ABSTRACT
The first and most famous of France’s restaurant guides was the red Guide Michelin, which made its first appearance in 1900 and whose annual awarding of stars up to a maximum of three still causes much suspense and heartsearching. Michelin was long associated with the rich traditional style of la haute cuisine, to which the polemical embracing of nouvelle cuisine by the Guide Gault-Millau (founded in 1972) represented something of a riposte. Gault-Millau awards toques (chef’s hats) up to a maximum of four, along with marks out of twenty. Unlike Michelin, which contents itself with a brief list of the principal dishes of each listed restaurant, Gault-Millau provides often lengthy discursive accounts of the specialities, atmosphere, decor and development of its choices. A more recent wave of guides catering for the young and/or financially challenged includes the ‘Petit futé’ series, dealing not only with restaurants but also with shops, accommodation and a variety of services on a town-by-town basis, and the ‘Guides du routard’, whose Liberation-like use of language and happy-go-lucky cover designs clearly target the discriminating backpacker market. Other noteworthy guides include the Bottin gourmand (founded in 1983), the Guide Kléber (1954-82) and that produced by the motoring magazine, Auto-Journal, available from newsstands rather than booksellers. However, the unquestioned market leaders would appear to be Michelin, with a circulation of 500,000, and Gault-Millau (200,000).
