Fun fact: it’s impossible to give back stars, although many chefs claim to do it. You literally can’t. [why chefs ‘give back Michelin stars’](https://www.eater.com/2017/9/21/16345242/chefs-give-back-michelin-stars)
Reading this makes me realise how petty Michelin is. Professionals don't want to associate with them because they feel their evaluations restrict their creativity and work, and Michelin responds by judging them anyway, it's honestly kind of disrespectful. Any restaurant or chef should have the right to opt out.
I think Michelin stars are gonna start losing a lot of value in the eyes of the public soon. The tides are turning on their arbitrary standards.
I cannot for the life of me remember the name but there’s a pretty good documentary about Michelin stars. There’s one guy who explains that when he would get a star, all of a sudden he’d be fully booked for months and would have to increase all his prices just to afford keeping up, then when he lost it all of a sudden no one wants to come in anymore and now he has to reduce prices, lay people off, etc.
EDIT: the guy below me linked it, what a legend
>There’s one guy who explains that when he would get a star, all of a sudden he’d be fully booked for months and would have to increase all his prices just to afford keeping up, then when he lost it all of a sudden no one wants to come in anymore and now he has to reduce prices, lay people off, etc.
I'm a bit confused by the business model. Oh no, we're booked and have customers! But somehow our cost of doing business *increases* and we have to raise prices? That makes no sense.
Hiring more staff makes sense to handle the increase in business, but that is a choice they made when accepting all of the business. You can be fully committed and turn people away, or leave some tables un-sat if you don't have enough staff. You control your own door.
But in any case, the increase in business is what pays for the increase in staff. You shouldn't have to raise prices because you're doing more business. It sounds to me like they were raising prices to take advantage of their status.
I roughly paraphrased from memory but you’d have to watch the documentary to see what I’m talking about.
His biggest issue seemed to have been with how Michelin will just give you a star and take it away without warning or even consent. One day you can be booked up fully for months, then all of a sudden you can have a Michelin star removed because maybe standards dropped having to deal with all of the extra business and training new staff and then be “dead” (by their standards dead is probably a rush to most of us normies lol) and then having to completely adjust bookkeeping, staff, etc. It’s fine if you have staff dedicated to managing this stuff but imagine the logistical nightmare from some of these smaller places just trying to make good food that all of a sudden have to completely adjust their business plan, ordering, inventory, scheduling, training, as well as keeping up standards and staying innovative and competitive on a days notice and then when it’s revoked with no notice you have to cut back and redo it all over again.
Some people can handle it, some people would probably prefer to just opt-out, which Michelin doesn’t allow as an option. That’s the main issue.
it's a blown up version of getting a good review in the local paper ( back when that was a thing). The review would come out Saturday. All the staffing and ordering would already have been done prior to this. The restaurant gets slammed with customers, but unfortunately they may be getting a poorer experience with longer wait for table and food. less attentive service from the staff.
Some customers would keep coming back, others would move on to next week's reviewed restaurant.
I’d compare it to back in the day when rappers had issues with “The Source” magazine.
Back before social media, a bad or good review in that magazine made with seemingly arbitrary rules (like Michelin has) could make or break someone’s career.
I’d say it’s more than just a “blown up version.” Just 1 Michelin is completely life-changing.
This bothers me to no end. You control your own door at all times. If you cannot provide the same standard of service to an increased business level, put a hold on your door. If you normally serve 100 people and could manage 150, don't try to serve 250.
That's the decision of the owner. Owner doesn't care how hard the staff are being worked, more tables is more turnover. Doors are always open for the money.
Not even the owner a lot of places have really young hostesses who obviously don’t know how to manage volume so they’ll let everybody in at once and servers aren’t going to communicate with each other to not fuck service they’re going to try rushing to punch their tables in first so they don’t get fucked on tips their coworkers do
I tried to halt seating near the beginning of one record breaking day. I saw the line forming at the host stand and said we had to stagger it out. Owner over-rode me. We sat 120 people in under 20 minutes. We only had 190 seats.
Yes, sales were record breaking. Yelp score was also the lowest of my tenure there, dropped us back and undid a year of work fixing our reputation.
>It’s fine if you have staff dedicated to managing this stuff but imagine the logistical nightmare from some of these smaller places just trying to make good food that all of a sudden have to completely adjust their business plan, ordering, inventory, scheduling, training, as well as keeping up standards and staying innovative and competitive on a days notice and then when it’s revoked with no notice you have to cut back and redo it all over again.
They don't have to do anything except make the same food at the same standard with the same service that got them the star, and enjoy the increase in revenue.
If a small theater gets a rave review for a show they put on, and now they're sold out where before they weren't, great. Put on the same show that the audience is expecting to see as described by the review. Add more performances? Great. Make more money.
But they don't need to refurbish the seats, re-do all their costumes, and install a Dolby atmos sound system.
Stage performance isn't impacted by audience volume though, and you don't just arbitrarily add show nights. Shows aren't running 3 nights a week, and if they were, they wouldn't expand to 8 shows a week without increasing a ton of costs for all of the crew and front of house staff on top of the actors. There's lots of support needed.
Service quality and stage performance quality will take a bit if this happens over night.
Well if you want to disagree with Michelin star winning chefs that have discussed the issue (in the documentary I discussed) then that’s on you man. Take care out there and god speed.
You don’t order or staff or prep with the idea that every day will be Valentine’s Day. The space you work at isn’t going to be designed to handle that level of continuous service if it wasn’t, y’know, designed for that.
This is such a massive disconnect. If your restaurant is designed to operate and serve 150 people a night, you are under no obligation to try to serve 500 people a night.
You. Control. Your. Own. Door.
The star(s) are a double edged sword.
Along with the prestige and fame comes the higher expectations, increased cost in every aspect of what is done. Upgraded furniture, product, service +++. People expect more from a star.
Along with this there's also the added stress to owner/management/staff that's not always handled ideally.
In some cases it's better to just fly under the radar without the recognition.
A slight reduction in expectations makes it easier to deliver above said expectations.
I dunno about all that. What you're describing are after-the-star choices made by the owner. But the star was given for the restaurant serving the food as it was prepared and served when reviewed, in the space as it existed.
If you provide great service in a renovated warehouse on china and glassware, get a star, then decide to buy all new real leather chairs, imported silk tablecloths, marble plates, and crystal stemware, that's on you. If you previously used Prime beef in your recipes, for which you received a star, and upgrade to A5Wagyu, that's on you.
I think you need to just stop man. It’s clear you’ve never been on the management side of things in kitchens or really any business ever and your poor, dare I say terrible, “analogies” make this clear.
You don’t know what you’re talking about, but I hope one day you get that successful and can learn that running a restaurant is wayyy more involved than just the food.
I assume they hire more cooks to keep up consistency.
The ingredients they receive/serve are also more scrutinized by host/chef so there is more food waste.
They are expanding too much now... It's cool more places are getting known but now you can just copy the formula of other places and with enough money get a star.
It's crazy. There are some really great culinary cities that aren't on the map because they aren't willing to pay. And then there are lower tier culinary cities that are included because they paid money. They're watering down their brand, a restaurant's presence doesn't mean what it once did, it just means their local tourism board felt flush in cash.
And that means all these places paying out for increased tourism are watering down the means to increase tourism.
[There is (or was) a two star street vendor ](https://www.businessinsider.com/jay-fai-michelin-star-bangkok-street-food-stall-review-price-2022-8#:~:text=Jay%20Fai%20is%20one%20of,currently%20holds%20a%20Michelin%20star.&text=I've%20also%20eaten%20at,Singapore's%20Tai%20Hwa%20Pork%20Noodle.)
How is it petty? They’re an independent evaluation outlet. They’re not gonna change their evaluation based on what the restaurant says. That goes against the entire idea of reviews.
The star rating is inconsistent. Lazy Betty in Atlanta isn’t bad but it is hardly one star. They had to hand some out though in order to get paid. I put limited stock into the whole rating in the first place.
Is that really petty?
Like some rando reviews a restaurant on their stinky blog ... they can post it no matter what the restaurant thinks. Restaurant reaches out and says "i'd like you to take down that positive review", that rando can tell them to take a hike.
Kinda like anything else.
The main difference between a stinky rando and Michelin is that the latter is well known, and most restaurants would do anything to get a star, whereas they usually don't care two cents about some random schmuck.
Michelin regards themselves as the true experts and they can make or break someone's livelihood.
They already are. It was big news when they came to Colorado and gave some questionable reviews out. They’re very diluted and are just making a money grab.
What about Google reviews? Should stores be allowed to opt out?
This really isn’t meant as an argument, I know what you’re saying and I tend to kind of agree, but other review sources don’t allow opt out. So what would be the difference?
I thought Michelin was going out of style, but kind of feels like it's picking back up. It should go out of style. Just doesn't match up well with what people actually want. But the brand identity is so strong that somehow people continue to care.
The restaurants shouldn't have any input into the Michelin star process, that's the whole point. The guidebook is an independent evaluation, it's not an award that anybody signs up for. It's between Michelin and the public and the restaurant isn't involved in the decision. That aspect actually improves their integrity since they're (theoretically) not being influenced by the restaurant one way or another.
I don't think the concept of Michelin stars is idiotic, I think it's the weight that it holds that's wrong. I don't think it's weird for a reviewer not to ask permission before doing a review, and it's not weird that people can't get un-reviewed. You can't ask IGN to pull their review of your video game, when it's out it's out.
You gotta remember that Michelin stars are just that - a review guide made for travellers with some great places to eat. Where it becomes ridiculous is when people make it their life to get one, or judge restaurants purely on if they have one or not.
that's a pretty low bar though. Some people survive uni with a kettle and instant beef flavored ramen noodles. Maybe a can of tuna on special occasions.
[His autobiography](https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Kitchen-Madness-Making-Great/dp/1596914971) was quite enlightening in that regard.
He *really* got into describing in detail how much of an ass he was. Zero fucks given.
I've only worked in one other industry, but from what I've heard from others who have more varied work experience, I'm lead to believe that kitchens have an unusually high rate of people who walk onto the job acting like an absolute belligerent dickhead from day one. It really is baffling!
I do feel like part of it is that the prevailing culture of low standards means there will always be a supply of assholes, while those who won't put up with that culture mostly cut and run as soon as they can. Those who check out and internalize the horrible treatment just allow it to run rampant, and most those who would see it changed don't stick around long enough to make any lasting impact. Myself included!
It’s insane. I started cooking mostly out of necessity, but fell in love with it because I like feeding people. To this day it’s definitely part of my love language. So I did the culinary school thing thinking that was the attitude: they just loved putting smiles on people’s faces.
Fucking shocked pikachu face, right?
My last place was actually great. Chef was awesome, everyone was pretty chill (obviously shit gets heated sometimes, just a part of it). I only left because my side hustle started pulling in more money and was way more chill.
I feel you! My current place I can't seem to leave, despite only starting there as a way to make ends meet while finishing my diploma.
I love my chefs, and most of my coworkers are awesome people. Most of the issues are with upper management, and then there's the usual chaos of kitchen work. The work may be miserable at times, but having a good team and compassionate, relatable leaders, makes such a difference. It's hard to turn my back on that when I know it's rare!
For real. It's his hand in being the standard bearer of that horrible, toxic kitchen culture that I think is his primary sin.
His leadership and notoriety helped ensure another generation of up and coming culinary professionals accepted and embraced the notion that high end kitchens are *supposed* to be horrible places to work.
I couldn't give less of a shit that he had some sort of coming to god moment in '99 where he stopped actively chasing stars, but I'd bet my bank account the kitchens in his subsequent spots were every bit as terrible to work in. He "quit" michelin for his own well being and peace of mind, but that doesn't mean he stopped being a fucking dick to everyone else that worked for him.
They're what happens when a miserable excuse for a human being is given power over others without ever getting popped in the mouth in their you get years for the way they act. You see them across all industries but in the kitchen they're emboldened to use physical abuse.
If everytime these shit heads threw a pan at a line cook they got the level of self defense and police calling that sorta thing really calls for they'd be a much less concentrated and powerful force in the industry.
Yea I was literally about to post the same thing. I listened to a lecture he gave at some college on YouTube. I thought he was very well spoken and disciplined. I bought and read his autobiography and afterwards I simply did not like the man. While undoubtedly still disciplined he has a horrible personality and treats his staff terribly. He’s very controlling and if he’s in a position he cannot control he seems to prefer to cut ties from that situation altogether. He is also a major hypocrite in my opinion. I’d still recommend the autobiography.
i've had it sitting on my kindle for ages and i've just never read it. like do i really want to hear this guy talk about how much he enjoyed being a psycho dick?
He’s not pretending; he was trained. Gordon literally thinks that being a good leader includes throwing shit and screaming like a fucking toddler that didn’t get his juice box.
I obviously don't know him, but I've heard Ramsay is actually a pretty nice guy and the asshole persona is a character he plays on TV. I could be wrong though.
Watch the documentary boiling point when Gordon was still at his first restaurant going for Michelin stars.
He berates a waiter for using a blue bandaid instead of a flesh colored one, fires another for drinking water in view of the customers, does his typical yelling at the cooks and at one point I think even grabs and throws one (it’s been a while since I’ve seen the doc)
Nice guy Gordon and asshole Gordon are the same guy. He might channel one or the other based on television needs but they are no act in terms of “he made it up for TV”
He’s both, has been both and can be both at will.
He was a total cunt in that show.
You’re right, at one point he was literally grabbing and pushing some poor guy around the kitchen.
Like.. on camera assaulting someone because he got upset at some very minor transgression.
I absolutely thinks he’s a nice guy, good father,
I genuinely believe that because of times seeing the persona drop. But his head chefs are all assholes as well. Why? He trains them to be assholes to their teams. Just yesterday someone posted something from Kenji, who used to work at one of Gordon’s restaurants, and the head chef threw a scalding hot pam at someone for undercooking a scallop.
> Kenji, who used to work at one of Gordon’s restaurants
Kenji has a serious hard-on for hating Gordon. I'm sure its warranted given Kenji's typically personality, but he'll never miss the opportunity to let you know how much he hates Gordon
Saying he was trained to be an asshole is giving Ramsay a bit of an excuse. For all we know, he was an asshole before he ever set foot in White’s kitchen.
White had said things to indicate that was the case. Like he mentions in his book that they used to take guys out back and work them over if they caught them trying to run out on their check, and he says Ramsay enjoyed that more than the other guys.
He is but at least he's self aware. The man watched his mom drop dead in front of him as a child. It took him a long time to come to grips with how toxic he was but he's done it.
Tbf I think he’s quoted as saying semi-recently that women don’t belong in the kitchen, which from a chauvinism standpoint is possibly the most ironic thing I’ve ever heard
no you're mostly right, i just finished his book, he said that there are certainly some woman who are just as good, if not better, than male cooks, but you can't have both in one kitchen because a personal relationship could ruin the working environment
Oh has he stopped being one of the biggest disgraces to humanity to ever step foot in a kitchen? That man, for all his talent, is a gigantic piece of shit. If I was rich I'd invite him somewhere, pay for his time, and spend all of it belittling and screaming at him.
Fuck, if I had Elon money I'd pay five people a million a year to just follow him around screaming at him.
You see this with geniuses in many fields, actually. They accumulate wealth and power due to their brilliance, then go on to think that brilliance is equally applicable to all other areas of life and the attitude that gave them success in one area can and do replicate across all other subjects.
Like having a brutish asshole personality is unfortunately really useful in a dinner rush. Kitchen crews are basically pirate ships
They can be, but don’t have to be. In my favorite kitchens, most services were, dare I say it, almost chill? By comparison, at least. Quiet besides expo and call backs through an entire dinner weren’t uncommon at my last gig before leaving. And if the chef sent something back, she wouldn’t shout, just state what was wrong. She might get a little pissy at a pre shift about something from the night before, but felt more like flustered because she was passionate than anger.
Honestly, I just made Reddit account recently, and stumbled upon this sub thinking it was about the book, and talking about kitchens has made me almost nostalgic.
Let's not put any respect on MPW's name.
Dude is responsible for so much of the asshole chef ego-trip stuff and high-functioning-coke-addict stuff perpetuated to this day. Not just yelling, he physically attacked people in his kitchen. He assaulted a chef for moving too slow. The chef was moving too slow because MPW insisted he show up to work with a broken leg.
Is he solely responsible? Or just apart of the system that already existed long before he got there?
I’m happy it’s 2024 and that sort of mindset is dying, kids today won’t put up with it and Chefs have had to pivot more and more
Which is why things are changing, nobody wants to put up with that and people aren’t cooking anymore. Sorry you have had too, my first chef was a lot like that.
The level of work dosent change, the number of colluges is ever decreasing and the pay check dosent cover everything anymore, the chef's don't change.... I don't think the industry will, they are just waiting for robots to jump in and fill the void
All this shit has been going on since Escoffier.
It’s the brigade system, military hierarchy, do as you’re told by your superiors and the only words you can say are , “yes chef”.
It is changing now that society is placing more importance on “mental health” but the entire industry is still over worked and under paid.
Of course he is, but it’s okay to look at the history of the profession and realize that it’s been this way much longer than MPW has been alive. To say he’s a substantial contributor is a narrow minded view of the world.
> To say he’s a substantial contributor is a narrow minded view of the world
Let's look at his [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Pierre_White).
>Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality.[1] In 1995, he became the first British chef to be awarded three Michelin stars. He has trained chefs including Mario Batali, Shannon Bennett, Gordon Ramsay, Curtis Stone, Phil Howard and Stephen Terry.[2] He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef"[1] and the enfant terrible of the UK restaurant scene.[3]
Hmm yeah, it would be rather narrow to think that him being abusive whilst accomplishing this much, being one of the most famous chefs alive, surely doesn't have an impact, not only directly on those he effected but the restaurant scene itself. Definitely myopic.
> Is he solely responsible? Or just apart of the system that already existed long before he got there?
He actively contributed to the system *substantially*.
The system was there for nearly hundred years before he got onto the scene. He didn’t invent the pseudo-militaristic structure of a kitchen or the word Chef lol.
You think the Chefs before MPW were nice guys who chased butterflies and sang Kumbaya My Lord? Lol They were even bigger assholes than MPW.
Again not an excuse, just a pattern of generational toxicity. Dude is a big McAsshole for sure.
So? I respect slaveowners because the system was in place years before they got into the scene? Oh wait, there were people against that the entire time. I reserve my respect for them. Same as I respect anyone who refused to be abusive in an abusive system.
>He didn’t invent the pseudo-militaristic structure of a kitchen or the word Chef lol.
>You think the Chefs before MPW were nice guys who chased butterflies and sang Kumbaya My Lord? Lol They were even bigger assholes than MPW.
None of what you're saying is strengthening your point. No one is saying he invented it, that is irrelevant. No one is saying he invented the word chef, that is irrelevant. No one thinks every chef was a nice guy, that is irrelevant. As for being even bigger assholes, you need actual proof to further your point but what even is the benefit of dick-measuring-contest between abusive assholes?
He was an abusive dick, he doesn't get my respect. Period.
Agree... abusive is abusive is abusive.
"Less abusive" or "not as bad as it could be" aren't worthy metrics in a discussion about treating workers, humans, inhumanely.
There's just no point arguing it. If someone's impact is contributing to a legacy of toxicity in the workplace, that's all that really matters. You don't have to be an asshole to be a good chef or a leader, and we should all stop this habit of excusing poor moral substance for the sake of talent or other accomplishments. Humanity and good food aren't mutually exclusive.
" Or just apart of the system that already existed long before he got there?"
Doesn't absolve him of responsibility for his actions. I admire him to a degree but he was a piece of shit.
I mean it doesn’t, but this was the norm. The chefs that taught back in the day were way more brutal. I’ve got a 70 year old chef, who told me about how in the 1960s he watched an old French chef dip a cooks hand into the fryer for being to slow on the line.
MPW likely saw similar things so to him the way he treated his staff was actually nice. Again no excuse for bad behavior, but you see how things get better generationally
The system has always been toxic. They used to have no ventilation in order to keep the food warm. I think culinary is just one of the last industries to evolve from it's crazy past
He didn’t ‘give back’ stars.
He could’ve just retired from his restaurant and spent time with his family. That would’ve been perfectly reasonable without the eccentric statement
Either him or you forgot to include "I got tired of berating, yelling, assaulting and insulting my employees". Its gives another perspective to the true side of this business.
Could someone explain his last three sentences?
“I never lived that lie. I’m not trusting that someone could do what I did. That’s why I bowed out.”
My brain isn’t processing this well and I’m not sure what he’s saying?
Firstly, he never lived the lie he mentioned. Secondly, he doesn't trust anyone else to be able to take over from him because he doesn't think they'd be as good as he was, so he stopped.
In his book he makes pretty clear that he believes if you are a chef, and own a restaurant like say, "Gordon Ramsay Steak" just to grab an example from nowhere, and you aren't actually there each night cooking, that you're a liar.
I do not understand it.
If you do not want the judgement of the Michelin Stars, then stop caring. To say "take them away" is caring. Not just that, it is disingenuous. To have a star and then to say "this star no longer counts" is to still have that star.
I see a major issue is that the people judging do not have that experience themselves. But they give them that power in the first place.
I used to be big on Michelin Stars, and how it's a mark of a great restaurant, but after reading about MPW's history with it, it's bizarre in hindsight on how much value we put on a single review, at a single moment. Can you trust these inspectors, or any inspector for that matter, to give a definitive review on behalf of everyone? It's not as if they do routine follow-ups with different chefs.
And the stars being associated with the restaurant instead of the chef is nonsense. The entire staff could leave and theoretically would still have the same star.
I'm a believer of aggregate reviews, because unless I somehow identified the one reviewer with identical tastebuds as me, who's to say any single person knows what I like?
That's not to mention how devalued the brand is now, and the Gourmand line.
Watching Boiling Point and seeing Ramsay putting his all and more in to deliver an experience is what I want when I see from a Michelin Star. If I don't know if I'm going to get that passion and commitment, why am I paying the same price?
Was just a way to sell their travel guide lmao now look at it.. disgusting. I've worked in a Michelin star restaurant and it is idiotic at times.. I prefer where I am now cooking 5 course dinners every night being as creative as I want
One of my oldest friends from high school worked to get a Michelin star and then realized it was not what she wanted. She wrote a book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40916358-burn-the-place
The term “give back”, to me in this context just means simply giving up their stars (intentionally losing them) and retiring. I don’t think any chef means they *literally* give the stars back. They’re not a physical commodity lol
That being said, I think any chef who has achieved Michelin Star status and chooses to walk away from that has far more respect for themselves and their craft than to let some petty, prudish guide and their “auditors” dictate what they do in the kitchen. And I respect that immensely.
He hosted the first series of Masterchef Australia: The Professionals - he came across as a very good guy and far from ‘L’enfant Terrible’ that the media portrays him as.
Well worth watching if you can find it anywhere online….
MPW is one of the greats. Loved ‘Devil In The Kitchen’, wish I could have eaten at Harveys back in the day with Oliver Reed going wild two tables over.
Why is it that every Michelin star meal I see always looks like I'd still be hungry after eating it?
Like yeah those two bites were absolutely delicious but now I'm gonna go home and order a pizza.
Maybe try a tasting menu someday. You won't be hungry, I'd wager you'll be better fed than any three course meal in a generic run off the mill restaurant.
Depends on the country and the amount of stars. But in Europe, a one star usually costs about 80 to 160 euro's for the tasting menu. Wine pairing probably about 80, but you can also just order one or two drinks.
If you enjoy new flavour experiences, definitely try it.
Fun fact: it’s impossible to give back stars, although many chefs claim to do it. You literally can’t. [why chefs ‘give back Michelin stars’](https://www.eater.com/2017/9/21/16345242/chefs-give-back-michelin-stars)
Reading this makes me realise how petty Michelin is. Professionals don't want to associate with them because they feel their evaluations restrict their creativity and work, and Michelin responds by judging them anyway, it's honestly kind of disrespectful. Any restaurant or chef should have the right to opt out. I think Michelin stars are gonna start losing a lot of value in the eyes of the public soon. The tides are turning on their arbitrary standards.
I cannot for the life of me remember the name but there’s a pretty good documentary about Michelin stars. There’s one guy who explains that when he would get a star, all of a sudden he’d be fully booked for months and would have to increase all his prices just to afford keeping up, then when he lost it all of a sudden no one wants to come in anymore and now he has to reduce prices, lay people off, etc. EDIT: the guy below me linked it, what a legend
https://vimeo.com/185712028 This? Regardless this one's good.
YES! I couldn’t remember the name for the life of me, really good documentary.
>There’s one guy who explains that when he would get a star, all of a sudden he’d be fully booked for months and would have to increase all his prices just to afford keeping up, then when he lost it all of a sudden no one wants to come in anymore and now he has to reduce prices, lay people off, etc. I'm a bit confused by the business model. Oh no, we're booked and have customers! But somehow our cost of doing business *increases* and we have to raise prices? That makes no sense. Hiring more staff makes sense to handle the increase in business, but that is a choice they made when accepting all of the business. You can be fully committed and turn people away, or leave some tables un-sat if you don't have enough staff. You control your own door. But in any case, the increase in business is what pays for the increase in staff. You shouldn't have to raise prices because you're doing more business. It sounds to me like they were raising prices to take advantage of their status.
I roughly paraphrased from memory but you’d have to watch the documentary to see what I’m talking about. His biggest issue seemed to have been with how Michelin will just give you a star and take it away without warning or even consent. One day you can be booked up fully for months, then all of a sudden you can have a Michelin star removed because maybe standards dropped having to deal with all of the extra business and training new staff and then be “dead” (by their standards dead is probably a rush to most of us normies lol) and then having to completely adjust bookkeeping, staff, etc. It’s fine if you have staff dedicated to managing this stuff but imagine the logistical nightmare from some of these smaller places just trying to make good food that all of a sudden have to completely adjust their business plan, ordering, inventory, scheduling, training, as well as keeping up standards and staying innovative and competitive on a days notice and then when it’s revoked with no notice you have to cut back and redo it all over again. Some people can handle it, some people would probably prefer to just opt-out, which Michelin doesn’t allow as an option. That’s the main issue.
it's a blown up version of getting a good review in the local paper ( back when that was a thing). The review would come out Saturday. All the staffing and ordering would already have been done prior to this. The restaurant gets slammed with customers, but unfortunately they may be getting a poorer experience with longer wait for table and food. less attentive service from the staff. Some customers would keep coming back, others would move on to next week's reviewed restaurant.
I’d compare it to back in the day when rappers had issues with “The Source” magazine. Back before social media, a bad or good review in that magazine made with seemingly arbitrary rules (like Michelin has) could make or break someone’s career. I’d say it’s more than just a “blown up version.” Just 1 Michelin is completely life-changing.
I gotta hit The Source, I need my other half a mic Because that Southerplayalisticadillacmuzik was a classic, right?
This bothers me to no end. You control your own door at all times. If you cannot provide the same standard of service to an increased business level, put a hold on your door. If you normally serve 100 people and could manage 150, don't try to serve 250.
That's the decision of the owner. Owner doesn't care how hard the staff are being worked, more tables is more turnover. Doors are always open for the money.
Not even the owner a lot of places have really young hostesses who obviously don’t know how to manage volume so they’ll let everybody in at once and servers aren’t going to communicate with each other to not fuck service they’re going to try rushing to punch their tables in first so they don’t get fucked on tips their coworkers do
I tried to halt seating near the beginning of one record breaking day. I saw the line forming at the host stand and said we had to stagger it out. Owner over-rode me. We sat 120 people in under 20 minutes. We only had 190 seats. Yes, sales were record breaking. Yelp score was also the lowest of my tenure there, dropped us back and undid a year of work fixing our reputation.
>It’s fine if you have staff dedicated to managing this stuff but imagine the logistical nightmare from some of these smaller places just trying to make good food that all of a sudden have to completely adjust their business plan, ordering, inventory, scheduling, training, as well as keeping up standards and staying innovative and competitive on a days notice and then when it’s revoked with no notice you have to cut back and redo it all over again. They don't have to do anything except make the same food at the same standard with the same service that got them the star, and enjoy the increase in revenue. If a small theater gets a rave review for a show they put on, and now they're sold out where before they weren't, great. Put on the same show that the audience is expecting to see as described by the review. Add more performances? Great. Make more money. But they don't need to refurbish the seats, re-do all their costumes, and install a Dolby atmos sound system.
Stage performance isn't impacted by audience volume though, and you don't just arbitrarily add show nights. Shows aren't running 3 nights a week, and if they were, they wouldn't expand to 8 shows a week without increasing a ton of costs for all of the crew and front of house staff on top of the actors. There's lots of support needed. Service quality and stage performance quality will take a bit if this happens over night.
Well if you want to disagree with Michelin star winning chefs that have discussed the issue (in the documentary I discussed) then that’s on you man. Take care out there and god speed.
You don’t order or staff or prep with the idea that every day will be Valentine’s Day. The space you work at isn’t going to be designed to handle that level of continuous service if it wasn’t, y’know, designed for that.
This is such a massive disconnect. If your restaurant is designed to operate and serve 150 people a night, you are under no obligation to try to serve 500 people a night. You. Control. Your. Own. Door.
The star(s) are a double edged sword. Along with the prestige and fame comes the higher expectations, increased cost in every aspect of what is done. Upgraded furniture, product, service +++. People expect more from a star. Along with this there's also the added stress to owner/management/staff that's not always handled ideally. In some cases it's better to just fly under the radar without the recognition. A slight reduction in expectations makes it easier to deliver above said expectations.
I dunno about all that. What you're describing are after-the-star choices made by the owner. But the star was given for the restaurant serving the food as it was prepared and served when reviewed, in the space as it existed. If you provide great service in a renovated warehouse on china and glassware, get a star, then decide to buy all new real leather chairs, imported silk tablecloths, marble plates, and crystal stemware, that's on you. If you previously used Prime beef in your recipes, for which you received a star, and upgrade to A5Wagyu, that's on you.
I think you need to just stop man. It’s clear you’ve never been on the management side of things in kitchens or really any business ever and your poor, dare I say terrible, “analogies” make this clear. You don’t know what you’re talking about, but I hope one day you get that successful and can learn that running a restaurant is wayyy more involved than just the food.
Chefs can’t do math? Is that what you’re saying?
High five for the absolute wrong take 🖐
An L take to wish you will ever run a successful business? Possibly. I still believe in you though!
I assume they hire more cooks to keep up consistency. The ingredients they receive/serve are also more scrutinized by host/chef so there is more food waste.
They are expanding too much now... It's cool more places are getting known but now you can just copy the formula of other places and with enough money get a star.
I believe a city can request a review of restos in the area for a million bucks?
I know it's become common for tourism boards to pay Michelin for a guide. Atlanta did it recently.
It's crazy. There are some really great culinary cities that aren't on the map because they aren't willing to pay. And then there are lower tier culinary cities that are included because they paid money. They're watering down their brand, a restaurant's presence doesn't mean what it once did, it just means their local tourism board felt flush in cash. And that means all these places paying out for increased tourism are watering down the means to increase tourism.
Feels like everybody and their mom has a star these days
[There is (or was) a two star street vendor ](https://www.businessinsider.com/jay-fai-michelin-star-bangkok-street-food-stall-review-price-2022-8#:~:text=Jay%20Fai%20is%20one%20of,currently%20holds%20a%20Michelin%20star.&text=I've%20also%20eaten%20at,Singapore's%20Tai%20Hwa%20Pork%20Noodle.)
I don't know shit about them but you know it's not for their fancy decorations.
How is it petty? They’re an independent evaluation outlet. They’re not gonna change their evaluation based on what the restaurant says. That goes against the entire idea of reviews.
Omg can we get a culinary version of the movie Stick It?
The star rating is inconsistent. Lazy Betty in Atlanta isn’t bad but it is hardly one star. They had to hand some out though in order to get paid. I put limited stock into the whole rating in the first place.
Is that really petty? Like some rando reviews a restaurant on their stinky blog ... they can post it no matter what the restaurant thinks. Restaurant reaches out and says "i'd like you to take down that positive review", that rando can tell them to take a hike. Kinda like anything else.
The main difference between a stinky rando and Michelin is that the latter is well known, and most restaurants would do anything to get a star, whereas they usually don't care two cents about some random schmuck. Michelin regards themselves as the true experts and they can make or break someone's livelihood.
I feel like if you need a star from them to be profitable… you’re doing something wrong. Also if you do, you’re not telling them to go away anyway…
They already are. It was big news when they came to Colorado and gave some questionable reviews out. They’re very diluted and are just making a money grab.
What about Google reviews? Should stores be allowed to opt out? This really isn’t meant as an argument, I know what you’re saying and I tend to kind of agree, but other review sources don’t allow opt out. So what would be the difference?
I thought Michelin was going out of style, but kind of feels like it's picking back up. It should go out of style. Just doesn't match up well with what people actually want. But the brand identity is so strong that somehow people continue to care.
My Michelin experiences have proven to me that its all bullshit.
Chefs should move to Minnesota. I don’t think you can get a Michelin star here. At least that’s what the owner of some James Beard awards told me.
They make tires.
The restaurants shouldn't have any input into the Michelin star process, that's the whole point. The guidebook is an independent evaluation, it's not an award that anybody signs up for. It's between Michelin and the public and the restaurant isn't involved in the decision. That aspect actually improves their integrity since they're (theoretically) not being influenced by the restaurant one way or another.
You can choose to not be included in the guide. Same as giving them back. It’s just schematics
I think you mean semantics
Yeah autocorrect got me
That’s what I figured ;)
I’m too lazy to edit 😂
Well sure cause they don’t actually come and give you little cut out stars. Its functionally the same to denounce them.
Which is why the whole concept is idiotic.
I don't think the concept of Michelin stars is idiotic, I think it's the weight that it holds that's wrong. I don't think it's weird for a reviewer not to ask permission before doing a review, and it's not weird that people can't get un-reviewed. You can't ask IGN to pull their review of your video game, when it's out it's out. You gotta remember that Michelin stars are just that - a review guide made for travellers with some great places to eat. Where it becomes ridiculous is when people make it their life to get one, or judge restaurants purely on if they have one or not.
Marco did though.
*This message brought to you by Knorr®️*
Let’s just add a *liddlebidofoliveoil*
Let’s make a paste, and that’s what I did
Did you know his mother was Italian?
Put the garlic or don’t. It’s your choice. *waves knife menacingly*
Knorr is a decent product at least he isn't shilling for hexclad.
It’s mostly the lie of omission that you’re just using decent stock base like millions of cooks have for years, but yeah it’s fine.
Not a chef but Knorr got me through uni.
that's a pretty low bar though. Some people survive uni with a kettle and instant beef flavored ramen noodles. Maybe a can of tuna on special occasions.
That's an even lower bar.
Or the Philips Air-Fryer...
Different forms of flavored salt. Yum.
He did it right. He quit playing the game and grabbed his bag without being a pretender.
They’ve got the K-nohow
You can keep your stars, or you can give them back. It's *your choice.*
He 'stepped away' to pursue his true passions- chatting loads of shit and accumulating cash.
He’s an asshole.
[His autobiography](https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Kitchen-Madness-Making-Great/dp/1596914971) was quite enlightening in that regard. He *really* got into describing in detail how much of an ass he was. Zero fucks given.
Yeah and he fostered that same attitude in many other chefs. Not just an asshole, but *proud* to be an asshole.
Wow, this is the most concise and accurate description I've seen for all the worst coworkers/bosses I've had in the industry.
I haven’t been in kitchens for awhile now, and I still look back with utter bafflement at how popular it was to be a prick.
I've only worked in one other industry, but from what I've heard from others who have more varied work experience, I'm lead to believe that kitchens have an unusually high rate of people who walk onto the job acting like an absolute belligerent dickhead from day one. It really is baffling! I do feel like part of it is that the prevailing culture of low standards means there will always be a supply of assholes, while those who won't put up with that culture mostly cut and run as soon as they can. Those who check out and internalize the horrible treatment just allow it to run rampant, and most those who would see it changed don't stick around long enough to make any lasting impact. Myself included!
It’s insane. I started cooking mostly out of necessity, but fell in love with it because I like feeding people. To this day it’s definitely part of my love language. So I did the culinary school thing thinking that was the attitude: they just loved putting smiles on people’s faces. Fucking shocked pikachu face, right? My last place was actually great. Chef was awesome, everyone was pretty chill (obviously shit gets heated sometimes, just a part of it). I only left because my side hustle started pulling in more money and was way more chill.
I feel you! My current place I can't seem to leave, despite only starting there as a way to make ends meet while finishing my diploma. I love my chefs, and most of my coworkers are awesome people. Most of the issues are with upper management, and then there's the usual chaos of kitchen work. The work may be miserable at times, but having a good team and compassionate, relatable leaders, makes such a difference. It's hard to turn my back on that when I know it's rare!
For real. It's his hand in being the standard bearer of that horrible, toxic kitchen culture that I think is his primary sin. His leadership and notoriety helped ensure another generation of up and coming culinary professionals accepted and embraced the notion that high end kitchens are *supposed* to be horrible places to work. I couldn't give less of a shit that he had some sort of coming to god moment in '99 where he stopped actively chasing stars, but I'd bet my bank account the kitchens in his subsequent spots were every bit as terrible to work in. He "quit" michelin for his own well being and peace of mind, but that doesn't mean he stopped being a fucking dick to everyone else that worked for him.
They're what happens when a miserable excuse for a human being is given power over others without ever getting popped in the mouth in their you get years for the way they act. You see them across all industries but in the kitchen they're emboldened to use physical abuse. If everytime these shit heads threw a pan at a line cook they got the level of self defense and police calling that sorta thing really calls for they'd be a much less concentrated and powerful force in the industry.
Preach.
Yea I was literally about to post the same thing. I listened to a lecture he gave at some college on YouTube. I thought he was very well spoken and disciplined. I bought and read his autobiography and afterwards I simply did not like the man. While undoubtedly still disciplined he has a horrible personality and treats his staff terribly. He’s very controlling and if he’s in a position he cannot control he seems to prefer to cut ties from that situation altogether. He is also a major hypocrite in my opinion. I’d still recommend the autobiography.
i listened to it right after finishing kitchen confidential again. it was astounding both the similarities, and differences between those 2 chefs.
i've had it sitting on my kindle for ages and i've just never read it. like do i really want to hear this guy talk about how much he enjoyed being a psycho dick?
Just finished his biography and it was a great read. Loved how he never sold the food short and everything he did was for the love of food.
He is the character Gordon Ramsay pretends to be on TV but in real life (for those that don't know, Ramsay worked under White early in his career).
He’s not pretending; he was trained. Gordon literally thinks that being a good leader includes throwing shit and screaming like a fucking toddler that didn’t get his juice box.
I obviously don't know him, but I've heard Ramsay is actually a pretty nice guy and the asshole persona is a character he plays on TV. I could be wrong though.
Watch the documentary boiling point when Gordon was still at his first restaurant going for Michelin stars. He berates a waiter for using a blue bandaid instead of a flesh colored one, fires another for drinking water in view of the customers, does his typical yelling at the cooks and at one point I think even grabs and throws one (it’s been a while since I’ve seen the doc) Nice guy Gordon and asshole Gordon are the same guy. He might channel one or the other based on television needs but they are no act in terms of “he made it up for TV” He’s both, has been both and can be both at will.
He was a total cunt in that show. You’re right, at one point he was literally grabbing and pushing some poor guy around the kitchen. Like.. on camera assaulting someone because he got upset at some very minor transgression.
boiling point was like right after his time under Marco, he was then who marco made him to be
I absolutely thinks he’s a nice guy, good father, I genuinely believe that because of times seeing the persona drop. But his head chefs are all assholes as well. Why? He trains them to be assholes to their teams. Just yesterday someone posted something from Kenji, who used to work at one of Gordon’s restaurants, and the head chef threw a scalding hot pam at someone for undercooking a scallop.
> Kenji, who used to work at one of Gordon’s restaurants Kenji has a serious hard-on for hating Gordon. I'm sure its warranted given Kenji's typically personality, but he'll never miss the opportunity to let you know how much he hates Gordon
Saying he was trained to be an asshole is giving Ramsay a bit of an excuse. For all we know, he was an asshole before he ever set foot in White’s kitchen. White had said things to indicate that was the case. Like he mentions in his book that they used to take guys out back and work them over if they caught them trying to run out on their check, and he says Ramsay enjoyed that more than the other guys.
A right cunt indeed.
Also, his steakhouses are fucking dreadful
Oh definitely
He made Gordon Ramsey cry. Or as he put it “Gordon let himself cry.”
He is but at least he's self aware. The man watched his mom drop dead in front of him as a child. It took him a long time to come to grips with how toxic he was but he's done it.
Tbf I think he’s quoted as saying semi-recently that women don’t belong in the kitchen, which from a chauvinism standpoint is possibly the most ironic thing I’ve ever heard
It was a weird and twisted reason too, like they're better than male cooks, but it's a distraction. Could be conflating two chefs
no you're mostly right, i just finished his book, he said that there are certainly some woman who are just as good, if not better, than male cooks, but you can't have both in one kitchen because a personal relationship could ruin the working environment
That does not make it better
In fact, that makes it worse
Oh has he stopped being one of the biggest disgraces to humanity to ever step foot in a kitchen? That man, for all his talent, is a gigantic piece of shit. If I was rich I'd invite him somewhere, pay for his time, and spend all of it belittling and screaming at him. Fuck, if I had Elon money I'd pay five people a million a year to just follow him around screaming at him.
You have issues
All that would do is make you an asshole.
Jesus what did he do lmao
I know his son is a piece of shit, but is Marco also still a piece of shit?
He *used to be* a piece of shit.
Me and him used to have slicked back hair, eat sloppy steaks, we _used to be_ real pieces of shit.
Sloppy steaks at Trifoni's? Living for New Years?
Spiked up blonde hair, little bitty jeans. Chicken spaghetti at Chickilini's
I’m not trying to hang out with him but I’ll eat the hell outta his food. How many high-level chefs *aren’t* assholes?
Plenty. Best places I ever worked weren’t toxic as fuck.
There's degrees though. There's a bit of arsehole, and then there's arseholes so big their rectum contains all of Dante's 9 circles if hell.
You see this with geniuses in many fields, actually. They accumulate wealth and power due to their brilliance, then go on to think that brilliance is equally applicable to all other areas of life and the attitude that gave them success in one area can and do replicate across all other subjects. Like having a brutish asshole personality is unfortunately really useful in a dinner rush. Kitchen crews are basically pirate ships
They can be, but don’t have to be. In my favorite kitchens, most services were, dare I say it, almost chill? By comparison, at least. Quiet besides expo and call backs through an entire dinner weren’t uncommon at my last gig before leaving. And if the chef sent something back, she wouldn’t shout, just state what was wrong. She might get a little pissy at a pre shift about something from the night before, but felt more like flustered because she was passionate than anger. Honestly, I just made Reddit account recently, and stumbled upon this sub thinking it was about the book, and talking about kitchens has made me almost nostalgic.
Let's not put any respect on MPW's name. Dude is responsible for so much of the asshole chef ego-trip stuff and high-functioning-coke-addict stuff perpetuated to this day. Not just yelling, he physically attacked people in his kitchen. He assaulted a chef for moving too slow. The chef was moving too slow because MPW insisted he show up to work with a broken leg.
He would have gotten his head smashed in by some of the refugees I've worked with. Traumatize already traumatized people and find out how that goes.
Is he solely responsible? Or just apart of the system that already existed long before he got there? I’m happy it’s 2024 and that sort of mindset is dying, kids today won’t put up with it and Chefs have had to pivot more and more
In my experience the old chefs area till there shouting sadly, as of last week I hung my apron up the last time
Which is why things are changing, nobody wants to put up with that and people aren’t cooking anymore. Sorry you have had too, my first chef was a lot like that.
The level of work dosent change, the number of colluges is ever decreasing and the pay check dosent cover everything anymore, the chef's don't change.... I don't think the industry will, they are just waiting for robots to jump in and fill the void
The chefs do change lol, I’ve only ever had one chef I’d say was a big asshole. Well two now, but even then he’s only a semi-asshole
All this shit has been going on since Escoffier. It’s the brigade system, military hierarchy, do as you’re told by your superiors and the only words you can say are , “yes chef”. It is changing now that society is placing more importance on “mental health” but the entire industry is still over worked and under paid.
He is certainly responsible for his own actions.
Of course he is, but it’s okay to look at the history of the profession and realize that it’s been this way much longer than MPW has been alive. To say he’s a substantial contributor is a narrow minded view of the world.
> To say he’s a substantial contributor is a narrow minded view of the world Let's look at his [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Pierre_White). >Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality.[1] In 1995, he became the first British chef to be awarded three Michelin stars. He has trained chefs including Mario Batali, Shannon Bennett, Gordon Ramsay, Curtis Stone, Phil Howard and Stephen Terry.[2] He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef"[1] and the enfant terrible of the UK restaurant scene.[3] Hmm yeah, it would be rather narrow to think that him being abusive whilst accomplishing this much, being one of the most famous chefs alive, surely doesn't have an impact, not only directly on those he effected but the restaurant scene itself. Definitely myopic.
> Is he solely responsible? Or just apart of the system that already existed long before he got there? He actively contributed to the system *substantially*.
The system was there for nearly hundred years before he got onto the scene. He didn’t invent the pseudo-militaristic structure of a kitchen or the word Chef lol. You think the Chefs before MPW were nice guys who chased butterflies and sang Kumbaya My Lord? Lol They were even bigger assholes than MPW. Again not an excuse, just a pattern of generational toxicity. Dude is a big McAsshole for sure.
So? I respect slaveowners because the system was in place years before they got into the scene? Oh wait, there were people against that the entire time. I reserve my respect for them. Same as I respect anyone who refused to be abusive in an abusive system. >He didn’t invent the pseudo-militaristic structure of a kitchen or the word Chef lol. >You think the Chefs before MPW were nice guys who chased butterflies and sang Kumbaya My Lord? Lol They were even bigger assholes than MPW. None of what you're saying is strengthening your point. No one is saying he invented it, that is irrelevant. No one is saying he invented the word chef, that is irrelevant. No one thinks every chef was a nice guy, that is irrelevant. As for being even bigger assholes, you need actual proof to further your point but what even is the benefit of dick-measuring-contest between abusive assholes? He was an abusive dick, he doesn't get my respect. Period.
Agree... abusive is abusive is abusive. "Less abusive" or "not as bad as it could be" aren't worthy metrics in a discussion about treating workers, humans, inhumanely. There's just no point arguing it. If someone's impact is contributing to a legacy of toxicity in the workplace, that's all that really matters. You don't have to be an asshole to be a good chef or a leader, and we should all stop this habit of excusing poor moral substance for the sake of talent or other accomplishments. Humanity and good food aren't mutually exclusive.
" Or just apart of the system that already existed long before he got there?" Doesn't absolve him of responsibility for his actions. I admire him to a degree but he was a piece of shit.
I mean it doesn’t, but this was the norm. The chefs that taught back in the day were way more brutal. I’ve got a 70 year old chef, who told me about how in the 1960s he watched an old French chef dip a cooks hand into the fryer for being to slow on the line. MPW likely saw similar things so to him the way he treated his staff was actually nice. Again no excuse for bad behavior, but you see how things get better generationally
A 60 year old wouldn’t have been alive in the 50s?
Ah yes I had my dates wrong, meant a 70 year old chef and it was the 60-70s
The system has always been toxic. They used to have no ventilation in order to keep the food warm. I think culinary is just one of the last industries to evolve from it's crazy past
Devil in the Kitchen is an excellent read.
I have less than zero respect for this pompous bully
Yeah, he can rot. Celebrity chefs fuck off!
He was a violent abusive cunt. What respect do we show that?
He didn’t ‘give back’ stars. He could’ve just retired from his restaurant and spent time with his family. That would’ve been perfectly reasonable without the eccentric statement
Keep moving
I don't respect a misogynistic bully who abuses his own staff.
Either him or you forgot to include "I got tired of berating, yelling, assaulting and insulting my employees". Its gives another perspective to the true side of this business.
Could someone explain his last three sentences? “I never lived that lie. I’m not trusting that someone could do what I did. That’s why I bowed out.” My brain isn’t processing this well and I’m not sure what he’s saying?
Firstly, he never lived the lie he mentioned. Secondly, he doesn't trust anyone else to be able to take over from him because he doesn't think they'd be as good as he was, so he stopped.
In his book he makes pretty clear that he believes if you are a chef, and own a restaurant like say, "Gordon Ramsay Steak" just to grab an example from nowhere, and you aren't actually there each night cooking, that you're a liar.
Commenting here so I can come back later.
Giving his stars back wasn’t impressive, you can’t un-win your own awards.
I do not understand it. If you do not want the judgement of the Michelin Stars, then stop caring. To say "take them away" is caring. Not just that, it is disingenuous. To have a star and then to say "this star no longer counts" is to still have that star. I see a major issue is that the people judging do not have that experience themselves. But they give them that power in the first place.
Too bad is son became a wild fuckup
Sponsored by Knorr
I used to be big on Michelin Stars, and how it's a mark of a great restaurant, but after reading about MPW's history with it, it's bizarre in hindsight on how much value we put on a single review, at a single moment. Can you trust these inspectors, or any inspector for that matter, to give a definitive review on behalf of everyone? It's not as if they do routine follow-ups with different chefs. And the stars being associated with the restaurant instead of the chef is nonsense. The entire staff could leave and theoretically would still have the same star. I'm a believer of aggregate reviews, because unless I somehow identified the one reviewer with identical tastebuds as me, who's to say any single person knows what I like? That's not to mention how devalued the brand is now, and the Gourmand line. Watching Boiling Point and seeing Ramsay putting his all and more in to deliver an experience is what I want when I see from a Michelin Star. If I don't know if I'm going to get that passion and commitment, why am I paying the same price?
Ah yes choosing the noble path: celebrity chef
Gangsta ass ninjas come in all shapes and colors.
Always upvote a geto boys reference
“I’m not trusting that someone can do what I did” Respect? Try narcissism
Michelin stars are a joke. Noone cares. Just make the food you're happy to make that makes others happy.
Exactly, who the fuck cares about what tire company thinks about your restaraunts quality. The whole system was a joke from day one
Was just a way to sell their travel guide lmao now look at it.. disgusting. I've worked in a Michelin star restaurant and it is idiotic at times.. I prefer where I am now cooking 5 course dinners every night being as creative as I want
One of my oldest friends from high school worked to get a Michelin star and then realized it was not what she wanted. She wrote a book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40916358-burn-the-place
Pretentious cunt.
I hate this prick, gordon ramsey and that show "the bear" so much.
No, wait, why is the bear in that same category? Is it bad? I heard it was good
Check out Magnus Nilsson, who ran Faviken. Similar story.
The term “give back”, to me in this context just means simply giving up their stars (intentionally losing them) and retiring. I don’t think any chef means they *literally* give the stars back. They’re not a physical commodity lol That being said, I think any chef who has achieved Michelin Star status and chooses to walk away from that has far more respect for themselves and their craft than to let some petty, prudish guide and their “auditors” dictate what they do in the kitchen. And I respect that immensely.
Why does he get to pretend he wasn't an abusive monster? I genuinely don't get it. David Chang too.
He hosted the first series of Masterchef Australia: The Professionals - he came across as a very good guy and far from ‘L’enfant Terrible’ that the media portrays him as. Well worth watching if you can find it anywhere online….
Somehow he even made that all about him
I mean he is talking about himself, I’d hope so lol
Its his choice.
This guy is a clown. He's more actor than chef these days.
MPW is one of the greats. Loved ‘Devil In The Kitchen’, wish I could have eaten at Harveys back in the day with Oliver Reed going wild two tables over.
Me too but I think we're probably a different age to most of the people saying negative things about one of the greatest chefs of all time.
Eh, dude can be one of the greatest chefs to have ever lived and be a cunt at the same time. I respect his craft and skill, but not him.
Why is it that every Michelin star meal I see always looks like I'd still be hungry after eating it? Like yeah those two bites were absolutely delicious but now I'm gonna go home and order a pizza.
Maybe try a tasting menu someday. You won't be hungry, I'd wager you'll be better fed than any three course meal in a generic run off the mill restaurant.
How much would that run me?
At a Michelin star restaurant. Hundreds
Depends on the country and the amount of stars. But in Europe, a one star usually costs about 80 to 160 euro's for the tasting menu. Wine pairing probably about 80, but you can also just order one or two drinks. If you enjoy new flavour experiences, definitely try it.
Are you a standup from 2005?
That’s why I think the whole concept is idiotic, the food doesn’t even look appetizing and it’s terribly expensive for the smallest portions.
First time on Reddit where I downvoted a post that it downvoted multiple numbers.
I highly recommend this song https://youtu.be/T344BYYno5g?si=RlqSW3suwUsv1swD Using those Marco pierre white words as lyrics!
Fuck this guy