Michelin Stars C’est quoi ça ?

What is a Michelin Star?

A Michelin Star is something that higher end restaurants can earn to show how good their restaurant is. These are coveted awards for restaurants.

How did it start? In 1900 the Michelin Tire Company launched its first guidebook to encourage road-tripping in France. In 1926 it sent out anonymous reviewers to try restaurants in France and report back as to quality of ingredients and overall taste. Findings were recorded in their Michelin guides to many cities, but mostly in France.

Michelin has a full time staff of anonymous reviewers. They must be: passionate about food have a good eye for detail great taste memory to recall and compare types of food A Michelin Star reviewer must be a “chameleon” who can blend in with the surroundings as if they are an ordinary customer.

Each time a reviewer goes to a restaurant, he or she will write a thorough report about their experience. Reviewers then come together to discuss and decide which restaurants will be awarded the stars. In this way, Michelin is different from other review sources such as Zagat or Yelp, which rely on consumer feedback via the internet.

What do the reviewers look for? Quality Mastery of technique Personality and consistency of food They do not look for Interior décor Table setting Quality of service

How are the stars awarded? Restaurants can earn 0 to 3 stars based on the reviews. One star: A good place to stop on your journey, indicating a very good restaurant in its category, offering cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. Two stars: A restaurant worth a detour, indicating excellent cuisine and skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality. Three stars: A restaurant worth a special journey, indicating exceptional cuisine where diners eat extremely well, often superbly. Dishes are precisely executed, using superlative ingredients.

These stars are coveted because the vast majority of restaurants receive no stars at all. For example, the Michelin Guide to Chicago 2014 includes almost 500 restaurants. Only one restaurant received three stars; four restaurants received two stars and 20 restaurants received one star.

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