Michelin stars crown Sarkozy haunt, British chef Ramsay
The Michelin food guide showered stars on a favourite haunt of President Nicolas Sarkozy and on British chef Gordon Ramsay's first French venture, in its 100th edition released on Monday.
Only one new restaurant joined the elite ranks of Michelin's three-star club in the 2009 French edition of the make-or-break restaurant guide, Eric Frechon's temple to traditional French gastronomy at Le Bristol hotel in Paris.
A stone's throw from the Elysee Palace, Frechon's table is a regular haunt of the French leader, who has dined there in recent months with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Britain's ex-prime minister Tony Blair.
"I thought I was ready, but the emotion has overcome me a little," the 45-year-old chef told AFP after receiving the world's top culinary accolade.
"It's extraordinary, it's a moment I'll never forget," said the chef, who serves up such delicacies as fatted chicken cooked with crayfish, offal and truffles to a privileged 45 tables per night.
Michelin's editor-in-chief, Jean-Luc Naret, brushed off the suggestion that politics had weighed on its verdict, telling reporters Sarkozy's patronage did not play in the Bristol's favour.
Britain's celebrity chef Ramsay, whose Trianon restaurant next door to the Chateau de Versailles won two stars a year after opening, claimed a "triumph" over the Paris food elite.
"It is particularly satisfying after the rather hostile reception we had on opening and this is a real career high for me," the 42-year-old Scot said in a statement that proclaimed "Ramsay triumphs in Paris."
Known for his foul-mouthed rants on television hits "Hell's Kitchen" and "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares," the chef won global acclaim for enterprises in London, Dubai, Prague, Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles.
But the launch of "Gordon Ramsay au Trianon" was soured when top French food critic Francois Simon savaged it as "a brand with its label: Gordon Ramsayland."
Le Trianon was one of nine French eateries to join the two-star club, while 63 received a first star.
With a global empire now boasting a total of 12 stars, Ramsay is still some way behind his mentor Joel Robuchon on 25 and Alain Ducasse, whose Eiffel Tower eatery the Jules Verne won its first star, taking his total to 19.
Fewer than 2,000 restaurants in the world have a Michelin star rating, and for chefs struggling to market high-end cuisine in an era of austerity, a good write-up can make all the difference.
But one chef awarded his first star, Cedric Bechade of the Auberge Basque, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, said he lobbied Michelin to be left out of the guide.
Now that he holds a star, the 32-year-old said the stress of holding on to it -- or be seen as losing his edge -- "distracts us for two whole months from our core mission -- the happiness of our guests."
Michelin's secretive 90-strong team of inspectors has earned a battalion of critics, who attack the star system as rigid and old-fashioned.
But the buzz surrounding the food guide has kept the Michelin brand on top for more than a century, with 1.3 million copies of the guides sold every year.
The Michelin "Red Guide" began in 1900 as a way of promoting pneumatic tyres and guiding owners of the first motor cars to France's best restaurants.
No new editions were published during World Wars I and II, although the 1939 guide was re-issued in 1944 for Allied officers fighting their way through German-occupied France from the beaches of Normandy.
Monday's publication was therefore the 100th edition of the original French guide, while Michelin has spun-off new versions in 23 countries.
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