The "curse" that Skye Gyngell mentions with regard to the award of a Michelin star has history.
Some chefs like to "hand them back". In 2005 when Alain Senderens in Paris relaunched Lucas Carton with a new name (his own), he renounced his three stars on the grounds he could not charge affordable prices and maintain what was understood to be the required level of luxury.
The result, he claimed, was increased business, happier customers and higher profits. It is presumably part of a bid to dispel that perception that the Michelin Guide has in recent years taken to getting down with the kids and, in London, acknowledging restaurants such as Fergus Henderson's St John and Petersham Nurseries.
It is a surprising measure of the guide's influence if the presence of a star really has changed the audience for Petersham Nurseries.
My suspicion is that the prices charged - on the menu posted on its website two of the four main courses are over £30 - might lead to expectations perhaps not always being fulfilled. A dirt floor and rickety tables are, after all, part of the "charm". I hope if Gyngell goes to another restaurant that it will also be "rammed every day". Her cooking deserves that.
