After a quarter century in the Michelin guidebook, a three-star French chef decides to leave the limelight and go back to cooking for pleasure.
Other three-star chefs have thrown in the towel in recent years, and there is growing talk that the excessive pressure of measuring up to Michelin standards is forcing great chefs out of their kitchens.Deborah Lutterbeck reports.SOUNDBITES:Chef Olivier Roellinger, saying (French):
"I really feel that physically, I cannot continue. It is the same sort of physical problem faced by a mountain climbing guide or a boat skipper. At some point you tell yourself that it is time to find a new way to stay in the game."
Emmanuel Rubin, food critic for Le Figaro, saying (French):
"I believe that Roellinger is giving up his three stars because he is tired. Tired of the high level, tired of being like a high-performance athlete, tired of putting himself on the line twice a day."
