PARIS, Oct 23 — In the 2016 edition of the prestigious Gault-Millau French restaurant guide, which hit bookstores yesterday, three well-established chefs have been welcomed into its very select five-toques circle: Philippe Labbé (L’Arnsbourg, Baerenthal), Christian Le Squer (Le Cinq, Paris) and Arnaud Donckele (La Vague d’Or, Saint-Tropez).
Every year, the Gault-Millau guide, a reference among gastronomes, attempts to identify the cuisine of a great chef. For this 2016 edition, it has chosen to honour “the creation and sincerity” of Alexandre Gauthier, a chef from Northern France who is based at La Grenouillère, La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil.
In addition to this special award, the crème de la crème of chefs can be found in the five toques (equivalent to stars) category, which includes Christian Le Squer, Philippe Labbé and Arnaud Donckele. Other names include Joël Robuchon, who is awarded fourtoques at La Grande Maison in Bordeaux; Akrame Benallal in Paris; and Alain Ducasse with his eponymous restaurant at the Plaza Athénée Hotel in the French capital.
Having given up on giving marks out of 20 years ago, Gault-Millau decided to reintroduce scores to enable food lovers to get a better idea of a chef’s talent in relative terms, in addition to the illustration of the number of toques awarded.
This is a major point as the book encompasses no less than 3,800 restaurants, including 700 new addresses. Gault-Millau prides itself in having unearthed 300 that have never been mentioned in a guide.
Virginie Basselot, one to watch
For a while now, Gault Millau has wanted to play the card of talent discoverer to distinguish itself from its major rival the Michelin guide. It especially likes to take up the role of the guide that sniffs out great chefs ahead of others. In 2014, the publication made Yannick Alléno its “chef of the year”; this past February the Michelin guide awarded Alléno three stars for his Pavillon Ledoyen restaurant.
Twenty inspectors have crisscrossed France in search of the most promising talents. And one of their observations was the distinctive culinary signature of young Virgine Basselot at the Saint-James Paris, who recently was awarded a prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France (best craftsmen of France) recognition.
The trophy for the Best Wine Waiter of the Year went to Pierre Colin, of the Michel Sarran restaurant in Toulouse. Two masters in desserts received the Best Pastry Chef of the Year award: Christophe Boucher at Dessance, Paris, and Steve Moracchini at La Passagère, Juan-les-Pins.
The 2016 edition of the Gault-Millau guide, in French, is priced at €29 (RM141). Its selection of restaurants includes 2,800 with menus of less than €30. — AFP-Relaxnews
