Michelin has ceased publishing guides for Los Angeles and Las Vegas because sales were poor, and according to Jean-Luc Naret, director of Michelin Guides, “the people in Los Angeles are not real foodies. They are not too interested in eating well but just in who goes to which restaurant and where they sit”.
I would say, specifically speaking, this is a fair assumption amongst a certain group in LA, and especially when compared to other cities. Of course, this is certainly not true across the board and I know many people that would take offense to this remark, and probably already have!
As far as Las Vegas is concerned this was to be expected; just look at these people and conventioneers.
Tags: Jean-Luc Naret, Las Vegas no interest in Michelin, Los Angeles more interested where they sit, Michelin Guides
As a long time Los Angeles resident and proud ‘foodie’, I would certainly agree that a certain dining contingent value seeing and being seen at the latest ‘in’ spot more than they value good food. However, there are many many more diners in this eclectic food town who value (and dare I say, revere) good food.
I think Michelin Guide sales were low because we already have so many food guides and writers…..Zagat, LA Weekly’s Jonathan Gold (the only food writer to have received a Pulitzer Prize), LA Times, Los Angeles Magazine (with their special food issues several times a year) and many food blogs too numerous to mention.
Also, the continued proliferation of and interest in local ‘reviews’….i.e. Yelp, is what many turn to when checking out a first time dining spot. To put it bluntly, LA doesn’t need a Michelin Guide, because our restaurant scene is to large and diverse to cover in a guide which has always been geared toward mostly upscale dining. I’m sure Michelin would never include the sorts of wonderful ethnic dining spots that are being constantly unearthed and written about by Jonathan Gold.
Michelin Guides continue to be the haute guide for many parts of the world, but for the director to state unequivocally that sales were low for Los Angeles because we resident diners are not ‘real foodies’ or ‘not really interested in eating well’ is simply not true!