Michelin's rankings are changed every year and are evaluated by a group of anonymous experts who visit restaurants several times a year. They base their ratings on criteria such as: quality of ingredients, sophistication of cooking, harmony of flavors, personality of the chef and consistency of quality.
Accordingly, the restaurant L'Auberge du Pond de Collonges of legendary chef Paul Bocuse officially lost its 3-star Michelin title on January 16. Immediately, the late chef's restaurant became a hot keyword even though France has been full of crisis news from protests to epidemics to Brexit in recent days.
Chef Paul Bocuse is considered a symbol of France as the pioneer of the “la nouvelle cuisine” – new cuisine – of the 1970s. This school, as he himself described it, “liberated” cuisine, transforming it into a light, refined experience with a focus on presentation. During Bocuse’s heyday, haute cuisine was at its peak, to the point that the most expensive, most difficult-to-book restaurants in France, New York and London all followed his culinary style.
Portrait of legendary chef Paul Bocuse
So the news that his famous restaurant L'Auberge du Pond de Collonges in Lyon lost its three prestigious Michelin stars this year came as a huge shock to the entire French culinary world. According to the Washington Post, this restaurant has always had three Michelin stars since 1965. "This is like the bitter taste of burnt souffle for culinary writers from Europe to America," commented the Washington Post.
The French saw the loss of the Michelin star as a shock, not only because of their respect for fine cuisine but also because of its traditional symbolic values. The restaurant that lost its Michelin star issued a statement on January 17 saying: "Although we are shocked by this assessment, there is one thing we never want to lose: Paul's soul. He was a free man, with a vision and a source of energy!"
The once-top culinary scene of L'Auberge du Pond de Collonges restaurant
Gwendal Poullennec, Director of Michelin Guide also shared: “The legendary chef’s restaurant is still an ideal destination, just no longer suitable for the 3-star Michelin rating criteria. Because 3 stars represent real culinary experiences with quality, there is nothing to criticize - but recently, the restaurant has had instability in the quality of the dishes.”
L'Auberge du Pond de Collonges remains an ideal culinary destination not to be missed in France
“French food used to be the only option,” says renowned chef and food writer Ruth Reichl. “There’s a French word in English, ‘gourmet,’ which means ‘a gourmet.’ In the past, you were a gourmet if you went to a French restaurant. But the culinary world has changed so much that if you only eat French food, you can’t call yourself a gourmet.”
Bocuse's fall from the top is not just a story for the restaurant itself, but also a blow to French cuisine in general, which was once an art, but has become less glamorous since diners' tastes have changed and other culinary tourist destinations have emerged around the world.
