Briton named as new Red Guides director

Michelin has broken with a 100-year-old tradition by announcing the first non-French director for its series of Red Guides to European restaurants.

It is promoting Briton Derek Brown, 55, to take over the role of director of the red guides from Bernard Naegellen, who retires at the end of this year after 16 years at the helm.

For some in France, the news is as unsettling as the selection of a French manager for the English football team would be here. Le Figaro deemed it worthy of front-page coverage, just below the fall of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.

But a spokesman for the Michelin guides, which celebrate their centenary this year, said nationality had played no part in Brown's appointment.

"He is qualified in hotel catering and commerce, which makes him an ideal candidate for the overall position," he said. He denied suggestions that Brown had been brought in to shake up the Michelin traditions. "The values will not change," he stressed.

Brown has worked for Michelin since 1971, when he joined as an inspector. He became editor of the Red Guide Great Britain & Ireland, and has been Michelin's director of communications in Asia for the past four years.

As director of the red guides, Brown will be responsible for all the European restaurant guides, but the impact of his appointment will not be felt until the 2002 editions. Brown takes up his position next January.

For now, he is keeping a low profile in order to preserve his anonymity as he visits restaurants across Europe towards the end of this year.