A true reference for any self-respecting gastronomy lover, the ceremony of the famous Michelin Guide is eagerly awaited every year. Whether for consumers, who are waiting to see which restaurants to discover next, or for chefs, for whom obtaining a star is a consecration.
Who awards the stars? How to become a Michelin Guide? When does the Michelin guide come out?
The anonymous Michelin guide inspectors visit every year thousands of restaurants and rate their food, service and ambiance. They then rate each establishment according to numerous criteria, which will earn them (or sometimes lose) a star. Among the important aspects of a starred restaurant, we obviously find the quality of the cuisine, but also the service, the creativity, the quality of the products used, etc.
The Michelin guide specifies: “Not everyone is an inspector! The profession requires real expertise coupled with precise skills. In addition to solid experience in the hotel and catering industry, they must have a very sharp palate, be able to leave side your personal tastes to judge the cuisine of an establishment as objectively as possible, and have an extensive knowledge of the products, terroirs and culinary cultures of the world”. In short, it is not an easy job.
What do restaurants’ Michelin stars and macaroons mean?
The maximum stars that the Michelin Guide can award is 3*. For a Michelin star, the restaurant offers high quality cuisine that is worth a stop. For two Michelin stars, the cuisine is excellent and worth the detour. When an establishment has three Michelin stars, it means that we taste exceptional cuisine worth the trip.
With 639 starred restaurants in the MICHELIN France Guide in 2024, 62 new establishments have joined the list or earned a new star. Among them, only 6 women were rewarded. Portrait of these Chefs who breathe new life and give visibility to women who are still underrepresented in many environments, gastronomy being no exception.
Who are the 6 women rewarded in the French Michelin Guide of 2024?
Today, women are very little represented in French gastronomy. Anne-Sophie Pic is the only woman with three Michelin stars in France. Hélène Darroze And Stéphanie Le Quellec are the only ones to have two stars. And this new edition of the Michelin Guide doesn’t really change things. There are six of them and all obtain their first star. If we are far from parity, this gap is even more obvious when we realize that only one Chef was rewarded solo. The others are all in duoalmost systematically with a man, obviously.
Eugénie Béziat, for L’Espadon at the Ritz Paris
La Cheffe obtains a first star for the Ritz Paris restaurant L’Espadon, which reopened in September 2023.
Although she first studied literature, she became passionate about cooking after a dinner with her parents in Hélène Daroze’s restaurant and decided to change her career path. It forms alongside Michel Guérard, Michel Sarran And Yann Le Scavarec then became, in 2018, the chef of the restaurant La Flibuste, in Villeneuve-Loubet, where she obtained a star in January 2020.
Adeline Lesage (in duo with Marc-Antoine Lesage), for Nacre
She officiates at the Nacre restaurant in Arès (in the Arcachon Bay), in partnership with Marc-Antoine Lepageformer chef of Les Foudres at the Chais Monnet & Spa hotel, where they learned to work together.
Opened in February 2023, Nacre will obtain its first star in 2024. Very attached to health, Adeline Lesage discovered “well-being” cuisine at the Pavillon Henri IV, near Patrick Käppler and studies naturopathy, which allows the duo to offer healthy dishes at Nacre.
Emilie Roussey (duet with Thomas Roussey), for Moulin de Cambelong
If she always knew she wanted to work in catering, 2024 is a consecration for Emilie Roussey who obtains her first star in collaboration with her husband Thomas Roussey for the establishment Émilie & Thomas Moulin de Cambelong in Conques-en-Rouergue.
She trained alongside Nicole Fagegaltiera starred chef in her region, and is opening this address in the emblematic Conques mill in 2023.
Florencia Montes (duet with Lorenzo Ragni), for Onice
Born in Argentina, the chef has always had this appetite for good cuisine and began her career there. Very quickly, she left to live in France to train with the best chefs. She then worked for Mirazur du chef Mauro Colagrecowhere she officiates as Head chef while the restaurant is rewarded with three stars and is elected best restaurant in the world in 2021. She then became Executive Chef.
In 2024, it is for Onice, located in Nice, that Florencia Montes obtains a star, in tandem with Lorenzo Ragni. His plant-based cuisine seems to have won over the Guide’s critics.
Manon Fleury and Laurène Barjhoux
Manon Fleury is a former high-level fencer who quickly trained in catering at the Ferrandi school. For two years, she was chef at the Mermoz restaurant in Paris. And since 2023, she has officiated in Datil, in tandem with Laurène Barjhoux. The latter is also a graduate of Ferrandi, and has worked for several years with Manon Fleury.
Very committed, the two women are part of the chefs behind the Bondir.e collective, which denounces and fights against violence in the restaurant industry. Because this environment, like many others, does not spare women! So we will closely follow this (rare) duo of chefs, who bring new life to the restaurant industry, and allow women to be represented in a ranking as important as that of the Michelin Guide.
Who are the other leaders on the list to follow in 2024? Who are the new Michelin stars?
The ceremony reserved its share of surprises, in particular the exceptional award of 3 stars at once. Fabien Ferre, for its restaurant L’Hôtel & Spa du Castellet, Relais & Châteaux. At just 35 years old, he becomes the youngest triple-starred chef.
Other new stars also marked the ceremony, such as the chef Frederic Anton which obtains its second star for the Jules Verne, the restaurant of the Eiffel Tower. Christophe Cussac stood out by obtaining two stars only 9 months after the opening of his restaurant Les Ambassadeurs. The chef of the NHOMe restaurant, Matan Zaken, obtains its first star for its restaurant with an original experience, with its large, unique table of 18 seats. Le Gabriel, gourmet restaurant at the La Réserve Paris hotel orchestrated by the chef Jérôme Banctelobtains its third star.
Tags: News, Who’s the Boss, food news, Woman