Chef Georges Blanc loses his third star, owned since 1981 – Liberation
A historical demotion. The restaurant of French chef Georges Blanc in Vonnas, Ain, loses his third Michelin star in the 2025 list of the Red Guide, which will be made public officially on Monday March 31 in Metz. This was announced this Thursday, March 20 to AFP the director of the Michelin guide, Gwendal Poulnennec, raising part of the suspense before the Star ceremony.
« We didn't expect it », reacted to AFP the 82 -year -old chief, who had held the 3 stars since 1981. “He will miss a stammer that fades, so we will do with the two stars. There is no problem ”added the chef, renowned for his Bresse chicken, his sauces and his cooking. « I can assure you that the teams of the Michelin guide this year, as the following, will continue to follow this table with the same benevolence, the same requirement, but always the same desire to reflect in our rankings the evolution of the quality of the table », said Gwendal Poullennec, while greeting « Longevity in the quality of the white house ».
« The child of Bourg-en-Bresse »as described by the Red Guide, whose ancestors were silts and coal merchants, had joined the family institution in 1964, before taking its reins in 1968, at 25. Her grandmother, Elisa Blanc, nicknamed the White Mother, had obtained her first star in 1929, making the oldest star in the world without discontinuing. She was then crowned the best cook in the world by the « prince of gastronomes » Curnonsky, after obtaining a second star in 1932.
After taking over the torch, Georges Blanc, has, over the decades, built a real empire of the gastronomy of a dozen establishments and more than 300 employees. There acquired many houses, shops, hotels, and restaurants, the chef transformed the Bressane de Vonnas town into a « gourmet village » of several hectares. « I lived longer with three stars than since my birth when the third star arrived »noted this Thursday the chef, whose table had appeared in 2024 among the top 1,000 of the best rated restaurants in the world list.
A total of 23 starred establishments were downgraded in the 2025 list: a three stars, a two stars (the Saint Jacques well of Chef William Candelon, in the Gers) and 21 which lose their only star, including five due to a change of orientation or owners, indicates the guide. Among these downgrades, informed by the Red Guide upstream of the ceremony, is the restaurant Äponemin Hérault, which sees its star obtained in 2019, announced His chef Gaby Benicio on Instagram. Twenty-one restaurants A star also closed last year, as is the double starry table house Ruggieri in Paris.
