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| Acclaimed French Chef to Michelin: Take My Stars, Please | Acclaimed French Chef to Michelin: Take My Stars, Please |
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| LONDON — Sébastien Bras, at 46, one of France’s most celebrated chefs, has stunned the French culinary world with an unlikely plea: Take my three Michelin stars away. | LONDON — Sébastien Bras, at 46, one of France’s most celebrated chefs, has stunned the French culinary world with an unlikely plea: Take my three Michelin stars away. |
| Nearly two decades ago, Mr. Bras’s father, Michel Bras, helped raise vegetables to an art form in France, winning three Michelin stars at his restaurant Le Suquet in southern France in 1999. | Nearly two decades ago, Mr. Bras’s father, Michel Bras, helped raise vegetables to an art form in France, winning three Michelin stars at his restaurant Le Suquet in southern France in 1999. |
| Now, Sébastien Bras, who took over the restaurant 10 years ago, retaining the three stars with, among other things, a signature dish made of 60 vegetables, seeds and flowers, is fed up with the pressure of maintaining those stars. He says he is seeking nothing less than culinary “liberation.” | Now, Sébastien Bras, who took over the restaurant 10 years ago, retaining the three stars with, among other things, a signature dish made of 60 vegetables, seeds and flowers, is fed up with the pressure of maintaining those stars. He says he is seeking nothing less than culinary “liberation.” |
| Mr. Bras said he wanted to be removed from next year’s Michelin guide, arbiter of French culinary excellence for more than a century, and had the blessing of his father, who is now 70, and wanted him to be happy. | Mr. Bras said he wanted to be removed from next year’s Michelin guide, arbiter of French culinary excellence for more than a century, and had the blessing of his father, who is now 70, and wanted him to be happy. |
| “My father fought hard for that famous third star which we welcomed with huge joy and which burnished our reputation,” he said in a phone interview from the restaurant in the rural, idyllic village of Laguiole, about 130 miles northwest of Montpellier. “But now I want to be liberated from the pressure.” | “My father fought hard for that famous third star which we welcomed with huge joy and which burnished our reputation,” he said in a phone interview from the restaurant in the rural, idyllic village of Laguiole, about 130 miles northwest of Montpellier. “But now I want to be liberated from the pressure.” |
| Explaining his decision, Mr. Bras said he felt hamstrung by the surprise visits of Michelin inspectors, who arrived unannounced two or three times a year, could be stubbornly wedded to tradition and sampled only a mere soupçon of his dozens of dishes. Befitting a star chef of the digital age, he initially announced his snub in a Facebook video, wearing a white apron in a pastoral Laguiole field, and saying he “wanted to give a new meaning to my life.” | Explaining his decision, Mr. Bras said he felt hamstrung by the surprise visits of Michelin inspectors, who arrived unannounced two or three times a year, could be stubbornly wedded to tradition and sampled only a mere soupçon of his dozens of dishes. Befitting a star chef of the digital age, he initially announced his snub in a Facebook video, wearing a white apron in a pastoral Laguiole field, and saying he “wanted to give a new meaning to my life.” |
| The move shocked France’s rarefied culinary world, prompting questions as to whether the guide was losing some luster. It also unsettled Mr. Bras’s three-starred peers and rattled the keepers and loyal adherents of the guide itself, whose coveted three-star ranking is considered, fairly or not, the highest accolade in the industry | The move shocked France’s rarefied culinary world, prompting questions as to whether the guide was losing some luster. It also unsettled Mr. Bras’s three-starred peers and rattled the keepers and loyal adherents of the guide itself, whose coveted three-star ranking is considered, fairly or not, the highest accolade in the industry |
| “The joy one gets out of three stars cannot be measured, it’s like winning the gold medal in the Olympics,” said Maxime Meilleur, the chef of the three-star La Bouitte, located in a small village of the Alps. | |
| “It’s a big surprise, because we are the children of Michelin, and we all put so much hope in those stars,” said Laurent Petit, the chef whose restaurant Le Clos des Sens in southeastern France has two stars. Calling the quest for the stars “a dream and a game,” he added, “I don’t understand Mr. Bras’s decision, but I respect it.” | “It’s a big surprise, because we are the children of Michelin, and we all put so much hope in those stars,” said Laurent Petit, the chef whose restaurant Le Clos des Sens in southeastern France has two stars. Calling the quest for the stars “a dream and a game,” he added, “I don’t understand Mr. Bras’s decision, but I respect it.” |
| While the stars confer cachet and financial security, Mr. Bras’s audacious move is also reflective of a new generation of chefs, some of whom are eager to escape from the punishing strain of unpredictable rankings and malicious food critics. | While the stars confer cachet and financial security, Mr. Bras’s audacious move is also reflective of a new generation of chefs, some of whom are eager to escape from the punishing strain of unpredictable rankings and malicious food critics. |
| In 2015, the Swiss establishment Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville in Crissier, near Lausanne, was designated the best restaurant in the world in La Liste, rankings commissioned by the French Foreign Ministry. A year later its chef, Benoît Violier, 44, shot himself to death with his own gun. At the time, some fellow chefs asked whether the pressure of retaining his three Michelin stars had pushed him to take his own life. | In 2015, the Swiss establishment Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville in Crissier, near Lausanne, was designated the best restaurant in the world in La Liste, rankings commissioned by the French Foreign Ministry. A year later its chef, Benoît Violier, 44, shot himself to death with his own gun. At the time, some fellow chefs asked whether the pressure of retaining his three Michelin stars had pushed him to take his own life. |
| The incredible stress aside, industry experts noted the financial burden of retaining a third star — including maintaining a refined décor and employing a small army of fastidious staff — at a time when French cuisine has been democratized and many French people do not want to spend a fortune on dinner. | The incredible stress aside, industry experts noted the financial burden of retaining a third star — including maintaining a refined décor and employing a small army of fastidious staff — at a time when French cuisine has been democratized and many French people do not want to spend a fortune on dinner. |
| “Three stars mean that everything must be perfect, at any time, in every plate,” said Yves Bontoux, a consultant for six French Michelin-starred restaurants. “One must be passionate, a genius, but mostly, a workaholic, because you have to be working in your restaurant from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day nonstop.” | “Three stars mean that everything must be perfect, at any time, in every plate,” said Yves Bontoux, a consultant for six French Michelin-starred restaurants. “One must be passionate, a genius, but mostly, a workaholic, because you have to be working in your restaurant from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day nonstop.” |
| Claire Dorland-Clauzel, a member of Michelin’s executive committee, said Mr. Bras’s request to remove his three stars was a first for the guide in France. But some three-star restaurateurs have shuttered their restaurants, thereby giving up their stars. | Claire Dorland-Clauzel, a member of Michelin’s executive committee, said Mr. Bras’s request to remove his three stars was a first for the guide in France. But some three-star restaurateurs have shuttered their restaurants, thereby giving up their stars. |
| “Some chefs are very, very motivated by the stars, and others make different choices,” she said. “We understand this — this is what excellence is about as in the arts or sports.” | “Some chefs are very, very motivated by the stars, and others make different choices,” she said. “We understand this — this is what excellence is about as in the arts or sports.” |
| She quickly added that while the guide would review Mr. Bras’s request, stripping him of his stars was not a foregone conclusion. “The guide isn’t made for chefs,” she said, “it’s made for clients, and we have our own freedom of criticism, our own editorial freedom.” | She quickly added that while the guide would review Mr. Bras’s request, stripping him of his stars was not a foregone conclusion. “The guide isn’t made for chefs,” she said, “it’s made for clients, and we have our own freedom of criticism, our own editorial freedom.” |
| In 2005, Alain Senderens, a founder of the nouvelle cuisine movement, decided to close Lucas Carton, his Art Nouveau restaurant on the Place de la Madeleine in Paris and abandon his three stars. He said he was fed up with the agony of perfection, and wanted to do “beautiful cuisine without all the tra-la-la and chichi, and put the money into what’s on the plate.” | In 2005, Alain Senderens, a founder of the nouvelle cuisine movement, decided to close Lucas Carton, his Art Nouveau restaurant on the Place de la Madeleine in Paris and abandon his three stars. He said he was fed up with the agony of perfection, and wanted to do “beautiful cuisine without all the tra-la-la and chichi, and put the money into what’s on the plate.” |
| Earlier this year, René Redzepi, 39, the chef and a co-owner of Noma in Denmark, a leading light of the New Nordic movement, said he was closing his two-starred restaurant and moving it to another neighborhood in Copenhagen, forsaking his hard-earned stars. He said in an interview that it was “necessary to break down a castle in order to build a new one.” | Earlier this year, René Redzepi, 39, the chef and a co-owner of Noma in Denmark, a leading light of the New Nordic movement, said he was closing his two-starred restaurant and moving it to another neighborhood in Copenhagen, forsaking his hard-earned stars. He said in an interview that it was “necessary to break down a castle in order to build a new one.” |
| Mr. Bras, for his part, said his decision to shun the would-be supreme court of global cuisine had been motivated by a search for serenity. He noted that while the pressure to retain three stars could be an engine for creativity, it could also prove debilitating. | Mr. Bras, for his part, said his decision to shun the would-be supreme court of global cuisine had been motivated by a search for serenity. He noted that while the pressure to retain three stars could be an engine for creativity, it could also prove debilitating. |
| “Food should be about love — not about competition,” he said. “All I want is to welcome people to my restaurant during the day, or during the night under a sky filled with stars.” | “Food should be about love — not about competition,” he said. “All I want is to welcome people to my restaurant during the day, or during the night under a sky filled with stars.” |