frmichelin1-4, Exercise 2: "Lyon is the world capital of gastronomy"

Model answer (check the details), using the six questions:

1. Who says it? The city's tourist board and restaurateurs, the writer Curnonsky in the 1930s (check), local pride, and many food writers.
2. What exactly is claimed? That Lyon is the world's leading food city. "Capital" and "world" both need definition: the most stars, the most history, the best everyday food, or the most influence?
3. What would count as evidence? Counts of starred restaurants by city over time, the origins of leading chefs, the number of bouchons and markets, surveys of critics, and the reputation of its schools.
4. Compared with what? Paris, and other cities such as Tokyo, Barcelona, Bologna and Hong Kong.
5. Which period? The 1930s to the 1970s, when Lyon's stars were at their height, and today.
6. What would change my mind? Counts showing other cities with more stars or influence, or evidence that the slogan was created for tourism.

Verdict: Lyon has an outstanding record of influence on French cooking, through the mères and the pupils of Point (check), and strong everyday food. "World capital" is a slogan and cannot be proved, since cities differ in what they offer and any ranking depends on the measure. A careful sentence: "Lyon has been one of the leading centres of French cooking since the 1930s."

Care: a slogan used by a city is marketing as well as history.