Editor’s note: subscribe to Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get destination news, plus the latest on aviation, food and drink, and where to stay.
Paris
CNN
—
Five years ago, he sued the prestigious Michelin Guide and lost following an unfavorable review of a controversial soufflé. French chef Marc Veyrat has launched a new salvo against the bible of gastronomy by denying his inspectors access to his new restaurant.
“I even have a little sign on the front door,” he told CNN. “I will be 75 this year. I don’t want to take exams and be ranked.
Veyrat’s new 450-euro ($465)-ahead venture, Le Restaurant Marc Veyrat, opened recently in the chic French ski resort of Megève. This is his first new adventure since the chef went to war with Michelin in 2019 after the guide downgraded La Maison des Bois from three to two stars.
Outraged at the time, he filed a complaint against the Michelin Guide, demanding that it remove his restaurant’s listing, pay him a symbolic euro and explain the reasons for this demotion. He lost and had to pay legal costs.
A Michelin inspector previously said the move was because the Veyrat restaurant used cheddar in its soufflé. Veyrat argued that he had used local cheeses, including Reblochon and Beaufort, and that inspectors may have confused the color with the touch of saffron used in the recipe.
“They are incompetent,” Veyrat still says today.
La Maison des Bois, located near the French Alpine village of La Croix Fry, has since been taken over by Veyrat’s daughter, who renamed it Le Hameau de mon Père (“my father’s hamlet”) in honor of his father. “I’m very proud of it,” he said, “it’s a truly magical place. »
Veyrat says he opened his new business in Megève because he missed working in a restaurant, although he strives to avoid the Michelin-level scrutiny that inevitably falls to a chef of his status.
It was “the joy of welcoming people” that motivated him to start again, he told CNN.
But even if its Michelin ban might discourage the guide, there’s no guarantee that an inspector won’t show up anonymously to test the restaurant.
This means it could still appear in the next edition. After all, Michelin included South Korean restaurant Eo in its 2019 Seoul guide despite the owner, chef Eo Yun-gwon, asking them not to.
Guests who opt for an eight-course meal at Veyrat’s restaurant can also meet the chef himself. Veyrat will be present between two preparations of dishes such as his fine lobster tartlet garnished with a fragrant emulsion of meadowsweet and wild flowers.
Indeed, he says, many customers come to his restaurant in Megève just to shake the hand of the renowned chef. With his iconic wide-brimmed black hat, he became something of a celebrity.
“I don’t mean it selfishly, I’m just part of the architecture,” he says with a laugh.
Despite the price, Veyrat says he doesn’t make a cent with his new project. He just wants to break even and pay his staff a decent wage. He says he makes a lot of money from the many other restaurants he owns and that his breakup with Michelin has had no impact on his business.
Veyrat is not the only one to have spoken out against the guide. A number of chefs have spoken about the intense pressure felt in the months leading up to its release, and many have expressed their desire to be left out of the guide altogether.
In 2017, chef Sébastien Bras requested that his restaurant in central France be removed from the guide. “Life is too good and too short,” he said, calling the decision the price of his freedom. To his great surprise, his restaurant was re-listed in the guide two years later with two stars.
Chef Frédéric Ménager declares that he refuses to have his restaurant La Ferme de la Ruchotte judged by Michelin. He says he has received phone calls from the guide, but that “the only stars that matter are those in the diners’ eyes as they leave the table, hypnotized by their gastronomic experience.”
Michelin is still important in France; it included 639 restaurants nationwide in its 2024 guide.
CNN has contacted the Michelin Guide for comment.
Even with his Michelin years seemingly behind him, Veyrat says he hasn’t lost his momentum – something he attributes in part to his wife Christine, who runs the new restaurant alongside him. “She’s a real woman. She never stops. he told CNN. “She gives me a helping hand.”
Veyrat takes care of Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and offers diners what he calls “high definition cuisine” based on local aromatic herbs.
He did not confirm whether a soufflé would be on the menu.
Christine cooks on Sundays with her own menu for just 220 euros (about $227) per person. Nicknamed the “beloved witch”, she revisits ancient traditions by cooking all her meals on an open hearth, meant to add a richness of flavor to her creations.
The restaurant only opened this season, but Veyrat says it’s already a huge success.
He says he also wants to write a book and is currently working on a campaign against junk food.
“I don’t have time to grow old,” he exclaims.
