The three-star Michelin restaurant L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon opened Nov. 5 with a gala hosted by its head chef and founder Joel Robuchon at the Bellavita shopping center in Taipei City's Xinyi District.

The restaurant features rare and luxury food, catering to the high-end market. Lunch and dinner courses range between NT$480 (US$15) and NT$2,000. A set meal comprised of eight courses carries a price tag of nearly NT$6,000.

Robuchon has operated restaurants in major international cities such as Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Macau, Monaco, New York City, Paris, and Tokyo, and has collected a world record-breaking 24 Michelin stars.

Chiu Hsiang-ping, a local gourmet who has sampled the food and wine at the new restaurant, predicted that the quality and prices of its wines and meals will create a big impact on the restaurant scene in Taiwan.

Robuchon-run restaurants have gained Michelin recognition and if other restaurants want to set prices similar to Robuchon's "they will have to offer selections and services on par with the standards of the new restaurant," Chiu said.

Michelin starred restaurants offer not only delicious food and fine wine, but also good services, Chui noted. Taiwan employees at the new restaurant are likely to learn from their experience there, which will further enhance Taiwan's food culture, he added.

Amid the competition, the biggest winners would be consumers, as they would no longer to have to travel abroad to enjoy Michelin-class food, Chiu said.

However, Robucheon is not the only chef in Taiwan who has Michelin star ratings. A number of Michelin starred chefs have been working or will work in the country, long term and short term, at the invitation of several local restaurants.

For example, Giovanni Grasso, an Italian chef who currently holds one Michelin star, will create a seven-course white truffle feast priced at NT$8,000 per person at Marco Polo Restaurant at Far Eastern Plaza Taipei Nov. 13-14.

The restaurant seats 120, and so far, about 80 percent of the seats have been booked, according to Yen Hui-yuan, a publicity executive at Far Eastern Plaza Taipei.

Inviting Michelin starred chefs from around the world to visit Taiwan will not only help to meet local demand for gourmet food, but will also mean more revenue for the restaurants and will allow local chefs to acquire greater expertise, said Lai Ying-nuan, a publicity executive at the Westin Taipei.

The Michelin Guides have become widely known as the world's most respected source of restaurant and hotel evaluations, with the famed Michelin stars serving as an international symbol of of culinary excellence.

(By Chen Shun-hsieh and Y.L. Kao)