New Michelin guide to France throws up a few surprises

Michelin Guide to France 2011 awards star to French restaurant that has closed

Back in January the word was, among those apparently "in the know" on the Net that the new Michelin hotel and restaurant guide for France would hold a few surprises.

(From Wikipedia - author, Trou)

How prescient that turned out to be, because to the consternation of many a top chef in this gastronomical delight of a country, there were no new names added to the list of those obtaining the much-revered three stars when the 2011 edition was published on Monday.

It was, as the national daily Le Monde reported, "The first time it had happened (or not happened as the case might be) since 1992."

And with Michel Trama's Les Loges de l'aubergade in Puymirol in the southwestern département of Lot-et-Garonne losing one of its stars the number of elite three-star restaurants in France now totals 25.

But wait. That's not really the surprise that has created something of a buzz since the guide's publication.

Instead it's the awarding of a star for the first time to Max Bichot's Les Hêtres in the village of Ingouville in the northern French département of Seine-Maritime.

Now hold your horses if you're thinking of making a beeline for the place to discover what's on the menu and try out some of Bichot's specialities.

Because, as the regional daily Paris Normandie reveals, Les Hêtres has been closed for the past couple of months.

Yep, Michelin has awarded a star to a restaurant that no longer exists.

"The star came too late," Bichot told the newspaper.

"I closed the restaurant on December 30; all the staff have been fired and the property has been sold." he added.

Bichot, who took over the restaurant in 2009, invested €200,000 in the business but was forced to close at the end of last year because,"There simply weren't enough clients."

"Perhaps if I had had a mention in either the 2009 or 2010 guide it would have made a difference," he told Europe 1 radio.

"Readers of the guide would perhaps have come to taste what was on the menu rather than going past the restaurant without stopping," he said.

So a Michelin star but no restaurant, Bichot is both reportedly proud and sad at the same time.

For the moment though he has no plans of opening another restaurant, preferring to "avoid the stress" by helping out in his partner's kitchen.