How Does A Restaurant Get A Michelin Star?
Fine dining restaurants thrive on reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations. Getting a Michelin star is getting your restaurant rated the best of the best, through thorough inspections conducted worldwide by thousands of Michelin inspectors. Michelin inspectors are highly trained professionals but what makes this process interesting is that they remain anonymous.
Michelin Star ratings consist of three stars. With inspectors dining at the restaurants as everyday guests, the chefs and owners never know when their restaurant may be rated and by whom. Being awarded a Michelin star rating is no less a feeling of prestige than it is if one were receiving a Nobel Prize in the food industry.
How Much Does It Cost To Get A Michelin Star?
Most simply, Michelin stars cost nothing. You aren’t aware of who the inspector is and hence, they behave like and are treated like everyday customers. Hence, it is true that restaurants do not pay for Michelin stars, and the stars awarded are truly and most appropriately based on the best of the best cuisine.
This, however, does not mean a Michelin star is worth nothing. Your restaurant would be labeled the best in this category if it were to get a Michelin Star.
How Does A Restaurant Get A Michelin Star?
An exert from the Michelin Guide itself states that:
“The Michelin Guide conveys its restaurant reviews through two to three-line short summaries and an extensive system of symbols, the most revered of which are its globally renowned stars.” In other words, the purpose of Michelin stars is to give an authentic review of the restaurant from which customers can decide their visit.
Michelin Inspectors have very specific criteria they must follow. Directly from the source, here are the ranking by which Michelin Star rate your cuisine:
- One Star: High-quality cooking, worth a stop.
- Two Stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour.
- Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.
The ranking of the stars determines the priority your restaurant will be given by hungry customers looking for the best place to eat.
The criteria Michelin star inspectors use to evaluate restaurants hold the utmost importance. Here are some of the things Michelin Star inspectors scrutinize when deciding if a particular restaurant deserves a Michelin Star rating or not:
01. Use of Fresh and High-Quality, Seasonal Ingredients
The quality of your ingredients is key to creating an amazing dish for your customers. One thing Michelin star inspectors look out for is the use of local ingredients in the dishes the restaurant serves.
Where you are situated geographically plays a vital role in what ingredients are fresh and local to you and are easily accessible. Once you have access to inexpensive, fresh, locally grown ingredients, your technique is the next step to perfecting the dish and creating something unique.
These types of dishes are what stand out in Michelin Star restaurants. Sublime food made of local ingredients is something these inspectors are on the lookout for.
02. Mastering Culinary Techniques
The next step the inspectors analyze is the level of expertise the chefs have. The texture, the consistency, the presentation, the temperature and so much more play valuable roles in really grabbing the inspector’s attention and adding that zing to their tastebuds.
The dining experience your customers are a part of is what makes up their decision to return to the restaurant in the future and recommend it to others around them, or if they’ll never return. In other words, it has to be perfect every time.
03. Value For Money
One very big misconception is that Michelin Stars are only awarded to expensive, over-the-top, dine-in establishments. What Michelin Star inspectors are looking for is value for their money, which isn’t necessarily found in only expensive, fancy restaurants.
If they find everything they’re looking for in a small local restaurant on the corner of town, they will award that restaurant with a Michelin star rating. All they need is value for their money in the forms of taste, presentation, flavor, environment, staff behavior, and time taken for the meal to be served.
04. Inspectors’ Reports
Usually, food critics make themselves prominent in their environment and make it aware to the restaurant aware of what they’re here to do. Not Michelin star inspectors. They will maintain their anonymity so well you will never know they ever came and went.
Hence, you must treat every customer as if they’re a Michelin Star inspector. The Michelin inspectors will not base their review and rating on just one visit. They will visit multiple times in months to make up their mind and to assess whether the quality you provide is perfect on every visit and whether the flavors are in sync every time.
Does A Chef or A Restaurant Get A Michelin Star?
The chef does not get a Michelin Star, it is the restaurant that gets the Star. Creating the soulful dish that gives the inspector that wow factor is no doubt, the magic of the chef and the perfection of his techniques, but that does not mean the Michelin Star goes to the chef.
Reaching Michelin Standards can only be possible through the skillful and precise preparation techniques used by the chef in the cooking, but this is usually not obtained by just one chef in the kitchen. Multiple chefs are working at a time to reach the utmost perfection.
The stars go to the whole team and that is done by awarding the restaurant with it instead of just the ones in the kitchen, which would be unfair to those who work outside the kitchen to help create an ambiance.
What Happens If You Lose A Michelin Star?
Due to the stars being awarded every year, this annual inspection must be kept up-to-date. All the criteria mentioned above must be met all over again and if certain criteria are no longer being met, a restaurant can lose a Michelin Star.
It is the whole process all over again every year and hence restaurants are annually added and subtracted from the list on the Michelin Guide.
You can win back lost stars by meeting all the Michelin criteria, improving the quality of your ingredients, and taste of the cuisine, and showing the inspectors what your restaurant truly is.
Which Country Has The Most Michelin Star Restaurants?
France is the country holding the record for most Michelin-star restaurants. It has 556 restaurants that have been awarded with Michelin Star. However, the Michelin Guide is not limited to specific countries and has a global presence, with editions covering various regions worldwide.
How long do Michelin Stars Last?
Michelin Stars last from one year to the next. The list of Michelin Star-awarded restaurants is released in October every year. If your restaurant is awarded with Michelin Stars for consecutive years, yours will be moved up every year.
What Is The Highest Michelin Star?
Three stars is the highest Michelin Star rating that can be given to a restaurant. Dishes made by restaurants awarded with three stars are considered forms of art and have reached peak perfection in every aspect you can imagine.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a restaurant become a Michelin Star?
A restaurant can become a Michelin Star when it has reached culinary excellence. All aspects like taste, presentation, consistency, flavor, ambiance, and even temperature have to be evaluated.
Is it hard to get a Michelin star?
It does not come easy as you have to commit to excellence when serving your dishes.
Are Michelin stars given to chefs or restaurants?
Michelin Stars are given to restaurants.
Does Gordon Ramsay have a Michelin Star?
Gordan Ramsay himself does not have a Michelin Star, Gordan Ramsay Restaurants do have Michelin Stars, 17 in total as of last year.
Are Michelin stars and tires related?
Yes, Michelin Stars and Michelin Tires are related. They are in the same company.
Can chefs lose Michelin stars?
Yes, if excellence is not maintained then the restaurant that previously had a Michelin star, can lose it. The chefs themselves do not have any Michelin stars.
Final Thoughts
Being awarded a Michelin star review is not easy but it is worth it. People from around the world will come to try your cuisine and will enjoy the experience the same way the inspectors have.
Receiving Michelin Stars means your dishes have been labeled over-the-top and of culinary excellence which is a prestigious award.
