La Marine on the island of Noirmoutier is the only restaurant to win three stars this year, while two other three-star tables have been downgraded.
A shower of stars over France. The Michelin guide unveiled, on Monday March 6, its 2023 vintage of the best gourmet restaurants in France with 44 new stars. For its second year outside Paris, the red guide organized its ceremony in Strasbourg in the presence of many European chefs. Who got a precious third star? Who fell in the rankings? We summarize the main announcements of the Michelin guide 2023.
Alexandre Couillon is the only chef to obtain a third star
The consecration for Alexandre Couillon. The head of the Navy, on the islande from Noirmoutier (Vendée), is the only chef to win a third star in France in the 2023 Michelin guide. “We have always worked to do the best possible”, simply launched the chef alongside his wife Céline Couillon. Originally from the island, Alexandre Couillon has gradually climbed all the levels of Michelin, favoring products from the sea and his vegetable garden.
Four new restaurants have been awarded two stars
Four new tables are awarded two stars in the 2023 Michelin guide. These tables are located in four regions of France. These are Cyril Attrazic’s restaurant in Peyre-en-Aubrac (Lozère), Christophe Dufossé’s Château de Beaulieu in Busne (Pas-de-Calais), Cédric Burtin’s L’Amaryllis in Saint-Rémy (Saône- et-Loire) and finally L’Auberge de Montmin by Florian Favario in Talloires-Montmin (Haute-Savoie). These four tables enter the “top 100” of the red guide in France.
About 40 tables are now a star
Throughout France, some 39 gourmet restaurants have won a first star. They were distributed by major French region. In the south-east of France, they are seven to obtain a first macaroon. We can note in particular the presence of Château d’Origny in Ouche (Loire), Château Eza in Eze (Alpes-Maritimes) and La Mutinerie in Lyon.
In the west of France, ten of them have won a first star, including Les Chemins at the Domaine de Primard (Eure-et-Loir) by chef Romain Meder and Les Cadets in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique). In the South-West, they are nine and we can note a new star in particular for L’Arrivage in Sète (Hérault) or for Rouge in Nîmes (Gard).
Finally, in the north-east of France, thirteen tables have won their first star. In particular, the De:ja restaurant in Strasbourg, host city of the 2023 ceremony. Note that L’Astrance in Paris, by Pascal Barbot, a former three-starred chef, has won a first star for its new address.
Mallory Gabsi continues to cut corners
Gabsi the magnificent! The young Belgian chef Mallory Gabsi had not made the trip to Strasbourg for nothing. At only 26 years old, the former candidate for the show “Top Chef” on M6 won a first star for his restaurant in Paris, which opened only last year. A double victory that allows the centenary guide to show his attachment to young French chefs. “Long live the kitchen!” simply launched Mallory Gabsi while receiving her rewards.
Guy Savoy and Christopher Coutanceau lose their third star
In order not to break the mood, the announcement was made a few days before the big ceremony for the new Michelin stars. On February 27, the red guide announced the main downgrades of its 2023 edition. And two three-starred chefs lost the Holy Grail of French gastronomy.
First of all, the international star of French cuisine, Guy Savoy, who won his three stars in 2002 at the Monnaie de Paris on the banks of the Seine, was downgraded to two stars. He had been ranked six times in a row “best chef in the world”, according to the highly francophile La Liste ranking. It should automatically lose that title based on the world’s leading food critics.
“We lost the match this year, but we will win it again next year.”
Chief Guy Savoyat AFP
The pill is even more bitter for Christopher Coutanceau who had three stars for his restaurant in La Rochelle just three years ago. The chef-fisherman then had to face the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of his restaurant for many months. Contacted by AFP, Alice Coutanceau, wife and press officer of Christopher, explained that she did not want to do “no comment on Michelin’s decision”.
Twenty restaurants have been downgraded
Beyond the two famous chefs who lose their prestigious three stars, more than twenty restaurants will have to win at least one macaroon from their storefront in 2023. Three restaurants thus lose their second star: the table of L’Alpaga in Megève (Haute-Savoie), Jean-Luc Tartarin in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) and the restaurant of chef Michel Sarran in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne). On the side of the first stars, the balance sheet is heavier, with 20 tables which are demoted. The list was not made public at the ceremony.