Apr 10, 2024
A Michelin star rating is one of the most prestigious honours a restaurant can receive. Learn how restaurants get stars and how the Michelin Guide started.
Have you ever wondered how restaurants get Michelin Stars? Or how the Michelin Star rating system came to be?
The iconic rating, which is awarded to restaurants that meet exceptionally high standards of cooking, has an origin story with very little relation to cuisine.
Here at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, we thought you should know the whole story. After all, some of the cooks we’re training may aspire to join the ranks of restaurants recommended in the famous Michelin Guide.
The Unexpected Origins of the Michelin Guide
Interestingly, the invention of the Michelin Star rating coincides with the invention of the automobile. Michelin Tire founders and French industrialist brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin compiled the first Michelin Guide in 1900 with the aim of creating a demand for automobiles—and, therefore, a need for more Michelin tires.
The French guide was handed out for free and included maps, plus instructions on how to repair and change tyres. To encourage drivers to use their cars and explore a little more, the guide also included a list of restaurants, hotels, mechanics, and gas stations along popular routes in France.
Within a decade, the Michelin Guide expanded rapidly and became available throughout Europe, as well as Northern Africa.
The Evolution of the Michelin Star Rating System
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 temporarily halted production of the guide, but by 1920 it was back on track and about to enter an important new phase. According to a “favourite anecdote” on the Michelin Guide website, Andre Michelin showed up at a tyre shop one day to find one of the guides being used to prop up a workbench.
“Based on the principle that ‘man only truly respects what he pays for,’ a brand new MICHELIN Guide was launched in 1920 and sold for seven francs,” the story goes.
The Michelin brothers ramped up the guide’s quality, eliminated advertising, added a list of hotels in Paris and categorized the list of restaurants. They also recruited mystery diners to visit and review restaurants anonymously.
The guide began awarding Michelin Star ratings in 1926. The restaurants, all of which were in France, were awarded a single star if they were deemed a “fine dining establishment.” In 1931, the rating system expanded to the three-star rating that continues today.
Unlike most star rating systems, one star is not considered a demerit. Any number of Michelin Stars granted to a restaurant signals a huge honour and a rare accomplishment.
The guide took a hiatus during World War II, and only resumed in late 1939 because it contained maps that were useful to the Allied Forces. However, the Michelin Star rating was reduced to a two-star system during this time because of food shortages. Understandably, quality suffered at restaurants throughout Europe, so the yardstick was adjusted accordingly. In 1955, Michelin came up with a rating system that acknowledged restaurants serving high-quality fare at moderate prices, called the Bib Gourmand. This system highlights dining opportunities that are more reflective of economic standards. Because the ratings are customized by region and country based on the cost of living, the Bib Gourmand gives diners a chance to eat well without breaking the bank.
The Michelin Guide in the 21st Century
The Michelin Star rating didn’t take hold in the United States until 2005, and it began by concentrating solely on fine dining in New York City. Today, the Michelin Guide reviews restaurants in select U.S. cities, including Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. If one of your goals as an aspiring chef is to work at a Michelin Star restaurant, you may want to focus on these cities after graduation.
The guide now covers 37 countries in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. It also has a related ranking—the Michelin Green Star—which is awarded to the best, most sustainable restaurants worldwide.
MICHELIN INSPECTOR’S 5 RESTAURANT RATING CRITERIA
As well as providing all the necessary information regarding the product, the form is a virtual guarantee to any prospective purchaser that the product that they are considering to purchase complies with New Zealand’s Code of ‘Winery Record Keeping Practices’ as guide lined by New Zealand Winegrowers. Please complete all information Thank You
