Top french chef in hot water for adding cheese to quiche lorraine

MICHELIN STARRED PHILIPPE ETCHEBEST SAYS HE LIKES CHEESE SO WHY NOT, BUT PURISTS INSIST ‘WE MUST RESPECT GASTRONOMIC HERITAGE’ A Michelin starred chef has sparked a furore in the French

region of Lorraine for adding cheese to a traditional quiche Lorraine recipe. Philippe Etchebest has two Michelin stars for the Hostellerie de Plaisance in Saint-Émilion and is a judge on

the TV show _Top Chef_. He published a recipe for the famous quiche on his YouTube channel earlier this month. But, a problem: He said he was “revisiting” the recipe, and added cheese. He

even anticipated backlash to this in the video itself, saying: "I can already hear the purists crying foul because we don't put cheese in quiche Lorraine. Well, I do, because I

like cheese.” Big mistake. Some have now said the entire region feels ‘attacked’. Laurent Miltgen, who has owned the trademark ‘quiche Lorraine’ since 2013, told L’Est Républicain: “When

you’re a big Michelin starred chef, I don’t understand how you can ruin a recipe by putting cheese in a quiche. “We must respect French gastronomic heritage at least. Under the pretext of

revisiting or rebuilding, we can’t just do whatever we want.” ‘RUINED QUICHES’ It is not the first time that Mr Miltgen has stepped in to defend a traditional quiche Lorraine. In 2021 he

came out against the tuna quiche recipe suggested by chef Cyril Lignac. Mr Miltgen said that changing recipes can ruin them. He said: “In cooking programmes, it’s fashionable to restructure

and revisit. So we regularly end up with ruined quiches.” A tongue-in-cheek hashtag, #QuicheGate, has emerged on social media, including on Twitter. Users from Lorraine have added their view

to the cuisine controversy. One wrote: “How can this country survive if chefs of the calibre of Philippe Etchebest are putting cheese in a quiche and calling it quiche Lorraine?” > 

Comment voulez vous que ce pays s'en sorte quand même des chefs du > calibre de Philippe Etchebest mettent du fromage dans une quiche et > l'appellent quiche Lorraine... :) 

moi je vous le dis on n'est pas > rendus dans ce pays ! On n'est rendus ! #Lorraine #France > @Chef_Etchebest pic.twitter.com/YiERIoNdaP > — Jérôme PROD'HOMME 

(@Jeromeprodhomme) February 2, 2023 Another said: “There are lines we don’t cross.” > Y a clairement des limites à ne pas dépasser. #QuicheGate >  > Insolite. "Quiche 

Gate" : pourquoi la recette de la quiche > lorraine... au fromage de Philippe Etchebest fait tant polémique > https://t.co/gH4SGqAWBb > — Cédric Renaud (@CedricRenaud_) 

February 19, 2023 One said: “Forget pension reform and vaccines, I’ve found the most divisive subject among people in France on Twitter; should we have cinnamon in apple tarts?” But this

tweet was responded to by a user who said: “There’s worse! The #Quichegate created by Etchebest, who put cheese in a quiche Lorraine! Cinnamon has got nothing on this! We people in Lorraine

are going to demand independence!” > Il y a pire !!! le #quichegate créé par Etchebest qui met du > fromage dans la quiche lorraine !!! > La cannelle n'est rien à côté ! Nous, 

lorrains allons demander > l'indépendance ! https://t.co/ZfTq8re8hX > — Luc MITTELBRONN (@LucMITTELBRONN) February 20, 2023 The quiche even has its own advocate on Twitter, with

the account of the Syndicat national de défense et de promotion de l’authentique quiche Lorraine saying that “you can’t just put whatever you want” in a quiche. A traditional quiche Lorraine

recipe uses eggs, cream, and lard or lardons, and nothing else. However, a quick search online finds many results that would likely spark the ire of purists, including recipes with onion,

seafood, vegetables, cayenne pepper and smoked salmon. One US recipe blog even makes the sacrilegious claim that a quiche Lorraine “must be made” with Swiss cheese. RELATED ARTICLES FRENCH

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