Michelin Stars Explained

When we hear of a restaurant having one or more Michelin stars, we envision fine dining at it’s, well, finest. It means that the restaurant and, especially, the restaurant’s chef are considered world class in the food and dining experience they offer diners.

Because of all the glitz and glamour, pomp and circumstance that surrounds Michelin stars, it might be surprising to learn that the origins of this rating system came from a need to sell tires.

In fact, a very specific tire company was involved in this restaurant rating over a hundred years ago. If you haven’t already guessed by now, that would be the Michelin Tire Company.

In 1889, French brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin founded a tire company in Clermont-Ferrand. They created several innovations such as removable pneumatic tires, the first automobile tire to handle speeds over 100km per hour (or 62 miles per hour), the first removable rim, and even rubber tires for trains. As far as innovations go, however, their most imaginative creation is arguable the Michelin star.

Around this time there were approximately less than 3,000 vehicles on the road in France. Major roadways had not yet been constructed and so the Michelin brothers decided to provide free travel guides beginning in 1900. These guides were essentially books that shared travel destinations in France, maps, locations of mechanics and gas stations, and recommendations on lodging and dining.

Besides offering drivers a helping hand, the Michelin brothers were hoping to encourage longer car trips which, in turn, would lead to higher demand for their tires.

As the years went on, the brothers began publishing their booklets in other European countries. The increase in popularity of the guides led to the decision to begin charging for them in 1920. By 1926, Michelin was publishing more in depth travel guides with more of a focus on fine dining experiences. In 1931, the company began using the three-star system.

Michelin three-star ratings:

1 star = a very good restaurant in its category.

2 star = excellent cooking, worth a detour.

3 star = exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.

Over the past century, Michelin has been able to retain the reputation as an authority on good taste. The guide is now in more than 25 countries, although in some countries the focus is only on specific cities.

As for the reviewing process itself, Michelin does its best to remain secretive. The inspectors are said to have extensive background in the culinary arts, with some being former chefs. Inspectors are anonymous and might visit a restaurant multiple times over the course of a few years before nominating it for star, all without taking any notes.

Certain key criteria include the quality of the products, a chef’s mastery of flavor and cooking techniques, the ability of a chef to add their own unique personality to the cuisine, and consistency between visits of both the food and dining experience.

Consistency definitely seems to be critical as one bad night that happens to coincide with a visiting inspector could lead to no stars or even a removal of stars.

Here are the top 5 countries and areas by number of Michelin 3-Star Restaurants based on the 2018 and 2019 Michelin Guides:

1. Japan with 29 restaurants
2. France with 27 restaurants
3. United States with 14 restaurants
4. Italy / Spain with 11 restaurants each
5. Germany / Hong Kong with 10 restaurants each

These are the top 5 cities with the most Michelin stars:

1. Tokyo has 230 Michelin starred restaurants
2. Paris has 123 stars
3. Kyoto has 103 starred locations
4. Osaka has 97 starred restaurants
5. New York City has 77 Michelin starred locations

Fun facts:

• Michelin’s mascot, the one with the big pillowy silhouette, is one of the world’s oldest company mascots and was created in 1898. This character does actually have a name, Bibendum, which originates from the Latin “nunc est bibendum” which translates to “now is the time to drink”. The name was meant to insinuate that Michelin tires could “drink up” any obstacles in their way.
• In 1955, Michelin created the Bib Gourmand which acknowledges restaurants serving high quality meals at moderate prices to help encourage fine dining at more economic prices.