Michelin allows chef to give back stars for the first time

French chef Sébastien Bras has returned his three-star status to the Michelin Guide.

Bras was vocal about the heightened pressures that the accolade gave him, telling Agence France-Presse it was a “source of great satisfaction” and he wanted to “proceed with a free spirit and without stress”.

Although Bras is the first to have his restaurant immediately removed from the guide, others have made the same decision by walking away from or closing their restaurants.

On Twitter the chef said: "In accordance with my wishes, the Michelin guide has announced that it will remove Le Suquet from its 2018 selection. I open a new chapter of my professional life, always with so much passion for cooking."

In 1999, English chef Marco Pierre White gave up his three-star status at Restaurant Marco Pierre White in the Hyde Park hotel in London, by closing the restaurant and announcing his retirement from cooking.

German chef Matthias Dahlinger followed in 2003 and gave back his Michelin star by completely changing the food on offer at his restaurant Eichhalde in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.

In 2005 Alain Senderens of Lucas Carton in Paris, closed his restaurant and reopened as Senderens in a bid to remove his three-star status. Three years later Olivier Roellinger shut the three-Michelin-starred Maisons de Bricourt in Cancale, France in an attempt to have a quieter life.

German chef hands back Michelin star >>

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