The Michelin France 2007 edition has particularly many changes... Some restaurants lost one star dramatically-some got so expected (or unexpected) promotions.Here is a small summary of todays Le Figaro article:
The restaurants that have been rewarded with their third star :
Pic (Anne-Sophie Pic)
L'Astrance (Philippe Barbot)
Lamelouse (Jacques Lameloise)
Le Pré Catelan ( Frédéric Anton)
Le Meurice ( Yannick Alleno)
Who lost stars?
La Ferme de mon père (Marc Veyrat ) . Lost all the three stars because the restaurants was sold.
Bueherisel( Marc Westermann) lost one out of three.
Le Taillevent lost one out of three.
Le Cinq( Philippe Legendre)lost one out of three.
My feelings about the new Michelin ratings... I am not surprised at all about the downgrading of Philippe Legendre's Le Cinq. I dined there few weeks ago (this is what i wrote ) and although there were some nice dishes, i didn't think the restaurant was worth the highest award. The same concerns Le Taillevent where i dined few years ago and already then i though it lacked personality.
The third star for L'Astrance was somehow expected considering the hype around this restaurant. I dined there twice when it still had only one star: the first dinner was impressive, the second- not so much. Will try to get a reservation to see how it is now....
Anyway... I agree with most of the ratings-it seems that Michelin France has done some good work... (Not New York though! I wrote about the Michelin New York here )
There are two restaurants that i would give different ratings though. Jean-Pierre Vigato's Apicius is definitely worth three stars. Vigato's cooking is inventive and delicious. One of the best restaurants in the world...
Meanwhile , i don't understand how Paul Bocuse still has three stars... I've been in his restaurant this summer and it seemed that both, and the food ,and the place ,have been conserved in time (seventies or even sixties?) . Yes, eating at Paul Bocuse's might be sentimental, but without any question, this restaurant is not worth three stars...
Update 22/02/07 . The guide is finally out. You can find some more information on the Michelin France 2007 in Adrian Moore's post.
