Chef Marc Veyrat refuses to give up legal case against Michelin

Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Deputy Editor

Michelin-starred chef owner of La Maison des bois Marc Veyrat is appealing the French court's decision to drop his legal case against the guide.

Last month, the chef lost a case in which he tried to force Michelin to provide justification for demoting his restaurant from three to two stars.

Not only were his claims rebuked, but the chef was asked to cover the legal costs as he was deemed unable to provide proof that he suffered material losses when he lost a Michelin star last year.

He had tried to sue the guide for allegedly removing one of his stars on illegitimate grounds, demanding that the guide provide receipts to back its decision to remove his star.

He said the decision left him and his team feeling "disgraced."

The chef's lawyer Emmanuel Ravanas told Agence France-Presse that the ruling “contained a number of debatable points which are not founded in law,” and thus would press on with his demands.

At the time, the chef was labelled a 'narcissistic diva' by the guide, who told the BBC that the case was about freedom of opinion and criticism.

In response to his appeal, Michelin's lawyer said the decision was "regrettable" and that it would "show once more how inane Mr Veyrat's demands are.”

The thick of it

The chef owner of La Maison des Bois in Manigod called the Michelin Guide team 'impostors' and 'incompetent' for claiming that he used cheddar in a soufflé - which in fact contained cheeses from his region of Savoie.

The chef said he had been "disgraced" and that his team had be brought to tears by the decision, claiming he has regularly considered ending his life since his restaurant was demoted.

He alleged that the inspector upon whom the decision to downgrade his restaurant rested mistook colour imparted by saffron for cheddar.

However, failing to provide material evidence that he lost any money - himself admitting that his business hasn’t suffered from losing its star – quite the contrary, as his profit margins are up 10% on last year, he was found unable to prove that he had suffered material losses as a result of losing his star.

The chef previously requested for his restaurant to be taken out of the Guide altogether, but international director Gwendal Poullennec responded that this was impossible, as stars aren't a chef's to give back.

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