(Paris) The Michelin guide has downgraded the tables of Guy Savoy, one of the most renowned chefs in the world, and Rochelais Christopher Coutanceau from three to two stars, the guide announced on Monday, which will reveal its 2023 awards within a week.
“These are exceptional restaurants, so you can imagine that these are decisions that are carefully considered, supported by numerous visits from our inspectors throughout the year,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the guide’s boss. .
No chef holding three stars, the highest distinction in the world of gastronomy, had been demoted during the 2021 and 2022 vintages, unlike the years 2019 and 2020.
Voted best chef in the world for the 6e consecutive time in November, Guy Savoy had held 3 stars since 2002. Christopher Coutanceau had obtained his 3e macaron just before the first lockdown.
Aware of the emotional and economic impact of such an announcement, twenty years after the suicide of chef Bernard Loiseau, the Michelin boss met Christopher Coutanceau on Monday and spoke on the phone with Guy Savoy.
PHOTO XAVIER LEOTY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Chef Christopher Coutanceau
In total, five demotions were revealed by the guide: the Alpaga table in Megève, Jean-Luc Tartarin in Le Havre and the Restaurant Michel Sarran in Toulouse, which lost their 2e star.
If the guide’s boss has constantly reminded people in recent years that “stars are won every year”, the fact remains that the two previous editions, tinged by the COVID-19 crisis with the closure of restaurants, No three stars had been downgraded, unlike the years 2019 and 2020, during which chef Marc Veyrat and a Bocuse restaurant had been respectively downgraded, creating a stir within the profession.
The 2023 vintage will be unveiled on Monday March 6 in Strasbourg.