More than a simple review

The Michelin star is more than a simple restaurant grade: it has come to define food

Chef Jean-George at his new restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach. Victor Besa / The National
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A funny thing happened to a humble workmen’s cafe in France last week. A cafe in the central French city of Bourges catering to diners more accustomed to wearing high-visibility vests than designer clothes was briefly awarded a coveted Michelin star. Sharing its name with an upscale restaurant, reporters and foodies showed up at the wrong restaurant (both went by the name Le Bouche à Oreille) much to the surprise of the cafe’s owners.

The episode highlights the power and prestige associated with a Michelin star. What began as a part of a travel guide series, launched by the Michelin tyre company in 1926, has become a cultural phenomenon that can make or break a chef’s career.

In 1900, the French tyre company Michelin began publishing travel guides for Europe. The guide quickly became an essential resource for eager travellers ready to explore the continent. Given its popularity, Michelin started sending out anonymous restaurant reviewers (whom they called inspectors) in 1926 to find Europe’s greatest restaurants, and the Michelin star was born.

One star indicated that an establishment was worth a stop given the high standard of cuisine on offer, while three stars denoted something truly extraordinary. A three-starred restaurant was worth a journey by itself.

The guide initially focused on Europe, but has expanded to include New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo, Seoul, North Africa and other parts of the world.

That reporters believed a little cafe in a forgotten small French town could receive a Michelin star is testament to the tenacity of the guide’s reviewers in seeking out every restaurant, no matter how far afield.

The Michelin guide has remained remarkably unaffected by changes in the food world. Chefs have had their careers rise and fall on the backs of Michelin stars. Restaurants have become veritable institutions after receiving years of Michelin attention.

Of course, there have been controversies (including claims that the guide favours French cuisine, style and technique over all others) and even restaurants that have refused Michelin stars, such as Casa Julio in Spain and Petersham Nurseries Cafe in London. But the system has remained more or less the same.

Perhaps the greatest change to the Michelin star system was the inclusion of bib gourmand restaurants that featured exceptional food at moderate prices. Bib gourmand allowed the guide to appeal to a bigger audience that was not only interested in formal dining experiences.

The food world has not been immune to social media changes. Today’s hottest new restaurants rely as much on Instagram as the Michelin star system to attract customers. But after nearly a century, the Michelin star doesn’t appear to be going anywhere and will continue to define the best food in the world. Tradition, it would seem, still has currency in the food community.