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Tokyo tops Paris as world food capital

Tokyo has once again proved its worth at the top table of world food with more Michelin three star restaurants than Paris, according to the latest edition of the gastronomical guide.

Tokyo tops Paris as world food capital
Cors

Japan as a whole also beats France, with 32 establishments granted the maximum grade, against 25 in the guide’s home country.

Of Tokyo’s 160,000 restaurants, 16 were awarded top marks, 52 got two stars and 179 were deemed worthy of one star by the authors of the Red Guide.

Paris has just 10 three star eateries.

While most of those included in the book serve Japanese food, a Korean restaurant was awarded two stars, while two French restaurants got top honours.

A guide to western Japan released last month propelled the country into the world top spot for haute cuisine, with 15 top rated restaurants in cities including Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and the former capital Nara.

“Japan is a unique country with many cities full of high level cuisine,” said Bernard Delmas, president of Michelin in Tokyo, last month.

“This is why, though we reach the fifth anniversary of the arrival of the Michelin guide in Japan, we continue to discover new stars to introduce to our readers.”

FOOD AND DRINK

Cheese in numbers: France’s obsession with fromage

From cheese types to the amount eaten per year, via cheese favourites - here's a look at how France really feels about fromage.

Cheese in numbers: France’s obsession with fromage

March 27th is the Journée nationale du fromage in France – so here are a few facts about the delicious dairy delicacy.

246

Charles de Gaulle famously once asked of governing France: “How can anyone govern a country with 246 varieties of cheese?”.

His numbers were wrong. Producers in France make closer to 1,000 varieties of cheese – and some have estimated that figure could be pushed up as high as 1,600.

8

The number of cheese ‘families’ in France. A good cheeseboard in France is generally considered to consist of at least three ‘families’ – a soft cheese, a hard cheese and either a blue or a goat’s cheese. Remember, too, an odd number of fromages on a platter is better than an even number, according from cheese etiquettists

READ ALSO France Facts: There are eight cheese families in France

2.5

About how long – in years – it would take you to try every cheese made in France, if you tried a new variety every day. Life goals. 

95

The percentage of people in France who say they eat cheese at least once a week, spending seven percent of their weekly food bill on it.

READ ALSO Best Briehaviour: Your guide to French cheese etiquette

40

Two-fifths of French people say they eat cheese every day

57

The amount of cheese produced, in kilogrammes, in France every second, according to this website, which has a counter to show you how fast that really is. It’s estimated that 1.8 million tonnes of cheese are produced in France every year.

27

The French consume, on average, a whopping 27 kilogrammes of cheese per person per year.

READ ALSO Fonduegate: Why customer service is different in France

3

The three most popular cheeses in France, based on sales, are Emmental, Camembert, and Raclette – followed by mozzarella, goat’s cheese, Comté and Coulommiers.

63

Some 63 cheeses have been awarded the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée status, which means they can only be produced in a certain region.

1

France has – or at least soon will have – one dedicated cheese museum. 

READ ALSO Three things to know about the new Paris cheese museum

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