It is not necessarily profitable to be awarded Michelin stars, because receiving this distinction from the famous French gastronomic guide entails a 30% increase in restaurant management costs. It is true that wearing one, two or three Michelin stars tends to attract more diners, which increases the turnover , but to meet this greater demand it is necessary to hire more cooks, waiters and service professionals in general. In fact, the item dedicated to paying staff can account for up to 50% of the establishment’s expenses . You also have to buy more raw materials, diversify the winery with more wines and buy more expensive and sophisticated kitchenware, tableware and table linens. In the end, the payoff is not great. The luckiest ones get between 2% and 15% of benefits , although these can be counted almost on the fingers of the hand. Hence, not a few have stayed by the wayside and have had to give up the stars or close the business due to the pressure it entails: for example, El Bulli by Ferrán Adriá, Sergi Arola Gastro, Miramón Arbelaitz … The pressure is so great that there have even been chefs who have committed suicide for not being able to bear the stress that comes with satisfying the inspectors of the Michelin Guide.
The world of haute cuisine has not yet finished assimilating the disappearance of theFrench chef Benoît Violier, who committed suicide in 2016 for reasons still unknownbut that have been related to the pressure of living with the demand that comes with wearing the highest recognitions. In factquite a few cooks have given up their Michelin stars to suffer less stress and improve their quality of life. The professional kitchen is not a profession available to everyone, sincerequires great application, constant effort and practically dedicating one’s life to it. In 2003, the French chef Bernard Loiseau committed suicide by shooting himself with his hunting rifle, after having been in a depression for some time due to the quality standards that he had to maintain when his restaurant showed the coveted three stars of the Michelin Guide. . There were rumors in the media that his business was going to lose one of the stars, and Loiseau couldn’t bear it. Before, in 1999, Marco Pierre White gave up the three stars of his restaurant and attacked Michelin and those responsible. In 2005, Alain Senderens decided to take a new direction in his career by giving up the three stars that his Paris restaurant maintained for 28 years. The same was done in successive years by Antoine Westremann, Olivier Roellinger or the Spaniard Joan Borràs, who gave up his Girona star to take things easy after overcoming cancer. Another curious case in Spain has been that of Miquel Ruiz, whoAfter achieving great prestige by reaching the stars in several restaurants, he now dedicates himself to cooking to his liking that he likes in a modest bar in Denia.
If getting a Michelin star bringsprestige, recognition, publicity and more clients, why are so many chefs giving up on them?Is it not even financially profitable? In reality, in the end, the profitability comes from the fact that the star brings prestige and popularity to the chef, and the restaurant is a showcase that opens the way to other parallel businesses. That is why we see so many cooks advertising products from this or that supermarket, doing television programs, publishing books or giving lectures. A schedule of activities that compensates for the high costs.
