Yet another Michelin scandal!

While at Gastronomie.com site reading about the closing of La Ferme de Mon Père, I found this news about the Michelin Guide for the Benelux countries. The guide has been pulled from sales because of a problem with one of the reviews. Apparently a "bib gourmand" -normally awarded to restaurants with good quality/price rapport- was awarded to a restaurant which had not yet been opened at the time of the publication.

Ostend Queen restaurant owner Fernand David said he got into the guide because of the "good relations" he had with Michelin, and because he was sponsored by an established three-star chef.

"We reached an agreement to appear in the 2005 edition of the Red Guide and to not have to wait a year unnecessarily" Full story in English is on the BBC.

Tsk, tsk. Scandal, scandal, espeically coming in the wake of Pascal Rémy's book, L'inspecteur se met à table, exposing the dirty laundry inside the Michelin organization. This is not going to be pretty.

This, and Anthony's in Leeds not getting the widely expected -and well deserved- star, a scandal indeed.

Comments

[rachel]

And I assume you saw that in the Sunday Chron Pizzetta 211 is a favorite place of Humm....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2005/01/30/PKGAB987KJ1.DTL

[adrian]

and Benoit being taken over by Ducasse...

[adrian]

Not surprising, really. It's all copineage as they say.

[Sam]

Hey Pim - if you can't wait to see the 7x7mag, i wrote a quick report here . You got a big quote on the side of the article too - about Michael Mina.

have a great weekend!

sam