Why The Michelin Guide May No Longer Be The Restaurant Bible it Once Was
And if you can’t trust the tastemakers, who can you trust?
The best meal I ever ate was at a one-star Michelin restaurant.
It was in a pub on the windswept coast of southern England. Nothing overtly fussy — a menu of simple, local food. We were served by young people in flannel shirts from the nearby village.
I can still feel the texture of the flaky pastry that enveloped their mushroom tart.
The worst meal I ever ate was also in a one-star Michelin restaurant.
A group of friends had booked it for my 40th birthday just last week. The service was bad, as was the food. It was combative — a challenge set by the chef that I didn’t ask for nor want.
I can still taste the fermented melon broth over a frozen oyster. A dish that tasted like sour milk.
For 124 years the Michelin guide has been the dining-out bible. The epitome of taste. Something you can trust when you want to eat somewhere elevated.
For a long time, I trusted the guide too. I’ve eaten at many Michelin-starred joints over the years (working in the wine trade comes with mad perks). During my eight years of being a Sommelier, I was also the wine…
