On Monday, during the 2022 Michelin Guide ceremony, it was a surprise: the famous and renowned restaurant Comme Chez Soi in Brussels lost its second star.
The restaurant’s chef, Lionel Rigolet, admitted his incomprehension in the press, while its tables are always full and the Gault & Millau guide gives it the very good score of 18.5/20. He also questioned Michelin’s methodology, explaining that he had not seen an inspector for three years. “We are assured that these are inspectors from abroad. Okay, but usually the inspector pays his bill and then shows up. Here, nothing for three years…”, he assured.
Contacted by Free, Werner Loens, director of the Benelux selection of the Michelin Guide, responds to these allegations. “Over the past 5 years (and despite two years marked by the Covid), our inspectors have visited Comme Chez Soi fifteen times. I would like to remind you that we have the means and the sufficient number of inspectors to establish quality work, and that our methodology is identical for the 34 destinations in the world that we cover. Similarly, just look at the diversity of restaurants that we have listed in our selection to understand that we do not favor a particular type of cuisine, to the detriment of other types of cuisine.“
