Restaurant sends Michelin star back

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Restaurant In de’n Dillegaard in Nuth, in the South of Limburg, has decided to hand in the Michelin star that it has had since 2004. The owners, Michel and Susanne Kagenaar-Stevens, want to turn the place into a less formal affair. Writes NRC:

“Many people associate Michelin with expensive, posh and formal,” says Suzan Kagenaar. “It creates certain expectations. We had been thinking for a while about going back to our roots, to a less formal atmosphere. The financial crisis has hastened our decision.”

Part of the problem, Kagenaar says is that there are too many Michelin star restaurants in the South Limburg region. There are five restaurants with one star and two with two stars. “This means that regular customers alternate between the [Michelin] restaurants and it takes longer before they return to us.”

Photo: In de’n Dillegaard.

5 Comments »

  1. derfina says:

    Makes perfect sense to me.

  2. Orangemaster says:

    I never thought having a star was a liability. I get their point, too.

  3. Jay Vos says:

    Oh, good, Branko, thanks for this. My brother’s a chef and he’s always thought the Michelin (and other guides) were over-rated and that the goal of reaching that’pinnacle’ took away from the joy of cooking. I certainly hope the Kagenaars didn’t consult Gordon Ramsay before making the change! Looks like they didn’t, too – the owners seem to also want that balance of good quality food and a friendly (read:unpretentious) atmosphere. The new restaurant name – “Dinner at Michel’s” – sounds more inviting. I hope that the new restaurant gets locally produced food products, too. Succes!

  4. meneame.net says:

    Restaurate holandés devuelve la estrella a Michelin conseguida en 2004. No la quiere más. [ING]…

    Restaurante holandés al sur de Limburg devuelve su estrella a Michelín conseguida en el 2004. La crisis ha empujado a los dueños a tomar esta decisión ya que los clientes vienen con "ciertas expectativas" al restaurante por tener la famos…

  5. […] not the first time a restaurant decides to send back a Michelin star, but this time a two-starred restaurant has decided to do […]

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