The Michelin Guide is in hot water after being accused
of hiding its role in the suicide of one of France’s greatest chefs, Bernard
Loiseau.
Loiseau was terrified of losing his third Michelin star when
he shot himself in the mouth at his home near La Côte d’Or, his gastronomic
temple in Burgundy, France, in February 2003. A week before, Michelin's rival the GaultMillau had reduced his rating from
19 to 17 out of 20.
His friend, three-star chef Jacques Lameloise,
recounted how Loiseau - whose cuisine eschewed cream, butter,
flour and fat, but remained quintessentially French; his signature dish being frogs' legs and garlic purée on a bed of parsley sauce - had told him how much his Michelin rating meant: "He
said, 'If I lose a star, I'll kill myself.'"
Loiseau’s death shocked the culinary world and led
to the critics themselves facing criticism. They were accused of exercising too
much power, toying with the restaurants they assess, and ultimately pushing
Loiseau over the edge.
Amid the backlash, the tyre guide kept its head down and
left Le Figaro’s restaurant critic Francoise Simon to be a “scapegoat” for his
death. He had published an article shortly before Loiseau’s suicide citing Michelin
sources as warning his third star was "legitimately under threat".
Michelin denied ever threatening to withdraw a
star, which Loiseau’s restaurant ended up keeping. But previously unseen
documents suggest Michelin had told him it had serious reservations about his restaurant four months before he shot himself.
Yesterday, L’Express magazine published a confidential
note written by the guide’s then British head, Derek Brown, that appears to contradict
Michelin’s version of events.
Minutes from his November 2002 meeting with Loiseau
and his wife Dominique at his head office recount how Brown left them with
little doubt that a star was under threat, and even mentions how shocked the 52-year-old
chef was by the news.
“I spoke of our concerns: irregularity, lack of
soul, of recent character in the cuisine and readers’ mail that is VERY mixed in
terms of quality,” Brown wrote. “Visibly ‘shocked’, [Loiseau] took me
seriously. We’ll see.”
Two days later, Mrs Loiseau sent a deeply
apologetic letter, promising to get their cuisine “back on track”. Her
husband - who she says was a manic depressive “capable of great moments of
euphoria and periods of deep anxiety” - apparently never recovered.
Simon said yesterday he felt vindicated because he
had merely reported on Michelin’s warning. “Michelin did indeed envisage
docking Bernard Loiseau a star. They wanted to pass me off as a killer, while
Michelin exempted themselves of any responsibility,” he said. “I was thrown to
the dogs, treated as a murderer and still am by some. They needed a scapegoat.”
Brown insisted this week: “There was no threat made
to Bernard Loiseau of losing a star at any time. Michelin doesn’t threaten
anybody. He asked to see me. People who want to come and talk about their
restaurant are very welcome. The idea of telling him about the concerns we had
about some of his cooking was in order to give him an opportunity to consider
whether he wanted to do something about it, which he did, as it turned out.”
Michael Ellis, the current director of Michelin,
told L’Express: “These types of meetings are part of daily life at Michelin.
I’m not surprised such a meeting took place. We don’t summon chefs. We only receive
ones who wish to see us.”
