He makes and breaks the reputations of restaurants around the world: the Michelin guide unveiled Monday his 2019 winners, which this year reserved many surprises. Two new "3 stars", three new awards, Marc Veyrat dethroned ... Overview, in figures, winners and losers of the famous Red Guide.
68 new graduates
A new wind blows on the gastronomic Grail. 75 restaurants were promoted for this 2019 edition, all categories of stars combined, making it a record. "The promotion of new starred 2019 makes it possible to cross the cap of 3,000 starred restaurants in the world," welcomed at the awards ceremony the world director of gastronomic guides Michelin, Gwendal Poullennec.
Among them, 68 restaurants were awarded Monday their very first star, and have many young restaurateurs for chefs. "This is the celebration of French gastronomy: this selection radiates with its diversity, it is a real invitation to discover territories and terroirs because this promotion of new stars is everywhere in France," said Gwendal Poullennec.
Three stars
This year, two restaurateurs were promoted with a 3rd star: the French chef Laurent Petit, for his "Le Clos des sens" table in Annecy, and Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco, for his restaurant "Mirazur" in Menton, the only foreigner in France. activity in France to be so dedicated. They join the very exclusive club of three-star restaurants in the world, which now has 27 tables in France and another 100 in the world. In addition, five restaurants earned their 2nd Michelin star on Monday: Hugo Roellinger's "Seashell"; "The House next door" by Christophe Hay; "La Scène" by Stéphanie Le Quellec; David Toutain, by David Toutain; and "AM" by Alexandre Mazzia.
Three new awards
The 2019 edition of the Michelin guide paid tribute to certain specificities related to the kitchen industry. For example, a Sommelier Award, a Sustainable Cuisine Award and a Service Award were presented on Monday. Similarly, pastry was honored with a tribute to 30 pastry chefs, who "also deserve visibility", insisted Gwendal Poullennec.
Only one year
Some restaurants, on the other hand, have lost their splendor ... Chef Marc Veyrat was demoted to 2 stars by the 2019 Michelin guide, while he had won his 3rd star just one year ago, for "La Maison des wood ", in Haute-Savoie. Michelin had never been so fast. "It's worse than unfair.We have a great team (...) I can not understand, we did not understand their justifications, the whole team is stunned," reacted on Europe 1 the famous chef in the Savoyard hat, disappointed.
And he is not the only fallen this year: Marc Haeberlin also lost his 3rd star ... which sparkled for 51 years above the "Auberge de l'Ill", in the Haut-Rhin. Same sentence for the restorer Pascal Barbot, triple star in the last 11 years for "L'Astrance" in Paris. In addition, the Michelin also downgraded six leaders from 2 to 1 star, says Le Point . The new policy driven by Gwendal Poullennec, appointed world director of Michelin gastronomic guides last September, is now final. In an interview with L'Express , he said: "A star is awarded for one year, many who have lost it have recovered the following year by returning to their best level, complacency does not help anyone."