謝謝 JCW。「英文能力不怎麼樣」恐怕是自謙之辭；Wall Street Journal 可不是一般人會隨便讀讀的消遣報紙。
2003-03-05 17:54 pm
發表者：原MSN社群發表文章 RE: 名廚的隕落 (beccco)
to JCW,
多謝多謝，辛苦您了。
2003-03-05 11:13 am
發表者：原MSN社群發表文章 RE: 名廚的隕落 (Yilan_)
我之前的好奇也是
Gault-Millau真的有這樣莫大影響力
可以讓一位這樣知名的主廚、而且是仍在三星寶座上的主廚
為了2分之差而死嗎？
據說少一顆米其林星星
營業額大約下掉20％
Gault-Millau呢？
看到Loiseau餐飲王國版圖的擴張方式
讓我不能不好奇的是
有沒有可能是還有其他比方財務或經營上的危機？
每每看到身兼餐廳老闆的主廚們一手作創作、一手管經營（甚至還得分身當明星）
我每每不能不為之捏一把冷汗
當然這樣是可以對自己的作品（餐廳、料理）擁有完整的自由度和掌控力
但我覺得這幾個面向其實是截然分立的
想要全都擅長全都兼顧著實是非常不容易的事
也因此，從一些文字資料描述與實際訪談或聊天裡
總覺得許多享有盛名的主廚們難免都有一種走鋼索一樣的顫危危的焦慮
我想，隨著此事件而來的、對於美食指南的批評與攻擊
也許只是這整個焦慮感的其中一端的引爆
而媒體則還是一逕習慣著以最快速度將事件直接導向一個簡單的結論......
（從被批判的Gault-Millau角度來看，這又何嘗不是「媒體殺人」的另一例）
主廚、評論者與客人或讀者間的關係好像是十分複雜多樣的
光光只是在留言板這裡
就可以感覺到這其中的複雜度
而我覺得
這樣的關係與運作
其實是建立在這三者是否夠成熟夠理性、夠清楚自己的所想要或所想表達吧！
Yilan
2003-03-05 10:47 am
發表者：原MSN社群發表文章 RE: 名廚的隕落 (JCW)
Beccco﹐
我是在紙上版看到的﹐所以不知網址﹐但是。。。﹐既然。。。那就。
Here you go!
Wish Upon a Star-------by William Echikson
Like most chefs and artists, Bernard Loiseau literally lived for prase. I followed him for an entire year to write a book chronicling his quest for plaudits from gastronomic guides. Last Monday, after one of those guides, Gault Millau, knocked him down from 19/20 points to 17/20 and proclaimed his cuisine as "hardly dazzling, just simply very well carried out," he took out his hunting gun and shot himself.
Chefs, from the venerable Paul Bocuse to the patrons of humble bistros, have since assailed the tyranny of gastronomic ratings. and it's true that guides can make or break restaurants. But Mr. Loiseau's tragedy was above all emotional, the inability of a manic(if always endearing) personality strugggling to cope with success. If a larger message is stewing here, it's not that the guides have too much power, but that France's rigid social structure has trouble digesting competition without suffering a nervous breakdown.
Mr. Louiseau was indeed obsessive about ratings. In heis kitchen, I remember watching how a dish of scallops arrived for final inspection. He would stand in front of a staff of 25 chefs. The plate looked perfect. But Mr. Loiseau spotted a speck of misplaced sauce. "My poor friend," he said to his sous chef. "This work is not worth three stars."
The three stars weren't up in the sky. They represented the top award in France's most powerful gastronomic guide, the Michelin Red Guide. Of more than 10,000 hotles and restaurants graded, only about 20 each year merit the supreme accolade. Before Mr. Loiseau won the award in 1991, his restaurant often was empty. With three stars, business became profitable.
But Mr. Loiseau still was not stisfied. He continued on his unachievable quest for perfection. In the land of the 35-hour work week, and where the best restaurants often close on Sat. and Sun., he kept la Cote d'Or open seven days a week, 364 days a year, closing only for christmas.
After each dinner, he would stand next to the reception and greet his guests as they were ready to leave. " How was everything?" he asked, managing to look enthusiastic, happy and warried all at once. His eyes woud dart around the room looking for an imperfection, a piece of unwanted garbage lying on the floor. Just before I left Saulieu, I remember dining with him and he asked, seriously, " Don't you think Michelin sould create a fourth star?"
From a rational point of view, Gault Milau's downgrade shouldn't have made Mr. Loiseau snap. He always told me that Gault Millau's power pales beside the Red guide because its authority and prestige is limited: consumers think Gault Millau is tainted because it accepts advertising(unlike Michelin) and its critics accept freebie meals(also unlike Michelin). Only two weeks before his death, the more important Michelin Red Guide renewed La Cote d'Or's three star rating, even though it reportedly warned him to innovate more with his menu.
No, this was a personal tragedy. I remember asking Mr. Loiseau why he didn't seek psychological counseling. I explained how a friend of mine, Bob Boorstin, was diagnosed as a manic depressive and , after treatment, wnet to work for Bill Clinton in the White House. Mr. Loiseau told me that France wouldn't accept someone diagnosed with a mental illness in the Elysee Palace.
Given this back groung, do the Guides have too much power? I don't think so. I anything, they are great democratizer. they allow some with no pedigree such as Mr. Loiseau-born to a working-class family-to rise to the top. Thanks to Michelin, it became possible for him to convince food lovers from Singapore to SF to come and spend $200for a meal in his restaurant located in the deep Burgundy backwoods. Tnahks to Michelin, he got loans to build and oasis of luxury from otherwise reluctant banks.
Without the guide, only a chef born with a fortune or inheriting a restaurant would thrive in France. Mr. Loiseau started cooking as a humble apprentice at 17, and worked himself up from the bottom. without Michelin and gault Millau's encouragements, he and other talents always would remain humble employees. In fact, before Messrs.Bocuse and Loiseau, that's just what chefs were in France-unsung slaves hidden away in the kitchen.
French chefs are trying to use Mr. Loiseau's personal tragedy to pillory the gastronomic guidebooks. If they succeed, it would be a real tragedy, on that would sully Mr. Loiseau's otherwise delicious legacy.
文章評論
但是實情是否如此,特別是Paul Bocuse講的那句話被不斷地引述後,好像Loiseau真的為Gault-Millau而死.
Paul Bocuse似乎忘了當年他被Gault-Millau降為15分(後來甚至沒有分只打一個問號)時他說的另一句話"Gault-Millau把我降級是為自己做廣告,我只相信米其林.
Loiseau這次自殺Paul Bocue跳出來講這句話聽起來像是要替自己對Gault-Millau報一劍之仇,但他似乎忘了他這句話剛好替Gault-Millau大大地拉抬了身價,有兩星廚師為米其林而死,現在有三星廚師為Gault-Millau而死.
說實在的,以我認識的Bernard Loiseau,要他為Gault-Millau自殺,有點匪夷所思.媒體殺人的事常有,但這件事到不用那麼相信Gault-Millau的能力
2.說實在的,法國的餐廳指南那麼多,我自己上餐廳時會先翻Gault-Millau,除了內容經常暢所欲言,挑餐廳的方式也較前衛大膽一點,還帶一點城市流行的風格,和米其林的保守布爾喬亞品味剛好是另一端.我們讀者愛看自然也鼓勵了這樣的指南,連帶地也影響了主廚的想法.但仔細想想,法國餐飲的蓬勃這些指南功不可沒,在法國的環境裡讀者,指南,主廚之間的互動其實是很正面的,Gault-Millau即使比較主觀,但至少是理性的,也有自己的風格,Paul Bocuse那千年不變的菜單不被喜歡是很容易理解的.Loiseau白手起家建立自己的餐飲王國,難道不是靠這些指南和媒體捧起來的,其實Loiseau幾乎是所有法國著名主廚中最愛利用媒體的一位,身段也最軟滑,以這樣的悲劇收場也許剛好給媒體,讀者和主廚一個反思的機會吧!