Chef Marco hits out at 'outdated' Michelin guide

They accused the 108-year-old "red book" of being out of touch with modern cooking trends and holding in contempt "places where charm rules over formality".

The broadside was led by Marco Pierre White, whowas the world's youngest three-Michelin-starred chef at 33, but renounced his stars when he retired from day-to-day cooking in 1999.

Writing in next month's Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine, he said the 17 Michelin guides were now too commercial as well as inconsistent.

White said: "There are at least 50 restaurants in England as good as the two-star restaurants [in New York], rather than the paltry 10 that currently hold that number."

Yves Camdeborde, a former Michelin star holder who runs Paris's Le Comptoir, said diners' increasing preference for less stuffy eating had not been recognised by Michelin.

He said: "Four years ago I opened the Comptoir ... it's an informal bistro specialising in great regional cooking and, yet again, it scarcely rates a flicker on Michelin's scale.

"Who is the winner? One thing's for sure, it's not Michelin's readers."

Toshiya Kadowaki, owner of Tokyo restaurant Azabu Kadowaki, said he turned down the chance to appear in Michelin's inaugural guide to the Japanese capital because it would attract "tourists" to the 21-cover restaurant.

William Sitwell, editor of Waitrose Food Illustrated, said: "The fact some of the best-known chefs in the world have poured such derision on Michelin is extraordinary.

"Increasingly people are looking for less poncey menus and more normal food. The problem is there are too many chefs trying to get stars rather than customers. The view is this encourages a sort of fine dining travesty with chefs trying to be too overcomplicated."

Jean-Luc Naret, director of the Michelin guides, said: "Quite a few of these chefs have never received the distinction of being in the guide, so perhaps there is a little bitterness there. Others are not interested in Michelin stars. Anyway, what they say is not true. In England we were the first guide to recognise that pubs as well as restaurants serve very good food.

"This year we will sell more than one million guides. It is not by pure coincidence and chance we are the guide the experts want to take."