Taking it like a man

Image via Wikipedia

The famed Michelin Guide revealed its categorized collection of top gastronomic venues yesterday. In the weeks leading up to the release of the new guide, The media in Denmark had been working the country up into a frenzy over the possibility that the Nordic region – and their beloved country at that – might earn its first 3-starred distinction through Noma, considered by some to be the best restaurant in the world. The winner of the 2011 Bocuse D’or, a Dane, had also expected to earn a star for his recently opened restaurant Geranium.

Mais non! Merd! Pas des étoiles!

Noma had to “settle” for maintaining its 2 stars and Geranium walked away empty handed, a fact that prompted the head chef, le roi de Bocuse D’or himself, to exclaim: “what kind of crap is that?”  according to Danish broadsheet Politiken.

The foodie-elite of Denmark are understandably in shock over what they view as a snub of the country’s gastronomic prowess. The country is at the forefront of what seems like nothing short of a revolution in people’s attitudes toward food – from the ethical sourcing of ingredients to the expectations of quality for the accompaniments to a great meal – wine, beer, water, coffee, garniture. This trend can be seen in all of the Nordic countries, but in none is it as evident as in Denmark, which during the past few years, has enjoyed the distinction of having more Michelin stars than the other Nordic countries combined.

Of course, the disappointment is understandable. However the reactions of some interested parties in Denmark are downright outrageous.

A well-known food critic and one-time host of a cooking show surmised that the snub could have something to do with the ascendance of the “New Nordic Kitchen”; Frenchmen are simply shaking in their shoes after the top 3 placings in Bocuse went to a Dane, a Swede and a Norwegian. Of course, it only stands to reason that the Michelin guide would come to the defense of the French culinary tradition, by only giving Noma 2 stars. I’m sooooo sure. It should also be pointed out that no Danish restaurants lost stars, but the total number of DK stars went down, as 2 restaurants starred in last year’s guide went out of business during 2010.

Another explanation offered by one of the top Danish chefs, is the fact that Noma features at the very top of San Pellegrino’s Top 50. Michelin sees that list as its arch-rival and therefore must “punish” restaurants on the Top 50 in order to maintain relevance for its “old-fashioned” guide. San Pellegrino is more in step with the times, anyway, the Danish chef goes on to say, because it focuses solely on food quality and not on the entire snobbish experience.  And perhaps Mr. Redzepi of Noma is just too experimental for traditionalist French tastes.

I translate loosely, I admit, but the key takeaway is the same. The Danish gastro-elite, instead of accepting the judgement of Michelin on its merits – or just ignoring it all together if they didn’t agree with it – have instead chosen to act like children, or the proverbial fox and his sour grapes. I wonder what has become of good, “old fashioned” self-reflection and the art of asking oneself: “what could I do differently next time, to actually earn those stars?”.

There will always be an easier way out:

Newsflash: “Evil French snobs dis daring, deserving Danish über-chefs.”

Quelle dommage…sort of.

Related Articles

• Danish Chef Nabs Bocuse d’Or Trophy (luxist.com)
• Great Dane dining (guardian.co.uk)
• Noma’s René Redzepi and the Link Between Nature and the Plate (carpediemclub.wordpress.com)
• Scandinavian Sweep At Bocuse d’Or, Team USA Uses White House Honey (huffingtonpost.com)
• Bocuse d’Or 2011 (carpediemclub.wordpress.com)