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Old Jan 1, 2009, 7:46 am
  #31  
 
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I had a quick look at some of the 3 star restaurants

Obviously since it all originated from France, there is a heavy European bias which is a bit of a shame
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Old Jan 1, 2009, 8:22 am
  #32  
 
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Originally Posted by Peterpack
i was thinking because of the coveted nature of the stars, surely under the table deals must happen.

For a restaurant to lose a star would be a disaster
Actually a bunch of restaurants in Germany have returned their stars because they turned out to damage their bottom line. Top-notch food is not a hugely profitable business, and the stars were deterring regular customers.

From a customer point of view, I would certainly use the Michelin listing as an indicator. I don't even care so much about the stars - where the Guide Rouge is really useful is with the non-star, but listed, restaurants.
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Old Jan 1, 2009, 8:28 am
  #33  
 
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Do you feel that the AAA diamonds and Mobil stars are the same way?
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Old Jan 1, 2009, 9:09 am
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Shangri-La
Do you feel that the AAA diamonds and Mobil stars are the same way?
No, absolutely not. Both AAA diamonds and Mobil stars are based on checklists and dominated by physical facilities (just as the UK official hotel rating system is -- hotel gets an additional star if a trouser press is provided in the room, for example). Two identical hotels can differ by 1 grade because providing 24 hour room service increases the rating. It really is nothing like Michelin ratings which are more comprehensive and subjective (in a good way). Lots of AAA/Mobil ratings have been gamed (improved by working to the checklist, rather than improving the product).
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Old Jan 20, 2009, 5:40 pm
  #35  
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Post 2009 Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland - out this week

FYI the 2009 edition is news this week:
Michelin Launches Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2009 [reifenpress.de]
...four new two-star restaurants (The Dining Room at Whatley Manor, Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, Hibiscus and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon) and 26 new one star establishments.

...‘Rising Stars’ for 2009 are three establishments tipped for two stars (Tom Aikens, The Ledbury and Nathan Outlaw) and one that’s tipped for three stars (Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester).

...21 new Bib Gourmand establishments offering ‘good food at moderate prices’ – three courses for less than £28 (40 euros in Ireland).
Ramsay's stars shine on bad year[news.com.au]
Ramsay's self-titled London restaurant has kept its three stars in the 2009 Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland.

He remains one of only three British chefs with the top rating after the dining bible made no change to its list of triple-star eateries.

...rare good news for Ramsay, who was last year battered by allegations of affairs and is fighting fires on a series of other fronts.

This week it was revealed he had failed to lodge accounts for his multi-million dollar business empire - for a second year.
2009 Michelin Guide names 21 new restaurants as Bib Gourmands
The 21 new Bib Gourmands bring the total to 136, more than ever before.

Restaurants recognised include The Modern Pantry, Hereford Road, Le Cassoulet and Gordon Ramsay’s Foxtrot Oscar in London, as well as Greens’ Dining Room in Bristol, the Royal Well Tavern in Cheltenham, and the Ginger Fox in Henfield.
Record 10 women chefs win Michelin stars [Telegraph]
Strongly tipped to also win stars when this year’s guide is published on Wednesday are Emily Watkins at The Kingham Plough, Chipping Norton, Oxon, and the head chefs of three Mayfair restaurants: Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, Rachel Humphrey at Le Gavroche, and Angela Hartnett at Murano, who told Stella magazine in August: “I want my first star by January.”

The breakthrough comes just three years after Gordon Ramsay claimed: “There are huge numbers of young women out there who know how to mix cocktails but can’t cook to save their lives.”

One delighted female starred chef said: “Well there are obviously some women who can cook. Because otherwise they wouldn’t be running those kitchens.”
Michelin stars can be a double-edged sword, say winners[catersearch]
...However, Sriram Aylor director and executive chef at Indian restaurant Quilon, told Caterersearch he had experienced both the positive and negative effects of winning a star.

“It was a fantastic honour and such a surprise to win a star, and it’s raised our profile tremendously not just in the UK but internationally too,” he said. “But now there’s a lot of pressure as customers have high expectations and that can be a challenge at times.”

Stephen Harris, head chef at the Sportsman in Whitstable, Kent, said that winning a Michelin star as a pub generated a lot of media attention.

“But it has also meant that we now attract diners who expect a certain level of service and formality associated with Michelin-starred establishments,” he added.

“They complain when they don’t find this at the Sportsman but we’re a pub, not a fine dining restaurant, and some customers don’t understand that Michelin is very much about the food and no longer about white tablecloths.”
Let FT's DiningBuzz readers know if you've been impressed (or otherwise) with some of the restaurants in this year's guide.

Meanwhile, my 'local' Dublin restaurant won 'Best Leinster Restaurant' in the Restaurant of the Year Awards; hopefully some DUB-based or visiting FTers can stop by, if you have the time and desire to eat somewhere nice in Dun Laoghaire. Restaurant of the Year Awards

Last edited by BiziBB; Jan 20, 2009 at 5:46 pm
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Old Jan 21, 2009, 7:54 am
  #36  
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Originally Posted by slawecki
i have wondered if it is easier to get stars in one location than another. i am unfamaliar with japanese haute cuisine, but is it a difficult to prepare and require as much human input as french? are the facility requirements as difficult and as expensive in japan as in france? are the same people used to rate both places.

most french restaurants have problems with the facilities and the expense of the facilities to acquire and maintain the third, and even the second star.

from experience with the Zagat guide, where most rating is done by locals, the ratings in various cities is not very consistent.

outside of france, i have only eaten in one 3 star in london(ramsey), and one in italy. i did not think either to be close to the 3 stars of france.
All excellent points. Michelin has proven to have similar standards world-wide while allowing for huge differences in style. The granting of a star to a pub in the UK (which does not have white tablecloths) is a great demonstration of this philosophy and process. As for the efficacy of Japanese haute cuisine (its efficacy and expense), the best comparison is on the TV show "Iron Chef" where it has been pitted against both French and Italian cooking at the highest level (constrained to using the same key ingredient); you can see for yourself how the cooking is done and how the judges react to the flavours. My own conclusion is that it is every bit is good, arduous and intense.

Japan has always been willing to pay for a special restaurant -- despite a bad economy in Japan, some would say a decades-long recession bordering on depression. The success and prevalence of Michelin starred restaurants in Tokyo is no accident. Of course it also draws on a huge population base (100 million if you count the trains); however so can Paris (it is almost feasible to take Eurostar to dinner from London to Paris, for example). It is no accident that the highest food prices (ingredient costs) in the world are in Japan (things like a perfect melon, costing USD 100, are commonplace in stores there). In that environment the Michelin starred restaurants are relative bargains and seem like value pricing.
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Old Jan 21, 2009, 6:37 pm
  #37  
 
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I threw away the Tokyo guide in disgust a couple of weeks ago after one of the most disappointing meals of my life at the 3-star Joel Robuchon. I think any top French restaurant in any major city in the world would have done a better job. 2 star RyuGin was phenominal however. Maybe I am just a 2 star kind of guy, because I think PreCatalan in Paris has gone downhill since it's 3rd star.
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Old Jan 21, 2009, 7:54 pm
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by Rudi
my favorite red Michelin guide is the 'Main cities of Europe Michelin' covering the following main cities in one single booklet:

Austria: Vienna
Belgium: Brusselns, Anwerp
Czech Republic: Prague
Denmark: Copenhague
Finland: Hlsinki
France: Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Toulouse
Germany: Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart
Greece: Athens
Hungary: Budapest
Ireland: Dublin
Italy: Rome, Milan
Luxembourg: Louxembourg
Netherlands: Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam
Norway: Oslo
Poland: Warsaw, Cracow
Portugal: Lisbon
Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia
Sweden: Stockholm, Gothenburg
Switzerland: Bern, Geneva, Zurich
United Kingdom: London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow

that guide is worth buying every year.

Others I buy every 2nd or third year: Switzerland, Austria, GErmany, France, Italy.

Overseas red Michelin guides I have also the latest edtions of the San Francisco Bay area, and the New York one.

And last bur not least I treasure first year editions of red Michelin France (1900) and Switzerland (1994)
I am all over this book, but Amazon shows it not being available until 05/15...at least for the 2009 edition. I did not know they had a European version like this.
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Old Jan 27, 2009, 8:43 pm
  #39  
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Has anyone here picked up the 2009 GB & IE edition yet?

Have you 'tested' any of your picks and are able to report on it to your fellow DiningBuzzards?

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Old Jan 28, 2009, 3:45 am
  #40  
 
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Originally Posted by BiziBB
Has anyone here picked up the 2009 GB & IE edition yet?

Have you 'tested' any of your picks and are able to report on it to your fellow DiningBuzzards?

Both new stars in Birmingham throughly deserve them and the existing star is as good as it gets for a UK one star. I look forward to driving out in the spring and trying the new one star in Ludlow.
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Old Feb 24, 2009, 11:34 am
  #41  
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Austria Michelin 2009

*** none

** 10
- Alland / Mayerling: Restaurant Hanner
- Filzmoos: Hubertus
- Hermagor / Nassfeld: Arnold Pucher
- Kirchberg in Tirol: Rosengarten (new ** in 2009)
- Mautern: Landhaus Bacher
- Schützen am Gebirge: Taubenkobel
- Velden am Wörthersee: Schlossstern (new ** in 2009)
- Vorchdorf: Tanglberg (new ** in 2009)
- Wien: Steiereck (was a *** some years ago before the moved into the new Stadtparklocation)
- Zell am See: Mayer's

* 44
(Kitzbühel: 3, Lech a/Arlberg: 4, Salzburg: 5, Wien 'only' 4)
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Old Feb 24, 2009, 11:37 am
  #42  
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Originally Posted by antonius66
I am all over this book, but Amazon shows it not being available until 05/15...at least for the 2009 edition. I did not know they had a European version like this.
the main reason for this is: the red Michelin France 2009 only gets out in March 2009 and main towns of France will be included in the European 2009 version.
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Old Feb 24, 2009, 11:57 am
  #43  
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red Michelin 2009 Germany (Deutschland)

*** 9
- Baiersbronn: Restaurant Bareiss
- Baiersbronn: Schwarzwaldstube
- Bergisch Gladbach: Restaurant Dieter Müller
- Bergisch Gladbach: Vendôme
- Langen: Amador
- Perl: Schloss Berg
- Saarbrücken: Gäste Haus
- Wittlich / Dreis: Waldhotel Sonnora
- Wolfsburg: Aqua (new *** in 2009 guide)

** 18
- Aschau im Chiemgau: Heinz Winkler (a former ***)
- Augsburg: August (new ** in 2009 guide)
- Berlin: Fischers Fritz
- Düsseldorf: Hummerstübchen
- Düsseldorf: Im Schiffchen
- Essen: Résidence
- Grevenbroich: Zur Traube
- Köln: Le Massonnier
- Leipzig: Falco (new ** in 2009 guide)
- München: Dallmayer (1st floor, above the Delicatess store) (new ** in 2009 guide)
- München: Tantris (a former ***)
- Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Bad: Steinheuers Restaurant zur alten Post
- Nürnberg: Essigbrätlein
- Osnabrück: La Vie
- Rottach-Egern: Überfahrt (new ** in 2009 guide)
- Sylt / Rantum: Dorint Söl'ring Hof
- Trier: Becker's (new ** in 2009 guide)

* 89
(Baden-Baden: 3, Berlin: 10, Düsseldorf: 4, Frankfurt a/Main: 9, Hamburg: 11, Köln: 5, Lübeck: 3, Mannhaim: 3, München: 5, Stuttgart: 6, Sylt: 3)
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Old Feb 24, 2009, 12:16 pm
  #44  
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red Michelin Italy guide 2009

*** 5
- Canneto Sulf' Oglio / Runate: Dal Pescatore
- Firence: Enoteca Pinchiori
- Roma: La Pergola
- Rubano: Le Calandre
- Sorriso: Al Sorriso

** 34
(Milano: 4, Roma only: 1)

* 210
(Alba: 2, Barbaresco: 2, Castellina in Chianti: 2, Milano: 3, Modena: 3, Parma: 2, Roma: 5, Savona: 2, Taormina: 3, Torino: 4, Trento: 3, Vandolus: 2, Venezia: 2)

but my personal prefernce is with the 220 Bib Gourmande places

Last edited by Rudi; Feb 24, 2009 at 12:23 pm
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Old Feb 24, 2009, 12:23 pm
  #45  
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all red Michelin 2009

Austria
Belgium & Luxemburg
Germany
Spain & Portugal
France (expected: march 2009)
Great Britain & Ireland
Hong Kong & Macau (a 2009 first)
Italy & San Marino
Las Vegas
London
Los Angeles
Main Cities of Europe (expected: end of march 2009)
Netherlands
New York City
Paris (is also included in the France guide)
Portugal (is also included in the Spain & Portugal guide)
San Francisco (is also included in the Bay Aerea and Wine Country guide)
Switzerland
Tokyio
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