André Gayot is a French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 restaurant critic. With his friends Gault and Millau, he coined and promoted the term "Nouvelle Cuisine

Nouvelle Cuisine

Nouvelle cuisine is an approach to cooking and food presentation used in French cuisine. By contrast with cuisine classique, an older form of French haute cuisine, nouvelle cuisine is characterized by lighter, more delicate dishes and an increased emphasis on presentation.-History:The term...

" in the early 1970s. In 1981 he began publishing a series of guidebooks known as Gayot Guides, where restaurants are rated on a 20-point scale, based on the system of grading students in France

Education in France

The French educational system is highly centralized, organized, and ramified. It is divided into three different stages:* the primary education ;* secondary education ;...

. The Gayot Guide focuses on the top 40 restaurants, and has been touted as an alternative to the Michelin Guide

Michelin Guide

The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...

, which has been criticised for uneven appraisals of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 restaurants. The décor, service, ambience and wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 list are commented upon within each review, but do not affect a restaurant's overall score. Each year Gayot publishes its list of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., a guide to the nation's best restaurants.

Today more than 20,000 restaurant reviews are published on gayot.com along with international hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

 and spa

Spa

The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...

 reviews, wine and culinary event listings, travel guides and more.

In 2005 Gayot was named an Officer of the Legion of Honor, France's highest civilian honor.

External links

• gayot.com - official website