From the outset, the tone is set: each participant is expected to make all possible sacrifices to land the star of their dreams. The star ? That of the Michelin guide, of course. Its prestige is first and foremost due to the difficulty of obtaining it: there are 175,000 restaurants in France, and only 627 of them have the famous macaron. In 2022, 41 tables have joined this elite of gastronomy; and 55 establishments lost their star(s).
A few days before the star award ceremony for 2023, which will take place on Monday March 6, in Strasbourg, C8 has teamed up with Warner to launch a program in the form of a competition in preparation for this “World of Gastronomy”.
Five chefs are in the running: Xavier Pincemin (Le Pincemin, in Versailles), social media star, winner of “Top Chef” in 2016 (and author of Carnage, published by Hachette in 2022); Victor Mercier, new Michelin star 2022 with his Parisian restaurant, Fief, which offers 100% French world cuisine; Sophie Reigner (Iodé, in Vannes), cooking out of passion without having been trained; Camille Brouillard and Soufiane Assarrar (L’Huîtrier Pie, in Saint-Emilion, in Gironde), a couple who work with four hands, and Stéphane Polly (Le Vivarais, in Vals-les-Bains, in Ardèche), who lost his star in 2021 after spending six years in a row to keep it – and who intends to win it back.
“Go shock the palace”
To hope to impress the inspectors of the Red Guide, “the important thing is to go and shock the palace”, says Xavier Pincemin. Their strict expertise is in line with the chefs’ quest for perfection. For many, the first star signifies the beginning of a career, an accomplishment, a revenge on life. And peer recognition.
Without being placed in direct rivalry on the show, the chefs are followed in their restaurant, in town or in the provinces, during their preparation process before the inspectors come. Nothing should feel like deja vu. These young chefs are constantly looking to raise new challenges, with local products, in order to surprise customers and judges. Sophie Reigner, who “looks for the difficulty of bringing iodine, from the amuse-bouche to the dessert”, or Victor Mercier: he likes surprises in his dishes, playing “simplexity” (idea simple, complex realization).
The pressure is overwhelming in this race, as it is in the culinary world in general, which is very anxiety-provoking. In the brigades, apprentices are often treated harshly to learn vigor and endurance, which also plays on the heavy atmosphere of prestigious kitchens.
Gastronomy is an art, however, which, like any other creation, starts from the imagination and creativity of its chef: “There is not only technique in the kitchen: it is also a mission of emotions,” emphasizes Sophie Reigner.
