snack: partysnack: michelin nyc 2006

By the time the hundreds of guests had assembled in the rotunda of the Guggenheim Wednesday night to fete the first American red guide, the details of the book had been discussed, dissected and assessed. The atmosphere was relaxed, jovial and attentive. A little after 8PM, Jean-Luc Naret took the podium to make the announcement – which was basically we’re here, we’re Michelin and here come the books! The thousand guides were piled high on silver trays ported by a fleet of waiters that made the spiral descent into the crowd to hand them out like Halloween candy. (I’m sure there would have been a nice toast, had they not run

out of champagne a half-hour earlier.) Everyone reached for

a copy and the stars happily signed their entries for the adulating crowd – a teeming mass of chefs, media, publicity folks, a model and a DJ, and a guy in a Michelin man suit, doing the worm. After the flashbulbs died down, people started to disperse into the night. Most of the restaurants had celebrated their stars on Tuesday evening, so many chefs simply went back to work or out to dinner.

I’d ruminated and queried sources on the party possibilities all day and will confess that all of my speculation was wrong. I’d have guessed they’d bring up all the European three-star chefs to welcome their New York brethren into the fold. (My personal highlight was meeting Guy Savoy.) Or perhaps announce the imminent arrival of the Michelin California Guide for 2007. (The obvious road to travel for the next US edition, which would make Thomas Keller the first American to have two three-star joints –though Chicago is worth the detour and would be a smarter second choice.) All in good time.