Michelin Guide

Michelin reviewers (commonly called "inspectors") are anonymous; they do not identify themselves, and their meals and expenses are paid for by Michelin, never by a restaurant being reviewed:

Michelin has gone to extraordinary lengths to maintain the anonymity of its inspectors. Many of the company's top executives have never met an inspector; inspectors themselves are advised not to disclose their line of work, even to their parents (who might be tempted to boast about it); and, in all the years that it has been putting out the guide, Michelin has refused to allow its inspectors to speak to journalists. The inspectors write reports that are distilled, in annual "stars meetings" at the guide's various national offices, into the ranking of three stars, two stars, or one star—or no stars. (Establishments that Michelin deems unworthy of a visit are not included in the guide.)[16]

The French chef Paul Bocuse, one of the pioneers of nouvelle cuisine in the 1960s, said, "Michelin is the only guide that counts."[17] In France, when the guide is published each year, it sparks a media frenzy which has been compared to that for annual Academy Awards for films.[16] Media and others debate likely winners, speculation is rife, and TV and newspapers discuss which restaurant might lose, and who might gain a Michelin star.[18][19][20][21]

The Michelin Guide also awards "Rising Stars", an indication that a restaurant has the potential to qualify for a star, or an additional star.

In 2020, the Michelin Guide launched a sustainability emblem to symbolise excellence in sustainable gastronomy.[22] An establishment awarded this green star is given space on the Guide's website for the chef to describe the restaurant's vision.[22]

Since 1955, the guide has also highlighted restaurants offering "exceptionally good food at moderate prices", a feature now called "Bib Gourmand". They must offer menu items priced below a maximum determined by local economic standards. Bib (Bibendum) is the company's nickname for the Michelin Man, its corporate logo for over a century.

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  A menu course from a Michelin-rated restaurant in Helsinki, Finland
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  A course in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Geneva, Switzerland
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  A course in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
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  A course in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Los Angeles, United States

In 2016, a new symbol, the Plate, was added to recognise restaurants that "simply serve good food".[23]

In 2014, Michelin introduced a separate listing for gastropubs in Ireland.[72] In 2016, the Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macau introduced an overview of notable street-food establishments.[73][74] In the same year, the Singapore guide introduced the first Michelin stars for street-food locations, for Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle.[75]

Michelin Guide "fork and spoon" red designation at Miodova Restaurant, Kraków, Poland, for 2017 and 2018

All listed restaurants, regardless of their star, Bib Gourmand, or Plate status, also receive a "fork and spoon" designation, as a subjective reflection of the overall comfort and quality of the restaurant.[76] Rankings range from one to five: one fork and spoon represents a "comfortable restaurant" and five signifies a "luxurious restaurant". Forks and spoons colored red designate a restaurant that is considered "pleasant" as well.

Restaurants, independently of their other ratings in the guide, can also receive a number of other symbols next to their listing:

• Coins indicate restaurants that serve a menu for a certain price or less, depending on the local monetary standard.[76] In 2010 France, 2011 US and Japan Red Guides, the maximum permitted "coin" prices were €19, $25, and ¥5000, respectively.
• Interesting view or Magnificent view, designated by a black or red symbol, are given to restaurants offering those features.
• Grapes, a sake set, or a cocktail glass indicate restaurants that offer, at minimum, a "somewhat interesting" selection of wines, sake, or cocktails, respectively.[76]

Pascal Rémy, a veteran France-based Michelin inspector, and also a former Gault Millau employee, wrote a tell-all book published in 2004 entitled L'Inspecteur se met à table (literally, "The Inspector Sits Down at the Table"; idiomatically, "The Inspector Spills the Beans", or "The Inspector Lays It All on the Table"). Rémy's employment was terminated in December 2003 when he informed Michelin of his plans to publish his book.[77] He brought a court case for unfair dismissal, which was unsuccessful.[78]

Rémy described the French Michelin inspector's life as lonely, underpaid drudgery, driving around France for weeks on end, dining alone, under intense pressure to file detailed reports on strict deadlines. He maintained that the guide had become lax in its standards. Though Michelin states that its inspectors visited all 4,000 reviewed restaurants in France every 18 months, and all starred restaurants several times a year, Rémy said only about one visit every 3+1⁄2 years was possible because there were only 11 inspectors in France when he was hired, rather than the 50 or more hinted by Michelin. That number, he said, had shrunk to five by the time he was fired in December 2003.[77]

Rémy also accused the guide of favouritism. He alleged that Michelin treated famous and influential chefs, such as Paul Bocuse and Alain Ducasse, as "untouchable" and not subject to the same rigorous standards as lesser-known chefs.[77] Michelin denied Rémy's charges, but refused to say how many inspectors it actually employed in France. In response to Rémy's statement that certain three-star chefs were sacrosanct, Michelin said, "There would be little sense in saying a restaurant was worth three stars if it weren't true, if for no other reason than that the customer would write and tell us."[79]

Some non-French food critics have alleged that the rating system is biased in favour of French cuisine or French dining standards. The UK The Guardian commented in 1997 that "some people maintain the guide's principal purpose is as a tool of Gallic cultural imperialism".[80] When Michelin published its first New York City Red Guide in 2005 Steven Kurutz of The New York Times noted that Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe, a restaurant rated highly by The New York Times, Zagat Survey, and other prominent guides, received a no-star rating from Michelin (he did, however, acknowledge that the restaurant received positive mention for its ambiance, and that two other restaurants owned by Meyer received stars). Kurutz also said the guide appeared to favour restaurants that "emphasized formality and presentation" rather than a "casual approach to fine dining". He said over half of the restaurants that received one or two stars "could be considered French".[81] The Michelin Guide New York 2007 included 526 restaurants, compared to 2,014 in Zagat New York 2007; after The Four Seasons Restaurant received no stars in that edition, co-owner Julian Niccolini said Michelin "should stay in France, and they should keep their guide there".[82] The 2007 guide does, however, include menus, recipes, and photographs, and descriptions of the atmosphere of starred restaurants.[82]

In 2007 Tokyo's restaurants were awarded with the most stars and in 2010 other Japanese cities like Kyoto and Osaka also received many stars. At the time this sparked questions from some over whether these high ratings were merited for Japanese restaurants, or whether the Michelin guide was too generous in giving out stars to gain an acceptance with Japanese customers and to enable the tyre-selling parent company to market itself in Japan. But the discrepancy is easily explained by the number of restaurants in total: Tokyo has 160,000 restaurants while Paris, for example, has just 40,000.[83][84] The Wall Street Journal reported in 2010 that some Japanese chefs were surprised at receiving a star and were reluctant to accept one because the publicity caused an unmanageable jump in booking, affecting their ability to serve their traditional customers without lowering their quality.[85]

Some restaurateurs have asked Michelin to revoke a star, because they felt that it created undesirable customer expectations or pressure to spend more on service and decor.[86] Notable cases include:

• Casa Julio (Fontanars dels Alforins, Spain): After receiving a star for a perfumed cuisine in 2009, the restaurant chef Julio Biosca felt the award was granted to dishes that he did not like and which restricted his creativity. He tried to remove his star, and in December 2013 he discontinued his tasting menu. The removal took place in the 2015 guide.[87][88]
• Petersham Nurseries Café (London): After receiving a star in 2011, founder and chef Skye Gyngell received complaints from customers expecting formal dining, leading to her attempt to remove the star, and her subsequent retirement from the restaurant. She has since said she regrets her remarks and would welcome a star.[87][89][90]
• 't Huis van Lede (Belgium): After receiving a star in 2014, chef Frederick Dhooge said he did not want his Michelin star or his points in the Gault-Millau restaurant guide because some customers were not interested in simple food from a Michelin-starred restaurant.[91]

• In 2017, the Bouche à Oreille café in Bourges was accidentally given a star when it was confused with a restaurant of the same name in Boutervilliers, near Paris.[92][93]

• Michelin Guide to the British Isles, London: Michelin Tyre Company, 1913, OL 14022740M (+ List of excursions)
• Amiens before and during the war, Clermont-Ferrand: Michelin and Cie, 1919, OCLC 887914, OL 13521961M
• Michelin Guide to the Battlefields of the World War, Milltown, N.J.: Michelin, 1919, OL 24432211M
• Strasbourg (in French), Clermont-Ferrand: Michelin & Cie, 1919, OL 24638163M
• St. Quentin-Cambrai (in French), Clermont-Ferrand: Michelin & cie, 1921, OL 24786012M

• Trois étoiles au Michelin: Une histoire de la haute gastronomie française et européenne, by Jean-François Mesplède and Alain Ducasse, 2004. ISBN 2-7000-2468-0. Follows the 60-odd chefs who have been awarded three stars.
• The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine, by Rudolph Chelminski, 2006. ISBN 978-0-14-102193-5. The story of Bernard Loiseau.
• From behind the wall: Danish Newspaper Berlingske Employee 'Awards'