The Michelin Guide is a guidebook issued by the Michelin tire company, first created in 1900 to increase demand for tires by encouraging recreational travel. The first American Michelin Guide arrived in 2005, for New York City.
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Every year, Michelin—a tire company—transforms the culinary world through its prestigious Michelin Stars. Starting in 1900 as a guide to boost road travel, Michelin evolved into the global authority on fine dining. Today, anonymous inspectors assess restaurants across 30 countries, awarding one to three stars for quality, consistency, and creativity.
Michelin may be chiefly concerned with tires, but it's also known for its restaurant rating system, commonly referred to as “Michelin Stars.” The guide awards restaurants between one and three stars to designate varying levels of excellence in cuisine.
Stars are the most prestigious of Michelin’s ratings and are often—but not exclusively—awarded to high-end, expensive restaurants. In addition to the Guide's famous stars, restaurants are also recognized for "Comfort and Quality," which includes a five-point scale.
The first Michelin Guide was released in 1900 to increase demand for Michelin's tires by encouraging recreational travel. The guides included road maps and recommendations for mechanics, hotels, and restaurants. Nearly 35,000 copies of the first guide were distributed—at a time when there were fewer than 3,000 cars in France.
When cars first debuted in France, only a few thousand were on the road. The founders of a tire company, André and Édouard Michelin, developed a free guide for travelers to know the best hotels, mechanics, and restaurants across France, to encourage more driving and, therefore, tire sales.
In the 1920s, the Michelin brothers employed anonymous inspectors to review restaurants in their guides. Inspired by other popular European guidebooks, they added the Michelin Star in 1926 to mark the best restaurants in France. In 1931, it was expanded to the current system of up to three stars.
A Michelin star generally increases customer traffic for a restaurant. Still, prestige does not guarantee improved finances. According to a 2017 report, half the European restaurants with more than one star weren’t making a profit. However, losing a star can also be devastating.
The first street vendor to win a Michelin star was Singaporean chef Hawker Chan, whose food was uncharacteristically inexpensive for a Michelin-approved chef. After expanding, he lost the star, but was eventually awarded a Bib Gourmand Michelin Man symbol, which recognizes restaurants serving exceptional food at more accessible prices.
Michelin stars must be maintained year-to-year. Restaurants have lost their stars for a variety of reasons, including chef changes and inconsistent quality.
Go behind the scenes with Gwendal Poullennec, international director of The Michelin Guide and the man who oversees all those anonymous inspectors. This short video dives into who the inspectors are, the training process, and what they look for in a meal.
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