The Monnaie de Paris restaurant, owned by chef Guy Savoy, who is frequently hailed as the best chef in the world, has lost one of its three Michelin stars. Since it was granted in 2002, the restaurant had kept its three-star rating for the past 20 years, however, the most recent Michelin Guide France edition demoted it to two stars.
Chef Savoy and Chef Christopher Coutanceau, whose marine-themed restaurant in La Rochelle is also being demoted, were both told of the downgrading during a private meeting with the worldwide director of the Michelin Guides, Gwendal Poullennec.
The Michelin Group has acknowledged that the ranking is subject to annual reevaluation and that it is currently in the process of contacting additional restaurants that will lose stars. The Michelin Guide seeks to offer dependable suggestions to readers and gourmets to aid them in making decisions. The ratings are subject to annual reevaluation by inspection teams and are not final.
The inspectors who grade restaurants for Michelin have awarded and deducted numerous stars over the course of the centuries-long process. When it comes to withdrawing accolades, Michelin has never hesitated. The illustrious chefs who have experienced losing their precious Michelin stars are listed here.
Chefs Who Lost Their Michelin Stars
1. Chef Gordon Ramsay
In 2013, Gordon Ramsay at the London, the renowned chef’s flagship restaurant housed in an opulent Manhattan hotel, lost both of its Michelin stars. The Michelin guide’s director, Michael Ellis, highlighted the restaurant’s irregular meals to be the cause for the downgrading.
2. Chef Mitsuhiro Araki
The head chef’s reputation is not taken into consideration by Michelin inspectors when evaluating a restaurant’s performance. Yet five years ago, there was an exception. The Araki London, a Japanese restaurant founded in 2014 by Chef Mitsuhiro Araki, received three Michelin stars in 2016 and 2018. This makes it the first Japanese restaurant to accomplish so in the UK. However, Michelin lowered the restaurant to a 2-star rating following Araki’s resignation as head chef, which caused a stir.
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3. Chef Paul Bocuse
After the death of the 3-starred restaurant’s creator, the renowned chef Paul Bocuse, Michelin de-starred L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges in France, in 2020.
4. Chef Sébastien Bras
Michelin took away a star from French chef Sébastien Bras’ Le Suquet that same year after Bras asked for his restaurant to be dropped from the list, owing to the pressure that comes with having a Michelin-starred restaurant.
5. Chef Bruno Chemel
Since its debut in the Bay Area in 2010, Baumé has led the way in French culinary innovation. Michelin allegedly pulled the restaurant from the recommendation at chef Bruno Chemel’s request, while the official explanations are still unknown.
6. Chef Marc Veyrat
Marc Veyrat, whose innovative cooking has elevated French mountain cuisine to a new level, is known for his signature restaurant, La Maison des Bois. La Maison des Bois was given two instead of three stars by Michelin inspectors in 2019. What was the change due to? According to inspectors, Veyrat committed the ultimate French culinary offence by adding cheddar cheese to a soufflé.
No matter what the reason for this loss is, it surely is a big one that causes a bigger impact. Which one of these shocked you the most?
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