sfreelife

Guy Martin , Le Grand Véfour** (formerly 3 stars)

Guest Chef @ Le Normandie , Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.

Having earned 3 stars michelin at Le Grand Vefour, Guy Martin was appointed Consultant Chef of Le Normandie. Not long after the meal, Guy Martin was removed of the post, a decision we highly approve of ; this was yet another disappointing dinner by then a 3 star 19 Gault & Millau restaurant, in addition to a number of accolades :

“In 1992, he was honored with the Fourneau d’Or de la Gastronomie Française. The year after, he received the highest ranking in France’s Champérard Guide and won the “Atmosphere” Prize. In 1994, he was elected “Young Chef of the Year” by the Champérard Guide, and in 1995, “Best Chef of the Year” by the Pudlowski Guide. In 1996 and 1999, he was recognized as “Best European Chef” by the Greek magazine Status, in 1997, “Best European Chef” of the Year in Portugal, in 1999, “Best Chef of the Year” by the Gault-Millau Guide with a 19 out of 20 rating and in 2000, “Best Chef of the Year” by the Champérard Guide. Plus, he was honored with three Michelin stars by The Red Michelin Guide 2000. 

In 1994, he became the administrator of Grand Véfour, and then a year later, he was promoted to President. That same year , he was appointed counselor to the President of the French High-Gastronomy Chamber. In 1997, he received a literary prize for his book “Gourmand Recipes” and he was made “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” (a highly prestigious distinction) by the French Minister of Culture, Mr. Philippe Douste-Blazy. Guy Martin was also awarded the Legion of Honor in March 2003 “

What impressive resume! However, our experience dictates that when it comes to cooking, awards and reviews are merely ‘things of the past’ and big names do not equate high-quality meals. Chefs are famous for many reasons : popular cookbooks, mentoring young chefs, tv shows, owning many famous restaurants etc… but in fine dining, the only thing that matters is how you impress the diner within that 3 hours or so… you either impress or you don’t!

We left this meal extremely disappointed and puzzled how he could win 3 stars Michelin. A year after this dinner, it was downgraded to 2 and for an institution like Le Grand Vefour, it was highly controversial in the French press. We couldn’t have agreed more!

Let’s just say the only dish that we liked on the night was the ‘complimentary’ Truffle Ice Cream given after the chef learned of our displeasure! Having said that, it was probably the nicest-tasting scoop of ice cream we’ve eaten!

Guy Martin’s latest restaurant , a more casual, experimental fine-dining, “Sensing” has won rave reviews and earned 1 michelin star in 2010.