Le France restaurant and hotel is located in Montceau-les-Mines, Burgundy, one of France's primary wine-producing regions.
Source: The New York Times
Brochot was raised in a family of cattle farmers. After training under French chefs like Bernard Loiseau, Brochot returned to his hometown to begin cooking professionally nearly 20 years ago.
Source: The New York Times
Six years later, he was awarded his first Michelin Star for the restaurant, which also offers cooking classes. "A star in a workingman’s town, what a beautiful symbol," he recalled to the Times.
Source: The New York Times
Up until November, Le France offered a $130 prix-fixe menu, a steep price tag in any city. All the meat and produce comes from local farms, including his own brother's cattle ranch.
Source: The New York Times
But Brochot began to realize that local diners, mostly working class, couldn't afford to eat there. "There was a lot of waste," he told the Times. He had to cut his kitchen staff from six to three to afford the ingredients required to create Michelin-quality dishes.
Source: The New York Times
With unemployment in Montceau-les-Mines around 21% and local businesses closing all around him, Brochot wrote to Michelin, saying "The economic situation here in the ex-mining basin is a disaster. What I'm doing today, I’m not doing lightly, but because I have no other choice."
Source: The New York Times
Without a Michelin star, he's been able to cut prices and offer inexpensive versions of his best dishes. "Since we changed the formula, we’ve gotten a lot more people," he said. "In the heads of people, a one-star, it's the price."
Source: The New York Times
But the town's mayor sees it differently, telling the local paper, "He's hurting the whole region" by giving up his spot in the Michelin Guide.
Many locals supported his decision, though. One butcher who has "lots of little grandmothers and old people as customers" said it was "hardly a safe bet to keep a one-star open in this town."
Source: The New York Times
