‘I will be less famous but I accept that’: French chef hands back his three Michelin stars because of stress
Michelin said it was the first time a French chef had asked to be dropped from its gastronomic bible in this way, without a major change of positioning or business model
A chef in southern France with three Michelin stars says he wants to be stripped of the distinction because of the “huge pressure” to dish up flawless fare each day.
Sebastien Bras’s Le Suquet restaurant in the village of Laguiole joined the elite club of French three-star restaurants, which currently number 27, in 1999.
On Wednesday, the 46-year-old said he wanted to be dropped from the 2018 edition of the Michelin Guide to “start a new chapter”.
While winning the coveted distinction had been “a source of a lot of satisfaction”, maintaining its exacting standards had also put him under “huge pressure”, he said.
“You’re inspected two or three times a year, you never know when,” he said. “Every meal that goes out could be inspected. That means that, every day, one of the 500 meals that leaves the kitchen could be judged.
“Maybe I will be less famous but I accept that,” he said, adding that he would continue to dazzle diners’ palates “without wondering whether my creations will appeal to Michelin’s inspectors”.