Some chefs dream their whole lives of winning a Michelin star. But not Eo Yun-gwon.

The South Korean chef is reportedly suing Michelin for including his restaurant Ristorante Eo in their 2019 guide to Seoul, saying that he asked them not to. He is taking action under a South Korean law against public insult.

On Nov. 15, Eo announced on his Facebook page that he had lodged a public insult criminal complaint against Michelin Travel Partner in the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office the same day.

“I have filed a criminal complaint against Michelin Guide’s behavior of forcibly listing (restaurants) against their will and without a clear criteria,” he wrote.

“Including my restaurant Eo in the corrupt book is a defamation against members of Eo and the fans. Like a ghost, they did not have a contact number and I was only able to get in touch through email. Although I clearly refused listing of my restaurant, they included it at their will this year as well.”

In particular, Eo takes issue with the way that Michelin, which is legendarily tight-lipped about its process, judges restaurants.

In another Facebook post dated Nov. 13, Eo wrote, “There are thousands of restaurants in Seoul that are on the same level or better and more honest than those listed on the Michelin guide. It is a sad joke that a mere 170 of them are representing Seoul.”

According to Eo’s Facebook page, he emailed Michelin asking them to remove his restaurant from the guide in all categories and demanded that they explain the rating criteria.

Michelin released its first Seoul restaurant guide in 2016. Their description of Ristorante Eo specifically cited the chef, stating that “each dish clearly demonstrates his insight into the integrity and simplicity of Italian cooking.”

“It is humiliating to see my restaurant given a rating in that unwholesome book,” Eo said. The Michelin guide, he added, “is blinded by money and lacks philosophy.”

On his Facebook page, he wrote, “I will work hard to safeguard the integrity of our industry against garbage critics like Michelin or influencers or the media.”

Although Eo’s suit has already made news in the food world, South Korean criminal attorney Shin Ha-na says that the charges are unlikely to stick.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【诽谤】fěibàng defamation false or unjustified injury of the good reputation of another, as by slander or libel

【守口如瓶的】shǒukǒu-rúpíng de tight-lipped secretive, not revealing information

有些大厨一辈子都梦想能赢得米其林的一颗星。但Eo Yun-gwon不是。

据报道，这位韩国大厨状告米其林无视他的拒绝，将他的餐厅Ristorante Eo列入《2019米其林首尔指南》。他以韩国法律中的“公开侮辱罪”起诉米其林。

11月15日，Eo在他的脸书页面宣布，当天他已经向首尔中央地区检察官办公室以公开侮辱罪对米其林旅游合作伙伴提出了起诉。

他写道：“我已经对米其林指南提出刑事诉讼，控告其违反餐厅意愿强行将餐厅列入美食指南，且没有明确的评判标准。”

“将我的餐厅Eo列入这本烂书是对Eo成员和粉丝的侮辱。他们就像幽灵一般没有联系号码，我只好通过电子邮件和他们取得联系。尽管我已明确拒绝，他们今年还是随心所欲地将我的餐厅列入了指南。”

尤其让Eo不满的是米其林对其评级过程守口如瓶的方式。

在发布于11月13日的另一个脸书帖子上，Eo写道：“和米其林指南上的餐厅相比，首尔有数千家餐厅的水平与之持平甚至更高，而且更诚信，但却只有170家餐厅可以代表首尔，这真是一个可悲的笑话。”

根据Eo的脸书页面，他给米其林发电子邮件，要求米其林将他的餐厅从美食指南的所有类别中撤下，并要求他们解释评价标准。

米其林于2016年发布了首部首尔餐厅指南。他们对Ristorante Eo餐厅的描述中特别提到了这位大厨，声称“每一道菜都清晰展现了他对意大利烹饪完整性和朴素性的洞察力。”

Eo说：“看到我的餐厅在那部烂书中获评星级，我感到耻辱。”他补充道，米其林指南“被金钱蒙蔽，缺乏思想”。

他在自己的脸书页面上写道：“我将努力捍卫我们的行业完整性不受米其林、网红或媒体等垃圾评论者的侵扰。”

尽管Eo的起诉已经在美食界成为了新闻，但韩国刑事律师Shin Ha-na说，这项罪名不太可能成立。(chinadaily.com.cn)