Jean-Luc Naret Retires: L.A.'s Least Favorite Michelin Man Steps Down
Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images AsiaPac Jean-Luc Naret at 2010 Tokyo Michelin guide press conference
There probably won't be many teary eyes in Los Angeles over today's news that Michelin guide director Jean-Luc Naret will be stepping down from his post. The Michelin guide was released in Los Angeles for the first time in 2009, but after low sales and indifferent local response, the guide has not returned since. Jean-Luc Naret was recently interviewed by Esquire's John Mariani, and explained why Michelin has ceased operations in Los Angeles, saying, "the people in Los Angeles are not real foodies. They are not too interested in eating well but just in who goes to which restaurant and where they sit."
Naret and his guide was not well-received in Los Angeles from the beginning. In fact, Naret's recent quote in Esquire led the Weekly's own Jonathan Gold to deliver the now-clairvoyant tweet, "'The people in Los Angeles...are not too interested in eating well,' says Michelin's Naret, fiddling his tune on the Titanic."
According to the New York Times, Naret, during his 6-year tenure with Michelin, was tasked with building the guide's presence outside of Europe -- and he did so, expanding it into the United States and Asia. His final two guides will be San Francisco and Chicago. Naret will also stay with Michelin next year as an advisor and consultant.
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