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Michelin Guide

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File:Michelin nyc 2006.jpg
New York City 2006
First Michelin Red Guide for North America

The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term refers by default to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars. Michelin also publishes Green Guides for travel and tourism, as well as several newer publications such as the Guide Voyageur Pratique (independent travel), Guide Gourmand (good-value eating-places), Guide Escapade (quick breaks) and Guide Coup de Cœur (hotels of character).

History

André Michelin published the first edition of the guide to help drivers maintain their cars, find decent lodging, and eat well while touring France. It included addresses of gasoline distributors, garages, tire stockists, and information on fuel prices, changing tires and repairing automobiles.

The guide was distributed freely from 1900 until 1920. The Michelin brothers introduced the charge to establish more credibility after a pile of guides were found propping up a garage workbench. The guide introduced the star in 1926 to note good cooking; two and three stars were added in the early 1930s. The cover of the guide was originally blue, but since 1931 has been red.

As motoring became more widespread, the star system was developed and guides to other countries introduced. Today a series of twelve guides list more than 45,000 hotels and restaurants across Europe, and the guide to France has sold 30 million copies since it was introduced. There are now Red Guides covering France, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium/Luxembourg, Italy, Germany, Spain/Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK/Ireland. The guide covering France is still by far the most thorough. There is also a Red Guide covering the "Main Cities of Europe". The first guides for cities outside of Europe were published in 2006 for New York City and for San Francisco (Hauman).

Guides for Tokyo, Los Angeles and Las Vegas have been released since November 2007. In guides released in November 2008, Tokyo was awarded a total of 227 stars; 9 restaurants were given three stars, 36 two stars, and 128 one star. This is more than three times New York City's total, and more than twice as many as Paris's total.[1] (It should be noted, however, that Tokyo is home to 160,000 restaurants, versus New York City's 25,000 and Paris's 13,000.[2])

A guide for Hong Kong and Macau was published on 5 December 2008.

In 2008, German restaurateur Juliane Caspar was appointed the editor-in-chief position of the French edition of the Guide.[3] She is the first female and non-French national to take over at the French edition.[4]

Red and Green Guides

The Michelin Red Guide has historically had many more listings than its rivals, relying on an extensive system of symbols to describe each establishment in as little as two lines. Restaurants rated with a star also listed three specialities. Recently, however, very short summaries (2-3 lines) have been added for many establishments, for example 9,000 in France. These short summaries are written in the language of the country for which it is published, but the symbols are universal. The Red Guide uses anonymous inspections and does not charge for entries.[5] Michelin claims to revisit establishments on average once every eighteen months in order to keep ratings up to date.

There is a Green Guide for each French region and many countries, regions, and cities outside France. Most Green Guides on France are available in several languages. They include background information and an alphabetical section describing points of interest. Like the Red Guide, they use a three-star system for recommending sights: three stars, "worth the trip"; two stars, "worth a detour"; one star, "interesting".

Michelin stars and other ratings

The guide awards one to three stars to a small number of restaurants of outstanding quality. Stars are awarded sparingly; for instance, in the UK and Ireland 2004 guide, out of 5,500 entries, there are 98 with one star ("a very good restaurant in its category"), 11 with two stars ("excellent cooking, worth a detour"), and only 3 with three stars ("exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey").

Since 1955, the guide has also highlighted restaurants offering "good food at moderate prices", a feature now called "Bib Gourmand". They must have a menu priced at no more than £28 in the case of the UK, or €40 in Ireland. The name comes from Bib (Bibendum), the Michelin Man, Michelin's logo for over a century.

The guide also recognizes many restaurants without any stars or Bib Gourmands. These restaurants are usually rated solely on the scale of "forks and knives". The forks and knives rating is given to all restaurants recognized in the guide, and range from one to five, one fork and knife being "Quite comfortable restaurant" and five being "Luxurious restaurant". If the forks and knives are colored red they designate the restaurant to be "pleasant" as well. The forks and knives scale is designated to speak of the overall comfortability and quality of the restaurant, however any listing in the guide requires a relatively high standard of the kitchen as well.

Restaurants, independently of their other ratings in the guide, can also receive a number of other symbols next to their listing.

  • The coins are given to restaurants that serve a menu for a certain price or less. The price depends on the local price-standard. In France the required price is currently €16.50.
  • Interesting view or Magnificent view, designated by a black or red symbol, are given to restaurants that offer dining with a view.
  • The grapes are given to restaurants that serve a somewhat interesting assortment of wine.

1-3 stars

Further reading

  • Trois étoiles au Michelin: Une histoire de la haute gastronomie française et européenne, by Jean-François Mesplède and Alain Ducasse, ISBN 2-7000-2468-0. Follows the 60-odd chefs who have been awarded three stars.
  • The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine, by Rudolph Chelminski, ISBN 9780141021935. The story of Bernard Loiseau.

See also

References

  1. ^ Tokyo shines with 227 Michelin stars
  2. ^ Michelin Gives Stars, but Tokyo Turns Up Nose nytimes.com. Retrieved on February 24, 2008.
  3. ^ Connolly, Kate (2008-12-17). "German woman appointed as editor of Michelin Guide". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  4. ^ Schofield, Hugh (2008-12-20). "German woman edits Michelin guide". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  5. ^ "How does an inspector actually inspect an establishment?". michelin.com. Retrieved September 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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