What does it take to make Michelin’s coveted guide?
But despite how seriously they’re taken today, the restaurant rating system has humble beginnings.
Michelin guides were originally a promotional freebie from the eponymous French tire company.
Credit: © Alex Filz
The three-star ranking is considered the highest accolade in the industry.
Here’s what it takes to earn a star and what each ranking means.
This is not entirely insignificant, however.
Many restaurants never see the inside of a Michelin Guide, much less a star.
The Michelin Plate indicates “restaurants where the inspectors have discovered quality food.”
This addition was introduced in the guide’s 2018 edition.
The category covers everything from Bangkok street food stalls to French brasseries to Tokyo izakaya.
Appropriately, the symbol indicating a Bib Gourmand restaurant is the Michelin Man himself.
Michelin commends these restaurants for offering exceptional cuisine, with skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality.
According to Michelin, you’ll want to go out of your way to have a meal there.
Basically, the guide says theserestaurants are worth traveling for.
Who Makes the Michelin Guide?
More mysterious than the Michelin Guide’s criteria for selection are the people who make those decisions.
Michelin covers the costs of their inspectors' travel but not that of any guests or companions.
On average, a Michelin inspector drives more than 18,000 miles a year and eats at 240 different restaurants.
A casual analysis of Michelin rankings does give these observations some merit.
Italy is in third place, much to the dismay of Italians.
These qualities tend to cost a lot.
The least expensive three-star restaurants have three dollar signs, and there are only five of them.
