Vaut le voyage – Michelin Three Stars for the Gaspé Tour

A Michelin star can make or break a chef in France. The ratings by the anonymous reviews printed in the French tire manufacturer’s red guides are the ultimate rating system for restaurants.

Michelin’s green guides orient tourists to must-see attractions. Michelin published its first Guide de Tourisme for Canada in 1982 and gave the Gaspé Tour the coveted three-star rating, for “Vaut le voyage”, or worth travelling for.

Michelin’s first description of the Gaspé was a bit grudging however: “…the Gaspésie is still kind of a “bout du monde” which those in a hurry avoid. You come to admire the rugged cliffs battered by the seas, climb up hills to enjoy the panorama, observe the never-ending ballet of sea-gulls, taste the fresh fish caught the same day, visit fish hatcheries or fish shops, fish in the sea or on a river. A visit to the Gaspésie is an opportunity to taste Gaspésie bouillabaisse, a plate of fish or sea-food with garlic bread. Handicrafts are still being produced, and offer visitors catalognes, sweaters, etc. or model sailboats of yesteryear, made of wood, sold in the open air in roadside stands.”