Michelin Star, it’s a term used frequently when describing a good restaurant. But what is it? Why should you seek them out? And just what does it have to do with tires?
When traveling looking up local restaurants is a must. Some cities such as Tokyo or Paris are touted as having the most Michelin start restaurants in the world. A Michelin star is the ultimate hallmark of culinary excellence. And, believe it or not, the Michelin star is from the same company that manufacturers tires.
Let’s start at the beginning.
In 1889 two brothers, Andre and Edouard Michelin founded the Michelin tire company in France. In 1900, to help people better enjoy their cars, which at the time was an emerging industry, the brothers created the MICHELIN Guide. This guide was first published in France and included maps. Instructions on how to repair or change a tire, a list of restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and mechanics along popular routes.
The goal of the guide was to ultimately convince more people to buy a car, and there by sell more Michelin tires.
The first World War halted production, but once the war was concluded the brothers decided to improve the Micheline Guide. They eliminated advertising and started charging. With this new and improved guide came enhancements such as a star rating. First appearing in 1926, where a restaurant that was considered to be a “fine dining establishment” was awarded one star. This was expanded in 1939 to the three star rating we know today.
Let’s talk a little about the rating system. Most rating systems in use today with a range from low to high usually translate to low being bad and high being good.. The Michelin Star system differs in that just having a single star is a major accomplishment and means the restaurant considered very good within its category. Two stars mean the cooking is excellent and the restaurant is worth a detour. And three stars means the restaurants cuisine is truly exceptional and worthy of a special trip.
The Micheline Star didn’t come to the United States until 2005 and originally only covered New York. Today it has expanded in the US to Chicago, Las Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.
Other notable inclusions in the 21 century include Macau, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
The current top five countries with Michelin stars are France with 628, the new comer Japan with 577, Italy with 374, Germany with 307, and the United States with 169.
It’s important to note that one can not buy a Michelin Star. To qualify a restaurant must be selected by the MICHELIN Guide team for inspection by anonymous reviewers. These inspectors visit the restaurant and craft a detailed report about their experience including presentations, quality, etc. Later the inspectors meet to go over all the reports and discuss which restaurants, if any, deserve to receive a star.
Some people think that restaurants are easily able to identify these inspectors and give them an experience that’s above what a regular customer would receive. This is untrue. Michelin Guide Inspectors are very good at what they do. Of course there are subtile hints that they might be an inspector. But rest assured, if the restaurant picks up on these it means they are paying very close attention of their customers. This level of attentiveness usually means the restaurant is of high quality and worthy of your business.