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DISCRIMINATION

Martinique chef refused entry to dinner with Macron denounces discrimination

A Michelin-starred chef from Martinique turned away from a gala dinner attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, despite being one of the invited guests, has denounced his treatment.

Martinique chef refused entry to dinner with Macron denounces discrimination
Marcel Ravin (centre) poses with other chefs in Monaco in 2010. Photo: STEPHANE DANNA / AFP.

Marcel Ravin who hails from the Caribbean island but now presides over Monaco’s Blue Bay restaurant, was turned away from Sunday’s event in the French city of Lyon despite presenting his personal invitation.

The event, at which Macron was a special guest, was held to honour the best chefs and pastry chefs, and Ravin’s restaurant holds a coveted Michelin star. But organisers refused to let him enter.

“Sad evening,” he posted on his Facebook page that evening. “To be invited and end up on the pavement eating an andouillette… And they tell me we’re no different.

“I’ll tell you what it is to be humiliated,” he added, illustrating his post with a photo of his personalised invitation.

“They told me that I wasn’t on the list and their boss didn’t want to know anything more,” Ravin said. The experience had left him “shocked and disappointed”.

Organisers of the dinner, GL Events, put it down to “an unfortunate error”.

But returning to the incident on Monday, Ravin pointed out that he was a black Frenchman from Martinique who had succeeded in the industry without coming up under the wing of one of the great chefs.

“I hope that our profession will come together and that no chef recognised by his peers will ever be left on the doorstep again,” he added.

The event was part of Sirha, a trade fair for catering, hotels and the food trade. Sirha Food’s director, Luc Dubanchet, said nothing should be read into what he described as an “unintentional incident”.

Ravin appeared to have been among the invitees who had failed to reply to the invitation. Other people in the same situation had, like him, been at first been turned away from the event.

After they had been told what had happened they had managed to catch these other guests in time, but in his case, “we were not informed in time, alas”.

He apologised to Ravin and GL Events for the mistake.

On Monday, Macron was pelted by an egg while visiting Sirha trade fair in Lyon.

Member comments

  1. This report makes it sound like Ravin was rejected because he was black while actually it was because he and others had not responded to the invitation. The others were also refused admittance.

    Shoddy journalism!

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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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