Stars and good humor? The Michelin guide unveils its 2023 vintage on Monday, which it intends to celebrate with the entire world of gastronomy, following having withdrawn their three stars from the great tables of Guy Savoy and Christopher Coutanceau.
For the second consecutive year, the red guide has taken up residence in the region, in Strasbourg (east), where French and European starred chefs are expected for a ceremony which is due to start at 10:00 a.m. (09:00 GMT).
Who will access the Grail of three stars this year? Some names come up in the press: Alexandre Couillon in Noirmoutier, Olivier Nasti in Alsace (in Kaysersberg) or even Jean-François Piège in Paris, cited for years as a potential candidate.
If the mystery still hangs over the winners, the Guide took the lead in announcing, a week before the ceremony, several demotions, including two concerning three stars.
Elected best chef in the world for the 6th consecutive time in November, Guy Savoy had held three stars since 2002. Christopher Coutanceau had obtained his 3rd macaroon just before the first confinement in 2020.
“We lost the match this year but we will win it back next year,” reacted to AFP Guy Savoy, in the wake of the announcement.
No chef holding three stars – the highest distinction in the world of gastronomy – had been demoted during the 2021 and 2022 vintages, two editions marked by the crisis linked to Covid-19.
After the shock of the announcement – which however did not have the resonance of the previous ones, including that of Marc Veyrat in 2019 -, the Guide intends to make this major annual meeting a moment of joy.
The revelation of the 2023 vintage will be “a very beautiful celebration. A moment of reunion for the whole profession”, declared Thursday, in an interview with AFP, the boss of the Guide, Gwendal Poullennec.
– Regional dynamism –
A reunion of an unprecedented scale: “This is probably one of the largest gatherings of chefs ever organized in history”, continues Mr. Poullennec, who ensures that nearly 500 French chefs have confirmed their attendance.
The European chefs will be around twenty to make the trip. A “considerable” figure, assures the one who took the reins of the Guide in 2018.
So, which chef(s) will join the very exclusive three-star club? “Our common thread is the influence of gastronomic France in the regions. This year, the dynamic in the regions is particularly strong”, insists Mr. Poullennec.
“What we see is that gastronomy shines throughout the territory of France, with certain regions in particular which will shine”, he says, without revealing more.
Historically, the map of French gastronomy was mainly written in the eastern regions of France, including that of Lyon. Time for a big upheaval? Answer Monday, answers Mr. Poullennec.
And to recall that “the aim of the Guide is to reveal talents where they are. Today, the dynamism is in the regions”.
The 2022 vintage, which had promoted Arnaud Donckele (Paris) and Dimitri Droisneau (Cassis), had also given pride of place to the regions, with 80% of the stars located outside the Paris region.
A vitality carried by young chefs and their teams “who are real weavers of links, connecting customers with suppliers and bringing to life an entire local economy”, underlines Mr. Poullennec, who explains that these chefs are launched in ” life projects”. Projects that have found their customers, he says.
While the diversity of French gastronomy should be celebrated, the Guide also wants to highlight European gastronomy.
“Europe is a gastronomic superpower that must be highlighted”, explains the chef of the Guide, who recalls that the overwhelming majority of Michelin stars are awarded to European tables.
Created in 1900 by the brothers André and Edouard Michelin for motorists, the Michelin guide is now present in Europe, Asia, North and South America and comes in around thirty editions.
