Two years almost to the day after the disappearance of French chef Paul Bocuse, his legendary restaurant has been stripped of its third star in the Michelin Guide, a true bible of gastronomy in France, said the Bocuse d’Or on Friday.
“GL Events, the organizing company of the Bocuse d’Or, wishes to give its unwavering support to the Maison Bocuse which has just seen its third Michelin star withdrawn after 55 years”, according to a press release from the organizers of this international competition de cuisine, launched in 1987 by “Monsieur Paul”. The Bocuse group, like the Red Guide, were not immediately available to confirm the information.
More up to par
Some critics already said well before the death of the chef at 91 that the Auberge de Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or, north of Lyon (center-east) was no longer up to par, and guides the had classified in the institution category, failing to note it. Modernization efforts – “tradition in motion” as defined by the institution’s management teams – have therefore not been sufficient.
The entire Bocuse d’Or family expresses their sadness and renewed respect for Mr. Paul’s work.
Olivier Ginon, president of the GL Events group
“The chefs worked and reworked the dishes, they refined them for more than a year, making them evolve while retaining their DNA, their original taste”, explained to the French newspaper Le Progrès Vincent Le Roux, general manager, there a few days. Major renovations are also nearing completion and the restaurant is due to reopen after three weeks of closure, on January 24, three days before the official release of the new Michelin Guide.
Sadness
“Monsieur Paul” defined himself as “a follower of traditional cuisine”. “I like butter, cream, wine” and not “peas quartered”, he said in the book “Paul Bocuse, Sacred Fire”, published in 2005.
With the loss of this star, “it is the whole Bocuse d’Or family who expresses their sadness and their renewed respect for the work of Mr. Paul”, reacted Olivier Ginon, president of the GL Events group who recalls “the contribution of Paul Bocuse to world cuisine, its cultural and heritage imprint ”.
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