{"id":24563,"date":"2014-12-12T12:50:34","date_gmt":"2014-12-12T12:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=24563"},"modified":"2014-12-12T12:50:34","modified_gmt":"2014-12-12T12:50:34","slug":"in-depth-the-michelin-myth-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2014\/12\/12\/in-depth-the-michelin-myth-2\/","title":{"rendered":"In depth: The Michelin myth"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lack of Michelin awards has led to suggestions that Cardiff should rethink \u00a0some of its ingredients. But, as\u00a0Tom Carter<\/a>\u00a0discovers, dining in the city is more than just fine.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Take one cosmopolitan city, add a good handful of great restaurants, mix in a dash of variety and there you have it: one tasty culinary destination. And yet attention remains focused squarely on what isn’t on Cardiff’s menu.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s becoming an annual question: why don\u2019t our restaurants have any recognition from Michelin? Staggeringly, Cardiff hasn’t ever received even a single star.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But whilst it can be a struggle to find a contemporary restaurant which really pushes the culinary boundaries, the outlook isn\u2019t as dark as the city\u2019s starless nature would suggest.<\/p>\n

\"First

Despite gaining neither stars nor the Bib Gourmand (awarded for good food at moderate prices) in this year’s recently announced listings<\/a>, many of our top restaurateurs remain grounded and point to a burgeoning food scene that is very much on the rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Misguided by the Stars?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Of course, an absence of Michelin stars doesn\u2019t necessarily point to an absence of great cuisine.\u00a0Tapas kitchen Bar 44<\/a> is an excellent example of the great food available on our doorstep. Co-founder Owen Morgan is passionate about seasonal Welsh produce and\u00a0all things Spanish. He believes that a lack of accreditation from Michelin shouldn\u2019t have any bearing on whether Cardiff is seen as a culinary destination.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely don\u2019t think one guide is the be all and end all to judge culinary success\u201d he opines, \u201cit’s\u00a0just one publication, it just happens to be a very well-known one!\u201d<\/p>\n

They’re thoughts that are echoed by Cai Pritchard, owner of the gourmet burger restaurant Got Beef<\/a>. \u201cStars can bring notoriety to a city but they\u2019re not a necessity\u201d says Pritchard, \u201ccities need variety to be true culinary destinations. Customers are more likely to visit somewhere off a recommendation rather than its awards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cForget your crisp white dining cloths and expensive wines; it’s all about big wooden tables, calorific guilty pleasures and loads of good quality beer!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Recognition from Michelin does not ensure financial success nor does it guarantee regular covers. Chefs including Tom Aikens have seen starred restaurants go bust<\/a> . So what does success look like in the restaurant trade?<\/p>\n

Morgan believes that a successful restaurant is one that builds a strong, regular and loyal customer base, interacts with their diners and gets to know them and what they like.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo give good value you must use great, well sourced produce, be knowledgeable about it and talk to your customers about it,\u201d he explains, \u201cmost people don\u2019t mind paying good money for something they know is good and had been handled with care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Food_Feat_Trio2Main_TC\"

A similar ethos is held by The Potted Pig<\/a>. General manager, Georgina Heffernan, explained that the meaty, modern-British establishment makes every effort to keep its menus seasonal, sourcing much of its produce from independent and local suppliers. \u201cIf it isn’t fresh\u201d she states, \u201cit isn’t on the menu that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local, fresh, quality ingredients seem to be the order of the day throughout the city, none more so than at Pontcanna based Bully’s<\/a>. The restaurant has built a reputation for top class dining in a relaxed atmosphere and was named by the AA as this year\u2019s best in the Wales<\/a>. Owner, Russell Bullimore, recently told Wales Online<\/a> that customers not only wanted a focus on quality but on value as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Michelin Tires<\/strong><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s that focus on value which underpins much of the food scene here. The rise of informal dining experiences, such as those presented by street food and popup culture, are indicative of a city where\u00a0cheap and cheerful is often favoured over more adventurous gastronomy. Could this casual vibe be Cardiff\u2019s ticket to the top table?<\/p>\n

Morgan believes so. \u201cMichelin seem to be loosening up a little\u201d, he claims, highlighting the star recently gained by London tapas bar, Barrafina<\/a>. \u201cIt could be a sign they\u2019re awarding for quality\u201d he adds, \u201cperhaps everything doesn\u2019t have to be stuffy and formal after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

[youtube]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yHCQ-sPWw0o[\/youtube]Newly launched<\/sup>\u00a0Street Food\u00a0<\/sup>Cardiff is<\/sup>\u00a0indicative of the city’s less\u00a0formal food scene. <\/sup><\/em>Credit:<\/strong><\/sup> Something Creatives<\/sup><\/p>\n

A more pertinent question then might be to ask whether Michelin’s rankings are themselves tired and in need of reinvention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people\u2019s\u00a0acceptance\u00a0of high quality food has widened\u201d says Heffernan, \u201cbut I don’t\u00a0necessarily\u00a0think that means\u00a0Michelin rankings need to change as there will always be a market for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heffernan suggests that rather than a reinvention of the Michelin rankings, informal diners need to be recognised for their own quality and visions. \u201cThey aren\u2019t to the\u00a0Michelin guidelines but this doesn\u2019t mean they are of a lower quality\u201d, she states.<\/p>\n

\"Caption\"

Got Beef\u2019s Pritchard agrees that taste buds are changing. \u201cThis new way of dining is here to stay\u201d he declares, \u201cforget your crisp white dining cloths and expensive wines; it’s all about big wooden tables, calorific guilty pleasures and loads of good quality beer!\u201d<\/p>\n

Our food scene has plenty of stars despite a lack of Michelin awards. From tapas to gourmet meats and craft ales, our city is cultivating its own unique food scene. All the necessary ingredients are there: great local produce, good value and a focus on making the customer happy. So forget what Michelin think, Cardiff has its own recipe for success.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photos:<\/strong> Tom Carter<\/em><\/sup><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our food scene has plenty of stars despite a lack of Michelin awards <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":25974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[3226,4406,4407,2161,4408,2165,4409,2279,2005,4410,381,4411,4412],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-24563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-bar-44","tag-barrafina","tag-bullys","tag-cai-pritchard","tag-georgina-heffernan","tag-got-beef","tag-gourmet-gorro","tag-michelin","tag-owen-morgan","tag-russell-bullimore","tag-street-food-cardiff","tag-the-potted-pig","tag-tom-aikens"],"yoast_head":"\nIn depth: The Michelin myth - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2014\/12\/12\/in-depth-the-michelin-myth-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In depth: The Michelin myth - 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