Customer Reviews

Burgundy Stars: A Year in the Life of a Great French Restaurant

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Echikson does a great job profiling all the players-with Loiseau as his "mad bird" at the center-and the teamwork and total devotion it took to acquire all the "right stuff" to earn three stars. It's an engrossing behind-the-scenes story for any serious or not-so-serious gourmand. Also lovely photographs enhance the text.

How can Echikson--let alone his publisher--make so many mistakes? Starting with the French word for "intern," "stagiaire." Echikson misspells it "stagaire" at least a dozen times. He calls Robert Parker an editor of Wine Spectator; in fact, he's the founder of the rival publication, The Wine Advocate.

The book is rife with stupid mistakes but guilty of one giant one: though it's about Bernard Loiseau's obsessive quest for a third Michelin star, Echikson never once gives the reader the slightest hint of how Loiseau translates his ambition into the food he serves. Sure, there are endless scenes of Loiseau in search of ingredients, meeting with architects, etc., but nothing to make the reader TASTE the result. Why not watch Loiseau actually cook something, describe how something is transformed in the kitchen, show what makes the difference between a two-star and a three-star meal. Instead, all we get is posturing.

The worst part is that Echikson's limited portrait of Loiseau only deepens the mystery of his suicide ...

Educational book! Was told by the best Pastry Chef to read this book. It has a lot of history if you are going to be in the field. Enjoy!

I reread this book every few years, just for the pleasure of it, and recommend it to anyone with an interest in France, their wine, cheese, or food.

If you like French haute cuisine, this book will give you a lot of insights into how it's created -- not how it's cooked, but the amazing amount of work by a large group of people to produce and serve it. The writing is serviceable but a bit simplistic.

I just heard that Mr. Loiseau was found dead yesterday, probably a suicide in the face of a downgrade in his Gault-Millau rating and a possible downgrade by Michelin. What a tragedy.