Culinary marketing: Gault&Millau as that other ‘star’

French chef Paul Bocuse once Culinary marketing said: “Michelin is the only guide that counts.” But that was probably before there were other guides, or because he was – and is – seen as an untouchable saint by that guide. There are other, more real marketing standards in culinary marketing. For example, Gault&Millau.

Gault&Millau (G&M) is a French company that publishes gastronomy guides in various countries. French journalists  with reviews of restaurants in their country in 1969. A few years later they converted the magazine into an annual guide. From 2004 to 2007 a combined guide with reviews for the Benelux was published. Since 2008 the Dutch guide has been published independently.

There has been debate about

Which guide is more important, Michelin argentina email list 4.8 million contact leads  or Gault&Millau. In the 1970s, Michelin’s continued conservative support for traditional haute cuisine was challenged by G&M’s support for Nouvelle cuisine . Michelin is more popular and therefore more influential. Whereas G&M is more focused on food, as its main system is based purely on the quality of food. (I have written about the power, politics, money and controversies surrounding Michelin in The Power of the Star. )

The guides agree on one thing: on the 20th anniversary of the G&M guide in 1990, Paul Bocuse (along with two others) was crowned “Chef of the why should you use ai writing tools? discover the pros and cons Century” by G&M. It is not known whether Bocuse, also known as the pope of gastronomy and Monsieur Paul , changed his opinion about “the only guide”.

Gault&Millau

Reviews and awards The guide also – somewhat confusingly? – includes ratings of restaurants using ‘toques’ (not those sports protective things, but anhui mobile phone number list chef’s hats) and assigns a point rating on an unusual scale of 20. The toques, incidentally, run somewhat parallel to the points: one hat for 13-13.5 points, two for 14-14.5, three for 15-16.5, four for 17-18.5 and five toques for 19-20 points.