- Title: French chef loses court case over lost Michelin star
- Date: 31st December 2019
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (FILE - SEPTEMBER 27, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VEYRAT HAVING HIS PHOTO TAKEN BY FELLOW CHEF, IN GARDEN OF ELYSEE PALACE FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON, FIRST LADY BRIGITTE MACRON, AND THEN INTERIOR MINISTER GERARD COLLOMB WALKING IN GARDEN TO MEET CHEFS VEYRAT AND OTHER CHEFS APPLAUDING AS BRIGITTE MACRON APPROACHES THEM/ COLLOMB SHAKING HANDS WITH VEYRAT FRANCE'S TOP CHEFS IN PHOTO SESSION WITH MACRON, BRIGITTE AND MINISTERS CHEFS POSING, VEYRAT (SECOND ROW, THIRD FROM RIGHT) WEARING HIS HAT
- Embargoed: 14th January 2020 14:04
- Keywords: Marc Veyrat Michelin Guide fine dining restaurant three-stars two-stars
- Location: BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, PARIS & MANIGOD, FRANCE/ INTERNET
- City: BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, PARIS & MANIGOD, FRANCE/ INTERNET
- Country: France
- Topics: Celebrities,Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA004BCB3L1J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A French chef who said he contemplated suicide after the prestigious Michelin guide removed one of his restaurant's stars on Tuesday (December 31) lost a legal attempt to force the guide's inspectors to justify their decision.
Marc Veyrat, 69, took the Michelin guide to court earlier this year, demanding that it explain why it stripped him of one of his three stars a year after awarding it.
He had said the only explanation he was given was that he had used English cheddar in a souffle, instead of traditional French cheese - an accusation he said was false.
"It's nonsense," Veyrat told Reuters over the phone, after the verdict was handed down. "They've offended me, I've had enough."
He said that the Michelin inspectors should have known better than to think that his restaurant, in the French Alps, would use English cheddar. "We're not in London," he said.
But a court in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris, rejected his request.
"This decision enshrines the freedom to criticize and enshrines the fact that his grievances were imaginary and unfounded," said Richard Malka, the lawyer representing the Michelin Guide.
Veyrat, well known in France for his trademark Fedora hat, runs the Maison des Bois restaurant.
He previously said that since he lost the star he had struggled to sleep, and his partner had to hide his hunting rifles, fearing that he may try to harm himself.
"I'm at the end of my tether, I struggle to sleep, I hardly eat any more..... I'm on medication. I've had dark thoughts," Veyrat said in an interview with French media outlet Le Point in July this year.
In his court case, the chef asked the Michelin guide to prove its inspectors did go to his restaurant and disclose their criteria for passing judgment.
The guide said it could not comply because to do so would mean revealing its inspectors' identity, and they would no longer be able to inspect restaurants incognito.
Veyrat's lawyer Emmanuel Ravanas said in a statement that the chef would announce soon how he planned to proceed with his legal case against Michelin.
The Michelin guide, which is published every year, is the global bible of food-lovers and a ranking can make or break an ambitious restaurant. Three stars, the highest rating awarded, is the ultimate prize for a chef.
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