Nanterre (AFP)

"They made a mistake," according to the Michelin-starred chef: the Nanterre court must say on Tuesday whether it requires the Michelin Guide to give Marc Veyrat the criteria for the demotion of its Savoyard restaurant from three to two stars.

"I have a lot of respect for Michelin in France", but "they made a mistake on me, that they recognize it!" Proclaims the famous cook with the black hat a few days before the decision.

Through the voice of his lawyer Emmanuel Ravanas, Marc Veyrat notably asked, during the hearing at the end of November, to obtain evidence of the guide's inspections and "the trace of the debates" which led to the decommissioning of his Savoyard establishment La Maison des Bois .

The restaurant, which had obtained its third star in 2018, had indeed been downgraded a year later.

Marc Veyrat had then tried to "understand": a meeting had been called in March in the presence of the guide's director Gwendal Poullennec. We would then have opposed the chef - what the opposing party categorically denies - a "cottony scallop" (in reality local fish, explains the chef) and the use of "cheddar" in a dish, while the cook is prides itself on using only local products.

Unable to obtain his removal from the guide, he had therefore sued.

"We do not come to prohibit criticism, we want to verify that criteria exist and that they have been applied in this case," explained at the hearing Me Ravanas, asking a symbolic euro for compensation for the damage suffered by his client who said he was in "depression" after this downgrade.

Since then, its turnover has increased by "7%" in one year, recognizes the interested party. "Even between Christmas and New Year's Eve, we are full. We have never been so full!" Rejoices the 69-year-old chef, a few days before Christmas Eve.

"I really don't need them," he concluded, alluding to the guide. "On that account, I want them to take all my stars away from me!" Laughs the cook, who believes he has been the subject of a "settlement of accounts" on the part of the new guide director, arrived in September 2018.

- "convoluted procedure" -

For Me Richard Malka, the lawyer for Michelin, this case poses above all "the question of respecting freedom of criticism and opinion in our country".

"This freedom can not disappear because of the susceptibility of this or that public figure legitimately subjected to criticism," said the lawyer, interviewed Friday by AFP.

"Through a convoluted procedure - since Mr. Veyrat makes no request on the merits - it is this freedom that he is trying to restrict", he denounces again.

Michelin is "an instrument for consumers, not the property of chefs", he reminded the audience. If the court decides in favor of the cook, "which critic - gastronomical, literary, of cinema, etc. - will still dare to write without having the quiver quiver?", He had then wondered.

"In common law, criticism is not completely free," retorted Mr. Ravanas. "We don't have the right to write anything on the pretext of freedom of expression."

Denouncing an abusive procedure, the Michelin Guide claims from the chief 30,000 euros in damages.

The complainant's response is already: "I will not let it go". "Whether (he) wins or (he) loses" Tuesday, "the story is not over, this is only the beginning," he assured AFP, announcing his intention to file a complaint.

For what grievance exactly? He did not say that, leaving his lawyer free rein on the legal motivations.

© 2019 AFP