On January 6, Michelin officially released the first edition of the complete list of the Michelin Guide to Chengdu. Although there is an embarrassment that the official announcement is later than the paper version, Chengdu has become the fourth Michelin-listed city in the Chinese mainland. As the city that was awarded Asia's first "World Capital of Gastronomy" by UNESCO in 2010, Chengdu's inclusion in the list is not a surprise.
But what followed was a wave of doubts about the list, similar to the previous Beijing-Shanghai Spike, similar to the "what a tire to teach me what to eat in Chengdu" view has won many likes, and michelin is basically equal to iq tax Expression is not uncommon, its evaluation standard "environmental service is far greater than taste" seems to have become a considerable degree of consensus.
But if it can be viewed with a more open eye, although this standard does not have to be regarded as a golden rule, Michelin is indeed a bridge between Chengdu and Sichuan cuisine to the world.
Since 1931, Michelin's restaurant rating has been set at three levels:
Source: Michelin official website
Chengdu released a 2-star, eight 1-star and 13 Bibiden, a lot less than the sixty-three in the first edition of Guangzhou four years ago. When the first edition of Guangzhou was released, the global Cantonese cuisine base camp did not even have a 2-star restaurant, and Michelin was spat at by the people of Guangzhou on the Internet: outrageous to the sky. Therefore, the dissatisfaction of Chengdu diners this time, Guangzhou diners have long felt the same. When the first edition was published in Beijing, the cover of the Michelin Little Red Book was even mistaken for a photo of Tianjin's monuments.
Not only do diners in the north complain, but other parts of Asia are no exception. Tokyo was Michelin's first stop in Asia in 2007, and although The Kadowaki restaurant in Tokyo was rated 2 stars, the owner and chef, Toshiya Toshiya, openly said that it was nonsense to let Europe and the United States evaluate what Japanese food was delicious and what was not good to eat. As for the restaurants opened by the master, they are not michelin-starred, the apprentices are on the list, and they are regarded as a laughing stock in the Japanese culinary world that pays attention to rank and heritage.
The comparison between different cuisines is sometimes a natural incomprehension that is difficult to bridge. For example, regarding the evaluation criteria of Chinese and Western food, a chinese female writer who worked in a 2-star Michelin restaurant once wrote:
“...... There are many pursuits of soft and tough tooth taste (also known as Q) in Chinese cuisine, which has always been difficult for Westerners to appreciate, so it is difficult to judge the quality of cooking for many Western gourmets, such as phoenix claws, jellyfish, beef tendons, cartilage, and even the Abalone Wing Belly, which is known as the top food of the Chinese, which is difficult for many Western gourmets to understand, even if they are open-minded and dare to try, it is not easy to judge the quality of cooking. In addition, Chinese cuisine often pays attention to the belt bone, indicating that the ingredients are complete and fresh, and the taste between biting and spitting is added, which does not mean that the grass is low-grade, which is absolutely invisible in Western-style high-end restaurants. There are so many examples of this that if a reviewer is biased by any of these differences, it will inevitably affect the outcome of the evaluation. ”
Although michelin stars have the participation of local judges, and although the judges may be as fair as possible in their conclusions, the evaluation process is still difficult to avoid subjectivity. Fu Xia, a British female writer who is fascinated by Sichuan cuisine and author of Shark Fin and Pepper, has also criticized, "They send a person to a meal, maybe two or three times, but it is a person." Many Chinese restaurants, a person can not eat good food, you have to go with a large table, you can really see his skills. ”
In fact, compared with the popular and homely Sichuan cuisine, Japanese cuisine and Cantonese cuisine, which are more "exquisite" and more "advanced" in the public impression, are already more easily recognized dishes under the Michelin evaluation system derived from French catering, as exemplified by the majority of Cantonese cuisine in China's star restaurants, and the first 3-star restaurant in Shanghai is also Cantonese cuisine. Even so, Cai Lan's evaluation was quite direct.
Cai Lan did not exaggerate. In Los Angeles, Michelin initially named four 2-star restaurants, which were criticized by local media and diners, saying that Michelin lacked understanding of Southern California cuisine, resulting in the reduction of 2-star restaurants to two and 3-star restaurants to zero; in Australia and New Zealand, locals have no sense of the Michelin system, and Michelin has no desire to settle in; even in European base camps, the Italian food community adjacent to France has always complained: Michelin has put the shackles of French cuisine on the neck of Italian cuisine.
If you change the evaluation system, the Michelin standard is even fairly generous to describe it as a joke. In the American writer Paul Fauser's "Vices", there is a classic evaluation of the "vice restaurant", "in the real top vulgar place, visual performance is absolutely dominant" and "the organ of satisfaction of this meal is your eyes and not your mouth". A restaurant in Guangzhou known as "Chinese mainland the first Michelin-starred Sichuan cuisine in guangzhou", the proud "star picking cheats" is to build a streamlined curtain wall of the hall with 100,000 stainless steel bricks and 400,000 glass feathers, "bringing a visual shock to the face" to become an Internet celebrity punch card. In addition, as a restaurant that specializes in traditional Sichuan cuisine, the production director is a Cantonese chef who has been engaged in Western food for 15 years.
In November 2020, a vegetarian restaurant in Beijing became one of only two 3-star restaurants in Beijing, and the only 3-star Vegetarian restaurant in the world with Michelin stars. The food itself is left alone, but the restaurant is everywhere even the toilet does not let go of the cottage celebrity quotes, from the courtyard wall to the closet to the dinner plate to the menu history of the Michelin 3 star LOGO, the so-called environmental protection but colorful patterns to replace the paper towel handkerchief, the chef's introduction to the exaggerated to unconscious boasting, the waiter recites the vegetarian praise according to the script, the star wall that shows many celebrities to visit here for fear of limited knowledge, and the routine of taking out more than a hundred sets of phrases similar to "Beijing First" to let guests write messages... ... Using Forsel's evaluation criteria for "deliberate, contrived and showy" in vicious restaurants, there is almost no discrepancy.
As for almost all the serving containers filled with dry ice and causing smoke, it is even more disgusting to Fossel's deep hatred of cooking with a flame at the table, which is honored as the vice of vice.
Image source: Netizen "Reslin"
Even if the poisonous tongue evaluation is ignored, the purpose of the Michelin list has never been to provide choices for local diners, but to provide reference for foreigners and even overseas visitors. As a local, it is really not necessary to pay too much attention to Michelin's tendencies, and dietary concepts such as "solar terms and moisturizing" and "medicinal food homology" in Chinese food are more likely to be like a book for the Michelin judges. Food must say that the only two or three stars of Michelin are in, and even if they do not actually pay the IQ tax after consumption, it seems to be paid.
On the other hand, however, no matter what the controversy exists, almost every time the Michelin list is announced, almost all star-rated restaurants will usher in a wave of booking explosions. The reason may be that michelin's evaluation system has been going on for more than a century.
In 1900, Michelin began to publish the "Little Red Book" travel guide; in 1920, the guide began to classify the list of restaurants; in 1926, it began to use the rating star, and five years later the establishment of the three-star evaluation system continues to this day. Michelin is now the world's leading and popular dining guide for more than 40,000 restaurants across more than 20 regions on three continents. Other countries have similar criteria, such as Italy's red shrimp evaluation guide and China's black pearl, but the most popular is still Michelin.
The criticism of Michelin is often that its evaluation standards are not satisfied with the water and soil in various regions of the world. The five Michelin standards, which appeared in 1936, do not seem to be enough to convince a wide variety of diners. What is even more embarrassing is that even on Michelin's own official website, the formulation of the five standards cannot be completely consistent:
"Michelin's Rating Process" webpage
"Michelin Rating System" webpage
However, it is certain that the standard of Michelin star rating is not the natural "delicious" in the hearts of locals, nor is it necessarily the place where the public votes with their feet, otherwise the star can be evaluated directly according to the length of the queue. Michelin's standard is more of a balance between its own rules and local preferences, and this balance is often not easily understood and accepted by local diners.
In the view of the writer Liang Wendao, Michelin's selection criteria are more like "a kind of science":
"First of all, it requires extreme accuracy. Its judge is not a foodie in the ordinary sense, but a group of culinary analysts; when he looks at a dish, he asks not whether it tastes good or not, but whether it is done right. He cares about the deliciousness of those ingredients, whether the knife technique is just right, the proportions of the taste are not proportional, and the layers of texture are not fine. From the cooking of food to the details of service and restaurant furnishings, Michelin believes that there is a strict set of laws in it, which is not subjective aesthetics, but objective science. Only by meeting this most basic scientific standard can we qualify to continue talking about creativity. ”
If it is roughly true, it is conceivable how far Michelin's evaluation may be from a simple "delicious" one. One side of the water and soil to feed the stomach of the other, Party A's favorite food may be garbage in the eyes of Party B, such as bean juice may even not be able to go out of beijing south city. Michelin has long been aware that there can be no one-size-fits-all standard of "good food", so it can only try to find a standard to follow to measure the quality of food, otherwise the evaluation will not be able to talk about.
In addition to the background of French food culture, this "followable standard" also has its own characteristics. In 2009, The New Yorker magazine exposed the Michelin judges: Michelin food detectives are almost all from the catering industry, generally have 5 to 10 years of experience; they need to go to France for training at the beginning of the selection, then fly to another European country for training, and then return to the city where Michelin needs to do business, which can take up to half a year. Today, nearly 100 Michelin food detectives around the world eat an average of 225 "working meals" per person per year, travel 30,000 kilometers, and change work areas every year to avoid the catty of restaurant and taster collusion.
So regardless of whether the Michelin standard "French specialty" is good or bad, after all, it really exists a set of evaluation systems that have been running for nearly a hundred years and have been tested for a long time to prove effective, and even some chefs will commit suicide because of the loss of the recognition of this system. In 1966, Alain Zick became the first 3-star chef to commit suicide because the restaurant was demoted from 3 stars to 2 stars; in 1991, Bernard Loiseau, who was marked by 3 stars and the following day's customer growth by 65%, swallowed his gun in 2003 when he heard the wind that would be stripped of a star. Michelin's professionalism and credibility are indeed the practitioners who choose to identify with their own lives.
So while Michelin may not be without a fish-eyed restaurant, there are also quite a few star-rated restaurants that do deserve their name. Taking Yuzhilan, the only 2-star restaurant on the list in Chengdu, as an example, there have been similar polarized evaluations on social platforms before: not only affirming chef Lan Guijun's professionalism and understanding of cuisine, but also criticizing the details of the restaurant's service and service attitude. After all, as a high-end restaurant with one or two thousand per capita, consumers should ask for more.
Lan Guijun is making one of the signature dishes of large knife golden silk noodles. (Source: Yuzhilan official name)
Yuzhilan's cooking concept is described on its menu, "keeping things authentic to cook, positioning with soup, fixing with ingredients, and fixing the spirit with supplementary spices." However, a better statement actually comes from the closing remarks of Lan Guijun in an interview with Sichuan Cooking after picking stars:
"I understand that cooking is to show the true nature of food, while cooking is to show the other side of food. So, cooking is the hardest. ”
If the Yuzhilan Restaurant is worth 2 stars, Lan Guijun's sentence is even worth 5 stars, of which the Upanishads are not understood by everyone: the former is to do subtraction directly, and the latter is to do subtraction that seems to be addition - even if you understand, you may not be able to go to Yuzhilan to experience Lan Guijun's practice. In Yuzhilan's kitchen, lan guijun basically operated it himself, and several apprentices just laid hands. Although the price is not cheap, it is indeed Lan Guijun's own genuine work.
How many Michelin-starred restaurants can guarantee that diners will really eat the masterpieces of The Michelin chefs themselves? A Japanese restaurant known as the "Ceiling of Japanese Food in Chengdu" consumes more than 2,000 yuan per capita, and the chef is said to be a "Michelin master specially invited from Japan". As for the specific name of the master, the star rating of the restaurant, the time spent in Chengdu... Nothing is known. Whether the master returns to Japan or not, the price of the restaurant is unlikely to fall.
A high-end Sichuan restaurant like Yuzhilan cannot become the choice of the current public consumption, and it is estimated that it is difficult for many people to taste it simply because they agree with Lan Guijun's concept, after all, the cost of a meal can also be eaten for a month. But if you think from another perspective, tourists from overseas especially developed areas who are new to Chengdu, the first choice is a 2-star restaurant blessed with Michelin, or like locals, to see which one has a long queue in front of the door?
A city's restaurant must have both a foundation and a face. The Magnolia and other star-rated restaurants recommended by Michelin are worthy of the face of Chengdu catering in the eyes of people with high spending power outside the region. For Chengdu to be recognized more broadly around the world, it may not be determined to a greater extent by the restaurants frequented by locals. While Michelin has unveiled a number of restaurants represented by Yuzhilan to the world, chengdu's gastronomic popularity will surely increase.
Although there is a trend of decline in Europe, michelin can still be sought after in the emerging Asian market. The Tourism Bureau, the tourism authority of Taiwan, has confirmed the statement that it signed a five-year sponsorship of the Michelin Guide, the specific amount is unknown but Michelin has given Taipei a total of 24 stars; South Korea and Thailand, respectively, pay 350,000 and 880,000 US dollars to the Michelin Guide every year for the evaluation exchange of Michelin. As a well-established business chartist and still leading gamer, Michelin's signature is by no means as well-known as some people think.
Even during the temporary closure period, the star picking will make the restaurant speak out in time
Therefore, when Chengdu locally complains about Michelin, there is also another voice: the Michelin list will bring great reputation to Chengdu cuisine, and since then China's east, west, south and north have their own Michelin first cities. This list of Northbound Guangcheng, other cities may not be able to squeeze in.
Perhaps while Chengdu has been repeatedly mentioned because of Michelin, local diners in Chengdu should think more deeply: Why is it that the daily food per capita of 2,000 is considered to be in the normal range, while the 2,000 Sichuan cuisine per capita is surprisingly expensive? Where is the gap between Sichuan cuisine and French cuisine?
To evaluate a cuisine or cuisine, most netizens' criteria are straightforward and simple: taste, taste, taste. But for food practitioners, even if they only focus on taste, does the good taste come from this cuisine or the way of cooking? Sometimes it's not necessarily an easy question to answer.
Ran Wei, Chinese executive chef of the Chengdu Universiade, recalled in an interview that the best "hibiscus shrimp" eaten in this life was not in Sichuan but in Australia. The so-called Sichuan chefs there have very few Chinese, mostly from Southeast Asia, but this hibiscus shrimp is still remembered by senior Sichuan chefs, "I have never seen such a large and fresh shrimp in Sichuan."
Mapo tofu is one of the golden signs of Sichuan cuisine, and the most bean-flavored tofu that tofu lover Mali has ever eaten in recent years is bought from a Chinese supermarket in rural Missouri, USA. After Ma Li returned to Chengdu, he asked the experts of the Chengdu Catering Association to find out, and the answer he got was that the water to the production process had changed, and Chengdu could hardly eat the same taste of tofu as before.
Even tofu doesn't necessarily have a tofu flavor
In addition to ingredients, the traditional cooking methods of Sichuan cuisine may not be immediately corresponding overseas. Asia Fusion, which is now popular in ANZAC, is simply made in the East and the West, using Western cooking methods to concoct ingredients from the East. The stir-fry, boiled, dry and cold food series, which are highly sought after by local diners, may not be able to conquer the existing tastes of overseas diners. Whether it is the ingredients or cooking methods, Sichuan cuisine, which is favored by Chengdu locals, may be difficult to be recognized in other environments, and this status quo will take time to change.
Moreover, the taste depending on the region is only one of the criteria for evaluating food and cuisine. In a more diversified evaluation system, the so-called "tastes" that vary from person to person are not necessarily given more consideration. For example, Yuzhilan does not exist for the sake of satiety and turnover. In order to achieve the same results as Japanese food, high-grade restaurants are not too many but too few.
For a long time, Sichuan cuisine has given people the impression of popularization and popularization: unlimited ingredients, home-cooked, low-medium consumption, and sharp tools for rice. In fact, Sichuan cuisine has no shortage of high-end traditions, in addition to the popular light meals all over the city, the farmhouse-style three-steamed nine-button dishes, the common home-cooked dishes at home, and the fast food snacks in the streets and alleys, there are also feast dishes that appear in daya. Especially compared with Chongqing's "Xiahe Gang" and Southern Sichuan's "Xiaohe Gang" Sichuan cuisine, Chengdu's "Shanghe Gang" Sichuan cuisine has always been known for its long history, delicacy and refinement.
The high-end Sichuan cuisine restaurant represented by Yuzhilan is actually the inheritance of the exquisite and high-end side of Sichuan cuisine. In the final analysis, the level of catering is determined by the level of economic development. With a high economic level, catering will evolve with it, and the general public will be willing to spend more money on catering, and more top Sichuan chefs will appear. The masterpieces of top chefs need to be understood by senior diners, otherwise if they are careful, diners who are only accustomed to seasonings in their stomachs may only give back "no taste, no food".
Sichuan cuisine has been constantly colliding with self-renewal, and now the world's ingredients can be used in Sichuan cuisine, and making Sichuan cuisine's cooking method go to the world is also the mission of Sichuan cuisine practitioners today. The essence of Sichuan cuisine is not only the popular street stalls and hot fly restaurants, the essence of Chinese dining culture contained in Sichuan cuisine should be promoted to the whole world, and Michelin may be a good start.
It's not enough to have a bursting street food in Chengdu
For example, Sun Peike, executive director of Chengdu Catering Research Institute, believes that "most of the restaurants on the list this time are mainly Sichuan cuisine, and I believe that through this Michelin list selection, the popularity and recognition of Sichuan cuisine will be improved again." Mai Jianling, president of the Sichuan Gourmets Association, also said, "The Michelin Guide is the final establishment of a credible independent evaluation system in the world, and its arrival will surely promote us to establish an evaluation system for Chinese cuisine and Sichuan cuisine as soon as possible." ”
To go international, Sichuan cuisine is not enough to be blessed with local and personal tastes, and to establish scale, system and brand, especially not only to consider the preferences of local audiences, but to form a more international standard - internationalization to some extent means a difference from local preferences. As an individual, of course, you can say no to Michelin, after all, everyone has the freedom and right not to like and disagree, but their own likes and dislikes are actually of little help to the future development of Sichuan cuisine and Chengdu. Michelin is an alien mirror that allows itself to discover the advantages of Sichuan cuisine itself and promote more good Sichuan cuisine to the world. Michelin's promotion of exquisite Sichuan cuisine can also make more Chinese dining philosophies known to the world.
Therefore, there is no need to kneel and worship Michelin, nor do you have to sneer at it; you do not have to be arrogant because you are not on the list of restaurants you often visit, but you must not look at all arrogance. There is nothing wrong with speaking from your own taste buds, but if you have the opportunity to eat thirty or fifty Michelins, the evaluation should be closer to reality. In the final analysis, as a bridge to the world of Sichuan cuisine, Michelin may not be the most suitable, the most reliable, the most undoubted optimal solution, but at the moment it is almost the most direct, the most effective and the most well-known and optimal choice.
Now that the best choice has finally arrived in Chengdu, it should be applause.
Figure: C70