Dhe loss overshadowed the profit this year: At the award ceremony for the French Michelin stars on Monday in Strasbourg, the downgrading of the previous three-star chefs Guy Savoy and Christopher Coutanceau was the dominant theme, which even led to the rise of Alexandre Couillon and his restaurant “La Marine”. on the Atlantic island of Île de Noirmoutier into the ranks of three-star hotels. “I’m thinking of Guy and Christopher with great emotion,” Couillon said.
“The news is still too fresh, and Guy Savoy does not want to comment at the moment,” said a spokeswoman for star restaurateur Savoy of the German Press Agency. “We are very disappointed and shocked.” The team at the establishment in the heart of Paris have received numerous expressions of support. Last year, the famous restaurant guide wrote about the “Guy Savoy” as “gastronomy lived like a party, a renewed homage to French cuisine”. The “La Liste” gastronomy guide ranks the “Guy Savoy” as one of the three best restaurants in the world.
The fact that critics deposed Savoy and Coutanceau from their thrones has caused an uproar in France. All in all, the gastronomy bible of the tire manufacturer Michelin in France downgraded five restaurants this year, 20 even lost a star rating completely. There had reportedly been no downgrades in 2021 and 2022. In previous years, the occasional removal of the third Michelin star had also caused a stir. The person responsible, Gwendal Poullennec, whose testers do not stop at top establishments, once told the newspaper “Le Monde” that the stars do not belong to top chefs. “Michelin stars are not inherited, you have to earn them.”
Four restaurants were awarded a second star this year, and 39 establishments received a star for the first time. Altogether there are now 630 starred restaurants in France.