Sawt Falasteen - French chefs quake as Michelin prepares new guide

The famous red bible for gastronomes still makes and breaks cooking careers, despite increasing competition from rival food lists and the rise of Instagram influencers with their younger, online followers.

The 2025 Michelin edition on Monday promises to celebrate kitchens outside Paris, with new talents uncovered "in all regions in mainland France", Michelin guide boss Gwendal Poullennec told AFP.

At stake are not only the reputations of chefs and hundreds of businesses that depend on the guide for visibility but also France's image as a fine food destination.

"The level of the world food scene is constantly rising but I must say that France is holding its own and is part of this dynamic with a growing number of starred restaurants each year," Poullennec added.

What began as a guide for people wealthy enough to own a car in France 125 years ago is now a global business that sends its under-cover tasters to restaurants around the world, producing editions for around 50 destinations.

France remains the country with the highest number of three-star restaurants, the highest award, which denotes kitchens where cooking is "elevated to an art form" and chefs are "at the peak of their profession".

Japan is second, followed by Spain, Italy, and the United States.

But the guide has sought to shed its reputation for elitist and pricey dinners, with more diverse eating options making it onto its lists of recommended destinations.

After rewarding roadside food stalls in Thailand and Singapore, the guide granted a star to a taco stand in Mexico City last year, causing a local sensation but baffling regular eaters at the simple four-dish outlet.

- 'Not welcome' -

To soften the disappointment for French chefs who lost stars, the guide announced its downgrades for 22 restaurants last week.

The biggest victim was Georges Blanc, an 82-year-old who had held three stars for 44 years for his eponymous restaurant in Vonnas, a village in southeast France that has become a food destination thanks to his presence.

"We weren't expecting it," he told AFP after being informed he was being demoted to two stars. "We'll cope, and perhaps we'll be less elitist and a little bit more accessible."

The prestige of a Michelin star is a guarantee of increased demand -- and prices too.

Downgrades can lead to ruin and have been linked to tragedy in the past, including suicide.

Marc Veyrat has told Michelin inspectors they are not welcome in his new 450-euro-a-head restaurant in the upmarket Megeve ski resort in the Alps after his previous mountain restaurant was demoted in a scandal dubbed "cheddar-gate".

Veyrat sued the guide after inspectors stripped him of a star in 2019.

The showman chef claimed the downgrade came after inspectors mistakenly thought he had adulterated a cheese soufflé with English cheddar instead of using France's Reblochon, Beaufort and Tomme varieties.

The 600 chefs who will feature in the 2025 guide have been invited to a ceremony in the eastern French city of Metz ahead of the unveiling of the new French guide on Monday at 1600 GMT.

"As always, it's going to be a full house because the immense majority of them will be there," Poullennec said.

V.Said--SF-PST