Paris (AFP)

The famous Michelin gastronomic guide, sued by French chef Marc Veyrat for declining one of its restaurants, has been successful for more than a century but has also sparked controversy.

- The beginnings -

In 1900, less than 3,000 cars rolled in France. Brothers André and Édouard Michelin, who believe in the growth of the automobile, decided to make available to motorists a document facilitating their travels with the address of mechanics and hotels.

The first edition is printed at 35,000 copies. "This work appears with the century, it will last as much as it," said the prefect, visionary.

In 1904, the first guide out of the borders, in Belgium. From 1910, the guides Germany and Spain / Portugal appear. Many more will follow.

The guide is free until 1920.

- The appearance of stars -

The complete starry hierarchy, applied to the whole of France, starts in 1933: a table "worth the trip" for the three stars, "worth the detour" for the two stars, is "a very good table" for a star.

In 1997, appear the pictograms "Bib gourmand" which indicate a very good quality / price ratio or "Les piécettes" which designate restaurants offering complete and economic menus. In 2000, Michelin introduced for the first time some lines of text on the establishment.

In a century, the French edition has sold some 30 million copies.

Other guides, especially Anglo-Saxon, now lead him to tough competition.

- Criticism and controversy -

The guide was criticized by, among others, two books published in 2004, revealing the ruthless world of cooking or highlighting the lack of transparency in the rating system: "The inspector sits down to table" by Pascal Rémy and "Food Business : the hidden face of French gastronomy ", by Olivier Morteau. Pascal Rémy, Michelin inspector, was dismissed for serious misconduct and breach of confidentiality clause.

At the origin of recurring debates, the granting of laurels gives rise to ever greater pressure on the lucky recipient, which is sometimes badly experienced. Several tri-starred chefs have tried to solve the problem in one way or another (accelerated retirement, closure of the restaurant, request for the guide's release ...): Joël Robuchon in 1996, Alain Senderens in 2005, Antoine Westermann in 2006, Olivier Roellinger in 2008, Sébastien Bras in 2017.

More dramatically, the suicide of three-star chef Bernard Loiseau in 2003. In part, among other reasons, the pressure exerted by gastronomic criticism.

Another chef, Benoît Violier, also committed suicide in 2016, 24 hours before the release of the Michelin, which still maintained his "three stars".

Out of the approximately 20,000 restaurants in the world listed in the guide, only a hundred have earned the highest distinction of the "three stars".

- The red guide to the international -

In 2005, the Michelin leaves Europe for the first time with the release of the guide New York, followed in 2007 by San Francisco then Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

The first guide in Asia concerns Tokyo in 2008 (followed soon after Kyoto-Osaka).

Because it now refuses reservations from the general public, a famous Tokyo sushi restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, which was rated three stars, has just been removed from the last edition.

Michelin has launched for China a Hong Kong and Macao edition in 2008, and Shanghai in 2016.

Singapore and Taiwan, Seoul and Bangkok now have their guide.

© 2019 AFP