The Michelin Guide's Problem with Women
The 2024 edition
I shouldn’t be surprised nor should I be as irritated as I am when Michelin reveals its new guide each year. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because I keep holding out for a tiny miracle that the organization will finally realize that it *does*, in fact, play an active role in shaping the industry and opportunities for chefs. And yet, each leader of the Michelin guide— previously Michael Ellis and since 2018, Gwendal Poullennec— deplores the lack of women and the limited number of chefs of color leading restaurants but does little more than make a giant Gallic shrug of a public statement about it.
Ten days ago, the Michelin guide rewarded 52 restaurants in France with (new) single stars. Three stars were awarded to chef Fabien Ferré, 35, who took over La Table du Castellet in southeastern France last year (now the youngest chef in France running a three-star restaurant), and to Jérôme Banctel's Le Gabriel at La Réserve in Paris, where I had one of the most memorable lunches of the last decade shortly after the restaurant opened (and long before it entered the big red book). Banctel has devoted his life to cooking, with all the technical prowess and industry respect to show for it. He is a fairly good avatar of the French Michelin chef, insofar as we understand what Michelin is looking to champion: traditional training, tight adherence to the classic rulebook of French cuisine, elevated service, and a slew of other obscure criteria.
This was also a year with some of the youngest new award winners which suggests some kind of understanding from Michelin that it needed to radically expand its reach by considering emerging talents who may not have racked up years working for other people in high-end kitchens, as was the norm 15 to 20 years ago.
While I commend age diversity, women were, yet again, woefully underrepresented.
Only six women were among this year's newly starred chefs, each receiving one star. Chef Eugénie Béziat of the Ritz Paris’s flagship restaurant Espadon was the only woman chef to receive the award solo— the others were awarded as part of duos, primarily with men: Adeline Lesage for Le Nacre near Bordeaux, Emilie Roussey for Le Moulin de Cambelong near Toulouse and Florencia Montes for L'Onice in Nice. A rarity, Manon Fleury and Laurène Barjhoux won a star together for their restaurant Datil in Paris only six months after opening. (Read more about Datil here).
Anticipating the backlash to the absence of women on the final list, Gwendal Poullennec whipped out the expected PR statement, denouncing "too few women at the head of kitchens, whereas there are more and more in brigades and in training."
Gwendal Poullennec's speech was followed by a short documentary (shown in the Instagram post above) produced by Vérane Frediani featuring an impressive group of women in the French restaurant industry, including France's only triple threat cheffe, Anne-Sophie Pic. They spoke about their ambitions in and out of the kitchen, the preconceived ideas that endure about women leading kitchens, and the need to believe in yourself when you’re pursuing this career.
To me, airing the video seems like an odd consolation prize. Are we to understand that Michelin’s influence can’t extend into actively participating in setting new standards for restaurants reaching for stars? That they can’t accompany chefs (women or not) who may have a litany of socioeconomic obstacles to overcome? That they can’t leverage all that influence, regardless of whether it should exist in the first place, with banks who seldom invest in women? My instinct was: a video of inspiring women who have found success, hurdles and all, isn’t enough. It’s a nod but requires no effort from the establishment to affect change. There are hundreds of restaurants run and owned by women that may not have even been tested by Michelin inspectors. Are we supposed to believe they traversed the country doing their due diligence and only found six new women-run spots to recognize?
I don’t believe it but I also understand Vérane’s defense of running the video in the first place.
“My reasoning remains unchanged: talented women are out there, but they don't have the financial means to chase the stars, they don't have the means to hire the restaurant manager they need, they don't have a husband to run their restaurant's admin for free, they don't have the means to hire the publicist they need, they don't have the means to invite journalists to dinner so they can write about their cuisine... WHY? Because banks and investors do NOT invest in women. Why not? Because they are neither known nor recognized (by THE GUIDES). So how do we get out of this spiral? I've always told the people in charge of the guide that they had the means to help women (independently of the stars) and that they weren't using their communication power as they could. This year, they've done it, with a video that I wanted to be inspiring, but which also touched on the issues...LET'S SHARE IT! You have the power to change things.” (source: Instagram post)
It’s better than nothing, some suggest, but I don’t think yet another piece of content is going to suddenly convince decision makers, be they restaurant owners, banks, or investors, to value women and their talents if they don’t already. And as one male, award-winning chef (who preferred to remain anonymous) said to me after the awards were announced: “If we are really thinking about progress and trying to act in the world in a way that advances it, we really don’t have time for Michelin’s nonsense.”
These awards come with tremendous pressure. Eugénie Béziat, whose cooking is exceptional, was relieved she didn’t earn two stars straight away, although she most certainly deserved them, because of what it would mean for her and her team less than nine months after opening the doors to Espadon. I don’t blame her for wanting to tread carefully. I’d also say that the experience she offers at Espadon is by no means amplified because of new recognition— I would still be recommending the restaurant even if she hadn’t earned a star.
I have had extraordinary meals at Michelin-starred restaurants and just as many mind-blowing experiences at spots that may never garner the attention of any award-bestowing institution. My criticism, therefore, is not directed at young chefs dreaming of recognition from a historic institution that they know can radically impact their business. Rather, I take issue with a cryptic inspection process, the group’s wilful inertia on matters impacting the industry, and corporate virtue signalling with awards like the Green Star for restaurants with a commitment to sustainability—should we interpret this to mean that “regular” starred restaurants don’t care about the planet?
What we need is systemic change. We need more institutions with influence to break up the Michelin monopoly and we need a dining public that is less blithely enamored of Michelin’s aura and prepared to take its guardians to task for not meeting the moment.
A FEW FAVORITE WOMEN-RUN/CO-OWNED RESTAURANTS IN PARIS*
(An incomplete list! *With and without Michelin stars)
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