Michelin is a long-established French authoritative appraisal of the restaurant industry, the founder of the Michelin tires in 1900 published a guide for travelers to choose a restaurant on the road, that is, "Michelin Red Book" Since then the annual renovation of the launch of the "Michelin Red Book" is "gourmet" as the most valuable, known as Europe's culinary bible. Since then, the Michelin Red Book, which is updated annually, has been prized by "gourmets" as Europe's gastronomic bible, and has since begun to annually rate French restaurants. Jacques and Laurent are twin brothers who were born in the South of France in 1964 and attended hotel school at the age of 14. At the age of 24, the Pursell brothers opened their own restaurant, The Garden of the Senses, in the southern French city of Montpellier.
The restaurant is housed in an old castle. Inside, past the fragrant paths and vibrant vines, is a dining environment designed by Philippe Starck's longtime assistant, Ima Lamoni: floor-to-ceiling windows, beige vaulted ceilings, slightly lighter walls, maroon chairs, crystal glasses and snow-white tablecloths, all as bright as the southern sun.
The restaurant's cuisine is set in the South of France and Mediterranean style. Over the course of ten years, the brothers continued to refine their culinary skills and the restaurant's décor, and in 1998, the Garden of the Senses was finally recognized by the Michelin inspector and awarded three Michelin stars, the highest accolade in the European culinary world. "The Garden of the Senses became one of only 49 restaurants in the world with three Michelin stars. The Purcell brothers also became the two youngest three-star chefs in Michelin history.
The young Purcell brothers have been expanding their Haute Cuisine territory in recent years, opening branches of Garden of the Senses in Thailand and Japan, and this year inaugurating a new restaurant on the Bund in Shanghai, making it China's first three-star Michelin chef restaurant. Strictly speaking, it's not a Michelin-starred restaurant, because first of all, Michelin-starred restaurants have never been recognized beyond Europe, and secondly, the two brothers only come to China about four times a year to show off their skills in a restaurant. The Michelin stars shining above their heads are the restaurant's biggest selling point. But there's every reason to believe that if this restaurant stays true to the Purcell brothers' fun-loving approach to food and dining, it will be one of the best Western restaurants in China. So what does three Michelin stars mean and what are the criteria for its selection? Restaurants appearing in the Michelin Guide first receive at least one knife and fork mark, which is the guide's basic tasting criteria for restaurants, ranging from a maximum of five to one, indicating the comfort level of the restaurant. This is rated based on the restaurant's hardware, furniture items, service, cleanliness and maintenance of the surroundings. Some restaurants have a Michelin figure in front, which is the "Bibendum Gourmet" logo, indicating that the restaurant is good value for money.
At the top of the scale are the Michelin stars, which range from one to a maximum of three, and focus on the standard of cooking. The Michelin Guide defines a star this way: one star is for a restaurant that is particularly good in its style of eating; two stars for a restaurant that is so good that it is worth making a detour to dine there; and three stars for a restaurant that is so eternally memorable that it is worth jetting off to dine there. Such restaurants have usually been under Michelin's watch for at least a few years, and only finally get three stars if the standard remains consistently high.
The stars are judged on the quality of the ingredients used in the restaurant, the techniques employed in cooking, whether the different flavors blend well, the consistency and innovation of the cooking, and whether it is good value for money. Star numbers are sparse in a guidebook, and restaurants with two stars or more also have particularly stringent requirements for décor and service, with those at this level boasting at least four pairs of knife and fork marks.
The Michelin Guide, which has an annual circulation of more than 550,000, has a star rating that can have a big impact on a restaurant's business, image and popularity, so the process of rating the stars is rigorous: an inspector travels to a restaurant in secret to eat, and after paying the bill, he or she can identify himself or herself to the restaurant and request a visit to inspect it. Accompanied by the restaurant manager, they visit all parts of the restaurant, especially the back of the kitchen, which is off-limits to guests. According to one Michelin-starred chef, if you have the audacity to go up to them and ask, "What do you think of us?" They'll say, "Very good, very good," but the score you're given might make you faint with disappointment. Once the inspection is complete, that inspector is not allowed to show up at this restaurant again for a number of years to follow to ensure that the next inspection is fair.
Whether or not to award a star rating is a ****same decision by multiple inspectors. All inspectors who have inspected the same dish at the same restaurant are required to give their assessment of the restaurant in the form of a report within a certain period of time and give the basis for their assessment. If there is no unanimity of opinion, a second round of tasting is started until a decision can finally be made. Every year or 18 months, Michelin re-rates the restaurants that have been awarded a star. Being awarded a star is a great honor for a restaurant, and the chef feels honored, and one star more or less can affect the restaurant's reputation and business in the following year. If, as is the case with many restaurants, they never get a star, it's a shame to be downgraded.
The chef of one restaurant, which had been a three-star restaurant for decades, committed suicide when it was suddenly downgraded to two stars one year. The staff at the starred restaurant were on edge, with waiters and chefs waiting around all day for the mysterious figure to visit once a month at most, without any knowledge of what was happening. A one-star restaurant chef in the United Kingdom talked about, as his interest in Japanese cuisine grows, several times he would like to try to change the style of the restaurant, have stopped, because I do not know whether this attempt to please the ombudsman to the satisfaction of the heart.