GAULT & MILLOT GUIDE - EL NUOVO TESTAMENTO BY GIFRI

Gault & Mullot

Guide

THE NEW TESTAMENT

Therehas been a lot of talk lately about Quintana Roo’s entry into the Michelin gastronomic guide. Very well, except that the management has completely forgotten about the restaurants in Cancun, choosing restaurants that in their opinion are probably more fashionable, such as Playa del Carmen and Tulum. It is not up to me to criticize, it is up to those responsible for Canirac to make the harsh judgment.

In the 70s I was a well-known young restaurateur in Switzerland and on my food and wine trips my best companion was the classic Michelin Guide. Thanks to this guide to the Lyon region I had the opportunity to have lunch and dinner in 4 restaurants with 3 Michelin stars.

In 1972, the first Gault Millau Guide to France was published and it charted a new path for gastronomy at the time. Travelling throughout the country in search of restaurants considered worthy of interest, the guide is not based on the typical criteria of the rival Michelin guide (sumptuousness of the restaurant, of the dishes or excellence of cleanliness), but pays greater attention to the flavour, the presentation of the dishes and the imagination of the chef, valuing and recommending restaurants independently of the opinion of other guides. Over time, the guide has gained international fame, to the point of being defined by Time magazine as “the new testament”, to distinguish it from the Michelin Guide, considered “the old testament”.

Everything must be “new”The cuisine they defend is in line with the movements of the time: the emancipation of women, the preservation of nature, the challenge to social hierarchies. Women work more and more and no longer want to spend hours preparing sauces. Environmental movements are emerging that challenge an industry that prides itself on producing food full of synthetic flavours. Finally, in his restaurants, Bocuse proclaimed “cuisine for cooks”, where the owner of the establishment once reigned.

New cuisine in the spotlight everywhere Beyond the formula, the duo brings together the chefs who practice this new cuisine. In their guide, they reward them with red hats while traditional cooks are rewarded with black hats. Above all, they unite them.

Under his influence, Alain Senderens, Michel Guérard, Alain Chapel, Alain Ducasse, Jacques Le Divellec and the Troisgros brothers became stars. Gault et Millau organised trips and helped promote them abroad. In New York, the duo took Bocuse. “I had never left my house” on the banks of the Saône, admits the chef, who will soon be the favourite of American gourmets. When the latter received the Legion of Honour, it was President Giscard d’Estaing himself who gave it to him. The new cuisine is in the spotlight everywhere. The publication of La Grande Cuisine slimming by Michel Guérard, one of Gault et Millau’s favourite chefs, is an international success.

The two sharp faces have become references. Their guide has an edition in the United States. From the other side of the Atlantic, they bring this American dish, much bigger than the French one, which will soon become widespread in “nouvelle cuisine” restaurants. In February 1980, aware of the power of our two friends, the American weekly Time put them on its cover. As if to celebrate.

Today, nouvelle cuisine is the most widespread. Even Michelin awards its stars to its most brilliant representatives. “Nouvelle cuisine? But it is what I do every day, always,” says Joël Robuchon without lying.

After many years of collaboration, the two founders parted ways, but the brand remains “Gault Millau” and continues to defend the values established by the two founders. The guide, usually updated annually, reviews the gastronomic performance of chefs, restaurants and hotels in France and other countries, including Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Benelux. Today it is popularly considered, along with the Michelin Guide, among the most influential guides in its field. In addition to the annual gastronomic guide, Gault Millau also publishes a wine guide, a golf guide and a guide to good restaurants at reduced prices.