André Gayot is a French restaurant critic. With his friends Gault and Millau, he coined and promoted the term "Nouvelle Cuisine" 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. The Gayot Guide focuses on the top 40 restaurants, and has been touted as an alternative to the Michelin Guide,[1] which has been criticised for uneven appraisals of New York City restaurants.[2] The décor, service, ambience and wine 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 and spa reviews, wine and culinary event listings, travel guides and more.
In 2005 Gayot was named an Officer of the Legion of Honor,[3] France's highest civilian honor.