area or the state of Michigan, even though we have many pockets of good places that can match those where I have eaten elsewhere.
According to an article on Skift, the travel and business site, the reason some cities get attention and others don’t is money. Tourism agencies routinely pay - and pay big - to become Michelin territory. Numerous places, from Korea to Canada, the United Arab Emirates to Estonia, all sponsored Michelin’s arrival. As Colorado found out, that doesn’t mean stars necessarily follow, however.
In Colorado, Michelin handed out a collection of 44 non-star awards, including nine Bibendum designations - called Bibs - for places considered good values. (Bibendum, the company’s symbol, is alternately known as the Michelin Tire Man.)
It also awarded a series of “recommended” labels. Alon and Emily Ruthos Shaya received recommended status for their Denver restaurant, Safta (that’s them, above, with Bib).
On one hand, it’s Michelin, so you join some heralded company. You’re on the app, and you can use the name in promoting your place. Restaurant owners, battered by negative Web comments, will tell you they are happy for any kind of positive recognition.
On the other, those brand extensions are multiplying, without the status of a star. You have to wonder: how much Michelin is too much Michelin?
Crowded critical competition
I have picked up vintage Michelin Guides at estate sales. It’s fascinating to see which starred restaurants have survived for years or decades. Across Europe, Michelin designations made celebrities out of their proprietors, as this chart of frequent winners from Slingo.com shows.
Although Thomas Keller ranks in the top five, Michelin arguably has not been as much of an arbiter in the United States, however. One reason is that the published guides themselves were not as widely read as elsewhere.
America had its own travel guides (my family used AAA, others swore by Fodor’s or American Express). Another is that there have been so many outlets publishing restaurant ratings.
When I first lived in New York City, everyone read the Zagat’s Guides religiously and sent in ratings and comments for their favorites. People closely watched the New York Times restaurant reviews and those in New York and Time Out magazines
When the digital era arrived, Eater became a widely read factor in where to eat. I look at it most often now, since there is an Eater for so many places. Some people swear by GQ, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and the James Beard nominees and winners as they plot culinary adventures.
Michelin clearly wants to use its historic clout to dominate this mix. But spreading itself thinner may not necessarily be helping its cause. A ubiquitous Michelin dilutes the value of its awards.
There is plenty of debate over the equity of its stars and whether they simply sustain the restaurant world patriarchy. But given their globally recognized status, Michelin might be better off emphasizing them, maintaining the Bibs, since everyone is trying to save money, and leaving it at that.
A Full Menu Of Culinary Programs
There’s lots going on in culinary broadcasting.
An intriguing new program recently popped up on Netflix. It’s called Live To 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. The host, Dan Buettner, explores places such as Japan Italy, Greece, and Costa Rica where there is a preponderance of elders living to 100 and beyond.
As the daughter of a centenarian, I can attest that my mother displayed many of the traits he discovered: they keep moving, eat simply, limit meat, take part in social activities and have an afternoon nap to recharge.
There is a great interview with him from NPR in which he discusses his conclusion.
The new season of the Great British Bake Off will be back next week. It will return in Britain next Tuesday (Sept. 26) and to Netflix on Friday, Sept. 29. That same weekend, the Great Canadian Baking Show returns on Sunday, Oct. 1. I’ll be reviewing selected episodes in Red Beans & Advice on Mondays.
Beloved Mexican chef Pati Jinich is back with the 12th season of her PBS show Pati’s Mexican Table (that’s Pati above). Check your local station for air times.
Farewell To A Famous London Chef
Speaking of Michelin stars, the culinary world lost a venerable chef last week. Nico Ladenis, the proprietor of Chez Nico in London, died at age 89.
I previously reminisced about London’s Le Gavroche, which will close in January. Chez Nico was its rival in the late 20th century. The original location climbed to two Michelin stars; he attained his third star when he opened Nico At 90 in the Grosvenor House hotel in London’s Park Lane.
Long before Gordon Ramsey became famous for his tirades, Nico was a character, more than willing to berate a customer who did not appreciate his food. He once raged at a customer who showed up late for a reservation and gasp, was wearing jeans.
He insisted that his food be served on white plates, set on white tablecloths with vases of white flowers, influencing the still popular trend for white tableware.
Nicholas Peter Ladenis was born in Tanganyika, now part of Tanzania. His mother was Greek, his father of Turkish and French descent who had run restaurants in Kansas City.
Wrote the Times of London, “Within the profession he was loved. Marco Pierre White was a protégé, Anton Mosimann a great admirer and if some restaurant critics found fault with the decor of his restaurants and criticized his menus for failing to keep up with modern trends and ‘sophistication,’ they rarely dared to denounce the food.”
Among his signature dishes were artichoke hearts stuffed with minced mushroom with hollandaise sauce; poulet au vin jaune; John Dory fillets with thyme olive oil; beef fillet with cepes fume; rack of spring lamb with garlic sauce; and warm chocolate mousse.
“If genius is the capacity for taking infinite pains, Nico has it,” said Prue Leith, the famed author, teacher and GBBO judge. The British cooking writer Elizabeth David, a regular customer, loved his mushroom soup with madeira and coriander leaves.
Having climbed to the top, Nico then shocked the world in 1999 when he asked Michelin to de-list him. He handed his restaurant over to his daughters, who went on to run his other establishments.
Our Latest Giveaway: Chimi Nu’am
Writer Sara Calvosa Olson says that people often divide California into two sections: northern and southern. And consumers often have the impression that there are only three main types of meat, namely beef, chicken and pork.
Both perceptions are wrong, Sara says in her fascinating new cookbook, Chimi Nu’am: Native California Foodways for the Contemporary Kitchen.
Her book focuses on food traditions from California’s vast and yet unexplored indigenous communities. The title translates as “let’s eat” in the Karuk tribal language (Sara is of Karuk and Italian descent). It’s a fascinating and somewhat inconvenient cookbook, ingredients wise, but a great read.
I have one copy of Chimi Nu’am to give away to a paid subscriber. Think about upgrading. Once you have, reply to this newsletter or email me at culinarywoman@gmail.com by midnight ET on Wednesday if you would like to be in the pool.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
I made a cameo appearance on the delightful new podcast, Rosebud, from beloved British writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth. You’ll hear me halfway through the episode sharing a memory of Grosvenor House.
I wrote about a new coffee trend, Yemeni coffee houses, for The Takeout.
Last week, I launched my second Substack, which marks my return to writing and talking about the auto industry. Intersection: Everything That Moves is my digital sequel to my 2003 book, The End of Detroit.
This Tuesday, I kick off a series of essays that look back at where the industry was when EOD was published. You are welcome to subscribe, and please let friends and colleagues know. Go to intermove.Substack.com.
Also last week, I was delighted to meet this year’s group of Knight-Wallace Fellows at the University of Michigan. I was a Wallace Fellow in 1999-2000, and my year laid the groundwork for The End of Detroit. Looking forward to spending time with the 2023-24 Fellows.
I hope you are all looking after your health. Get your Covid booster if you need one, and stay safe.
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