[ad_1]
The competition between chefs is on. Gault Millau published his prestigious restaurant guide this week. Chefs across the country compare, only Beat Blum (60) who has retired, leaves everything cold. He has been rebelling against the goal for seven years.
The Bernese restaurateur once belonged to the crème de la crème of the Swiss gourmet scene with 17 points and a Michelin star. For twelve years he cooked to the highest standard in the Mühle restaurant in Fläsch GR. At that time he benefited from the reputation of Gault Millau. “From point 15 to 17, it made a good quarter of a million more sales a year,” says Blum.
Advertising or not
In 2000 he opened the Bernese restaurant Wein & Sein and cooked there with 15 points. Then something unexpected happens. For economic reasons, the restaurant was only open at night; Gault Millau didn’t seem to like that. “They wrote that he was lazy,” says Blum. Probably a test diner stood in front of a closed door at noon and gave it a bad grade.
The passionate restaurateur reacts with a provocation. He opens a restaurant in Ticino called “Senza Punti” (German: “no points”). Under the name Beat Blum he also gives an example: “I don’t want to be rated anymore!”
Blum has always found punctuation to be too arbitrary. The poor rating was then only to tip the balance. “Why should a reviewer be able to rate my restaurant better than my guests?” Asks Blum.
Gault Millau accepts his decision
Blum’s specialty has always been hospitality. He sees himself as a host, not just a cook. “When guests feel at home with me, it’s a more pleasant compliment than when they praise the food,” says Blum. And that feeling cannot be measured with points.
The message reaches the restaurant guide. “Gault Millau respected my decision without asking,” says Blum. “I am grateful for that.”
The Gault Millau only appears once a year. Meanwhile, critics test food anonymously at select restaurants and award points between 12 and 19. According to founders Henri Gault († 70) and Christian Millau († 88), only God can determine perfection, which is why no chef has done it. the maximum number of points 20.
Points dominate
This glorification of coveted items sometimes takes on absurd characteristics. “Some professional colleagues just talk over a nice dinner about how they get the next item,” says Beat Blum.
The restaurateur from Bern does not believe in this competition. But his zeal has not been affected by it. In spring, Blum opens the restaurant Le Vivant in Bern together with his partner Yannick Wigley (27). The two restorers keep the quality standard high even without points. The veal bagels are cooked for 36 hours and the biodynamic wine is served in Gabriel glasses.
Blum deliberately keeps the menu simple: He doesn’t believe in tongs and foam as you know them from upstairs kitchens and says, “I only like foam in the tub.” The philosophy of the two restaurateurs is also simple: “We want to be a restaurant that we would like to go to ourselves.”
