Michelin Guide · Lablypedia

History

In 1900, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on the roads of France. To increase the demand for cars, and accordingly car tyres, car tyre manufacturers and brothers Édouard and André Michelin published a guide for French motorists, the Guide Michelin (Michelin Guide). Michelin distributed nearly 35,000 copies of this first, free edition. It provided information to motorists such as maps, tyre repair and replacement instructions, and listings of auto mechanics, hotels, and petrol stations throughout France.

The founders thought the Guide might encourage car owners to drive more, which would increase tyre wear and in turn boost replacement sales. In 1904, the brothers published a guide for Belgium; and then for Algeria and Tunisia (1907); the Alps and the Rhine (northern Italy, Switzerland, Bavaria, and the Netherlands) (1908); Germany, Spain, and Portugal (1910); the British Isles (1911); and "The Countries of the Sun" (Les Pays du Soleil) covering northern Africa, southern Italy, and Corsica (1911). In 1909, Michelin published an English-language translation of the guide to France.

During World War I, Michelin suspended publication of the Guide. After the war, revised editions of the guide continued to be given away until 1920. Then, when André Michelin visited a tyre merchant and noticed copies of the guide being used to prop up a workbench, he recalled the principle that "man only truly respects what he pays for". Michelin began to charge for the guide, 7 francs in 1922 (equivalent to €9 in 2025). Michelin also made several changes, such as listing restaurants by specific categories, adding hotel listings (initially only for Paris), and removing advertisements. Recognizing the growing popularity of the restaurant section, the brothers recruited a team of anonymous inspectors to visit and review restaurants. Following the usage in Murray's Handbooks for Travellers and the Baedeker Guides, Michelin's guide began to award stars for superior restaurants in 1926. Initially, Michelin awarded only one star to the best restaurants. In 1931, Michelin introduced a hierarchy of zero, one, two, and three stars for restaurants. In 1936, Michelin published the criteria for its restaurant rankings:

: "A very good restaurant in its category" (Une très bonne table dans sa catégorie)
: "Excellent cooking, worth a detour" (Table excellente, mérite un détour)
: "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey" (Une des meilleures tables, vaut le voyage).

In 1931, Michelin changed the color of the cover from blue to red, which has continued in all later editions. During World War II, Michelin again suspended publication. In 1944, at the Allied Forces' request, the 1939 guide to France was specially reprinted for military use; its maps were judged the best and most up-to-date available. Publication of the annual guide resumed on 16 May 1945, a week after Victory in Europe Day. In the early post-war years, the lingering effects of wartime shortages led Michelin to impose an upper limit of two stars in restaurant ratings; by 1950, the French edition listed 38 establishments judged to meet this standard. In 1954, the guide cost 750 francs (equivalent to €20 in 2025). The first Michelin Guide for Italy was published in 1956. It awarded no stars in the first edition. In 1974, the first guide to Britain since 1931 was published. Twenty-five stars were awarded.

In 2005, Michelin published its first American guide, covering 500 restaurants in the five boroughs of New York City and 50 hotels in Manhattan. In 2007, a Tokyo guide was launched. In the same year, the guide introduced a magazine, Étoile. In 2008, a Hong Kong and Macau volume was added. As of 2013, the guide was published in 14 editions covering 23 countries. In 2008, the German restaurateur Juliane Caspar was appointed the first woman and first non-French national editor-in-chief of the French edition of the guide. She had previously been responsible for the Michelin guides to Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The German newspaper Die Welt commented on the appointment, "In view of the fact German cuisine is regarded as a lethal weapon in most parts of France, this decision is like Mercedes announcing that its new director of product development is a Martian."

The Korea Tourism Organization commissioned Michelin to include South Korea in its 2016 edition at a cost of 3.2 billion won (over US$1 million); government officials were unhappy with the resulting inaccuracies, which included typographic errors, translation errors, and description errors regarding seating options. In 2017, the Tourism Authority of Thailand agreed to pay 144 million Thai baht (US$4.4 million) over five years for the inclusion of their country. In 2022, the guide expanded to Canada, with guides covering Toronto and Vancouver, in return for undisclosed payments from each city's local chapter of Destination Canada. The guide announced its first list of restaurants in the US state of Florida on 9 June 2022, after the state and city tourism boards in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa, agreed to collectively pay the company up to US$1.5 million. The guide awarded a single two-star ranking and fourteen one-star rankings, and 29 Bib Gourmands.

In late 2022, the guide expanded to Vietnam, Malaysia, Estonia, and the United Arab Emirates in return for undisclosed payments. In February 2023, Israel's Ministry of Tourism announced a bid to bring the Michelin Guide to their country for a payment of €1.5 million. Also in 2023, the guide expanded to several cities in Colorado (Aspen, Beaver Creek Resort, Boulder, Denver, Snowmass Village, and Vail) that paid between US$70,000 and US$100,000 on top of a state contribution; other cities (Aurora, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Grand Junction) declined to participate. In September 2023 the Michelin Guide also expanded to Atlanta, in return for a payment of US$1 million over three years. In October 2023, the guide announced that it would start awarding stars to hotels (following the restaurant model).

In the early 2020s, Michelin began requiring certain countries which had previously received reviews to pay for continued coverage. Hungary, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic agreed to do so. In 2025, the guide planned to expand to the southeastern United States, called the American South edition, which includes Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The edition will include the Atlanta guide. A few months later, on 12 May 2025, Michelin announced plans to expand the guide to Boston and Philadelphia, with the restaurant selections to be revealed later in the year. The press release stated that these would be included in the "newly minted MICHELIN Guide Northeast Cities edition", which would also include the already-rated cities of Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Tourism board Meet Boston reportedly paid over $1 million for three years of coverage, sourced from hotel surcharges in Boston and neighbouring Cambridge, Massachusetts. Michelin planned expansion to the Philippines in 2026, covering the Greater Manila Area and Cebu.

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Transition to digital publication

The Michelin Guide ended printed copies in 2021 in most markets. After 121 years, Michelin transitioned to digital publication and released a proprietary app. This allowed Michelin to distribute the guide to a larger audience at no charge. As of 2024, a handful of popular regions, France, Italy, Japan and Spain, remain in printed publication.

Methods and layout

Red Guides have historically listed many more restaurants than rival guides, relying on an extensive system of symbols to describe each one in as little as two lines. Reviews of starred restaurants also include two to three culinary specialties. Short summaries (2–3 lines) were added in 2002/2003 to enhance descriptions of many establishments. These summaries are written in the language of the country for which the guide is published (though the Spain and Portugal volume is in Spanish only) but the symbols are the same throughout all editions.

Stars

Michelin inspectors (reviewers) visit restaurants anonymously, and they award one, two, or three stars for those considered at least very good:

: "High-quality cooking, worth a stop" (Cuisine de qualité, mérite une halte)
: "Excellent cooking, worth a detour" (Cuisine excellente, mérite un détour)
: "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey" (Une des meilleures cuisines, vaut le voyage).

The Michelin Guide website gives a comprehensive explanation of the stars and criteria for awarding them:

One MICHELIN Star is awarded to restaurants using top quality ingredients, where dishes with distinct flavours are prepared to a consistently high standard.

Two MICHELIN Stars are awarded when the personality and talent of the chef are evident in their expertly crafted dishes; their food is refined and inspired.

Three MICHELIN Stars is our highest award, given for the superlative cooking of chefs at the peak of their profession; their cooking is elevated to an art form and some of their dishes are destined to become classics.

Inspectors' meals and expenses are paid for by Michelin, never by a restaurant being reviewed.

Michelin has gone to extraordinary lengths to maintain the anonymity of its inspectors. Many of the company's top executives have never met an inspector; inspectors themselves are advised not to disclose their line of work, even to their parents (who might be tempted to boast about it); and, in all the years that it has been putting out the guide, Michelin has refused to allow its inspectors to speak to journalists. The inspectors write reports that are distilled, in annual "stars meetings" at the guide's various national offices, into the ranking of three stars, two stars, or one star—or no stars (establishments that Michelin deems unworthy of a visit are not included in the guide).

The French chef Paul Bocuse, one of the pioneers of nouvelle cuisine in the 1960s, said, "Michelin is the only guide that counts." In France, when the guide is published each year, it sparks a media frenzy which has been compared to that for annual Academy Awards for films. Media and others debate likely winners, speculation is rife, and TV and newspapers discuss which restaurant might lose, retain, or gain a Michelin star. The Michelin Guide also awards "Rising Stars", an indication that a restaurant has the potential to qualify for a star, or an additional star.

Green stars

In 2020, the Michelin Guide launched a sustainability emblem to symbolise excellence in sustainable gastronomy. An establishment awarded this green star is given space on the Guide's website for the chef to describe the restaurant's vision. A green star can be held concurrently with other designations awarded by Michelin – including standard Michelin stars, a Bib Gourmand, or being on the recommended list. In May 2026, Michelin announced that the Green Star would be gradually phased out by the end of 2026 and replaced by an editorial platform called Mindful Voices.

Bib Gourmand

Since 1997, the guide has highlighted restaurants offering "exceptionally good food at moderate prices", a feature now called "Bib Gourmand". They must offer a combination of menu items priced below a maximum determined by local economic standards. For example, a Bib Gourmand restaurant in Canada must have been able to offer a two-course meal and either dessert or a glass of wine for less than 60 CAD per person in 2022. Bib (Bibendum) is the company's nickname for the Michelin Man, its corporate logo for over a century. Like Michelin stars, a restaurant can gain or lose a Bib Gourmand designation at Michelin's annual award ceremony for the region where it operates. In exceptional circumstances, Bib Gourmand designated restaurants have gone on to receive a Michelin star in later years, including the Chicago restaurant and bakery Kasama, which earned a star in 2022 after receiving a Bib Gourmand the year prior.

Selected Restaurants

In 2016, the Plate was added as a new symbol to recognize restaurants that "simply serve good food". In 2022, Michelin dropped the use of "the Plate" for this designation, and instead titled this tier "Selected Restaurants".

Keys, for hotels

Michelin began awarding "keys" to hotels starting in 2024. Michelin states that the key award will be given after stays conducted anonymously by Michelin Guide selection teams use five criteria: excellence in architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, overall personality and character, value for the price, and a significant contribution to the neighbourhood or setting. The Michelin Guide selection recommends over 6,000 hotels around the world.

Grapes, for wine estates

In July 2026, Michelin began awarding “grapes”, a new rating system to evaluate wine estates as opposed to specific bottles or vintages. Estates will receive one, two, or three grapes signifying very good, excellent and exceptional producers. Michelin began their selections with the Burgundy region.

Guides

Countries

Regions and cities

Non-restaurant food

In 2014, Michelin introduced a separate listing for gastropubs in Ireland. In 2016, the Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macau introduced an overview of notable street-food establishments. In the same year, the Singapore guide introduced the first Michelin stars for street-food locations, for Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle.

Other ratings

All listed restaurants, regardless of their star, Bib Gourmand, or Plate status, also receive a "fork and spoon" designation, as a subjective reflection of the overall comfort and quality of the restaurant. Rankings range from one to five: one fork and spoon represents a "comfortable restaurant" and five signifies a "luxurious restaurant". Forks and spoons coloured red designate a restaurant that is considered "pleasant" as well. Restaurants, independently of their other ratings in the guide, can also receive a number of other symbols next to their listing:

Coins indicate restaurants that serve a menu for a certain price or less, depending on the local monetary standard. In 2010 France, 2011 US and Japan Red Guides, the maximum permitted "coin" prices were €19, $25, and ¥5000, respectively.
Interesting view or Magnificent view, designated by a black or red symbol, are given to restaurants offering those features.
Grapes, a sake set, or a cocktail glass indicate restaurants that offer at minimum a "somewhat interesting" selection of wines, sake, or cocktails, respectively.

Green Guides

The Michelin Green Guides review and rate attractions other than restaurants. There is a Green Guide for France as a whole, and a more detailed one for each of ten regions within France. Other Green Guides cover many countries, regions, and cities outside France. Many Green Guides are published in several languages. They include background information and an alphabetical section describing points of interest. Like the Red Guides, they use a three-star system for recommending sites, ranging from "worth a trip" to "worth a detour" and "interesting".

Controversies

Allegations of lax inspection standards and bias

Pascal Rémy, a veteran France-based Michelin inspector, and also a former Gault Millau employee, wrote a tell-all book, L'Inspecteur se met à table (The Inspector Sits Down at the Table), published in 2004. Rémy's employment was terminated in December 2003 when he informed Michelin of his plans to publish his book. He brought a court case for unfair dismissal, which was unsuccessful.

Rémy described the French Michelin inspector's life as lonely, underpaid drudgery, driving around France for weeks on end, dining alone, under intense pressure to file detailed reports to strict deadlines. He maintained that the guide had become lax in its standards. Although Michelin states that its inspectors visited all 4,000 reviewed restaurants in France every 18 months, and all starred restaurants several times a year, Rémy said only about one visit every 3+1⁄2 years was possible because there were only 11 inspectors in France when he was hired rather than the 50 or more hinted by Michelin. He said that number had shrunk to five by the time he was fired in December 2003.

Rémy accused the guide of favouritism. He alleged that Michelin treated famous and influential chefs, such as Paul Bocuse and Alain Ducasse, as "untouchable" and not subject to the same rigorous standards as lesser-known chefs. Michelin denied Rémy's charges, but refused to say how many inspectors it actually employed in France. In response to Rémy's statement that certain three-star chefs were sacrosanct, Michelin said, "There would be little sense in saying a restaurant was worth three stars if it weren't true, if for no other reason than that the customer would write and tell us."

Allegations of prejudice favouring French cuisine

Some non-French food critics have alleged that the rating system is biased in favour of French cuisine or French dining standards. British newspaper The Guardian commented in 1997 that "some people maintain the guide's principal purpose is as a tool of Gallic cultural imperialism". When Michelin published its first New York City Red Guide in 2005 Steven Kurutz of The New York Times observed that Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe, a restaurant rated highly by The New York Times, Zagat Survey, and other prominent guides, received a no-star rating from Michelin; he acknowledged that the restaurant received positive mention for its ambiance and that two other restaurants owned by Meyer received stars. Kurutz also said the guide appeared to favour restaurants that "emphasized formality and presentation" rather than a "casual approach to fine dining". He said over half of the restaurants that received one or two stars "could be considered French". The Michelin Guide New York 2007 included 526 restaurants, compared to 2,014 in Zagat New York 2007; after The Four Seasons Restaurant received no stars in that edition, co-owner Julian Niccolini said Michelin "should stay in France, and they should keep their guide there".

Allegations of leniency with stars for Japanese cuisine

In 2007, Tokyo's restaurants were awarded the most stars and in 2010 other Japanese cities like Kyoto and Osaka also received many stars. At the time this sparked questions from some over whether these high ratings were merited for Japanese restaurants, or whether the Michelin Guide was too generous in giving out stars to gain an acceptance with Japanese customers and to enable the tyre-selling parent company to market itself in Japan. Some argued that the discrepancy is explained by the difference in total restaurants in each city: Tokyo has 160,000 restaurants while Paris, for example, has just 40,000. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2010 that some Japanese chefs were surprised at receiving a star and were reluctant to accept one because the publicity caused an unmanageable jump in bookings, affecting their ability to serve their traditional customers without compromising on lowering the quality of their dishes.

Unwanted stars

Some restaurateurs have asked Michelin to revoke a star because they felt that it created undesirable customer expectations, or pressure to spend more on service and decor. Notable cases include:

Casa Julio (Fontanars dels Alforins, Spain). After receiving a star for a perfumed cuisine in 2009, the restaurant chef Julio Biosca felt the award was granted to dishes that he did not like and which restricted his creativity. He tried to remove his star, and in December 2013 he discontinued his tasting menu. The removal took place in the 2015 guide.
Petersham Nurseries Café (London): After receiving a star in 2011, founder and chef Skye Gyngell received complaints from customers expecting formal dining, leading to her attempt to remove the star, and her subsequent retirement from the restaurant. She has since said she regretted her remarks and would have welcomed a star.
't Huis van Lede (Belgium). After receiving a star in 2014, chef Frederick Dhooge said he did not want his Michelin star or his points in the Gault-Millau restaurant guide, stating: "We noticed that this is not always understood by a group of customers that expect a spectacle of stars and points kitchen" from a Michelin-starred restaurant rather than simple food. Dhooge complained about expectations for decor and originality: "The customers expect a parade of appetizers when the gastronomic menu starts, in a setting that, according to them, also deserves one star. Take a shrimp croquette. People expect a starred chef to give his own interpretation of that dish. I just want to make a really good shrimp croquette."
Marco Pierre White, the first British chef to be awarded three Michelin stars, quit his restaurant and returned his stars in 1999, citing the pressure of maintaining them and the resulting monotony, and questioning the competence of the inspectors who granted them.

Losing stars

The pressure to retain Michelin stars can be immense, as the loss of a star will almost inevitably have a significant impact on business. It is widely believed that chef Bernard Loiseau died by suicide in 2003 after hearing the rumour that his three-star restaurant, La Côte d'Or, would be demoted to two stars.

Mistakes

In 2017, the Bouche à Oreille café in Bourges, France, was accidentally given a star when it was confused with a restaurant of the same name in Boutervilliers, near Paris.

Influence on cuisine and working conditions

In the 21st century, some American chefs, restaurant owners, and officials interviewed by The New York Times criticised the guide for creating a type of sameness, rewarding expensive fine dining attributes, luxury ingredients, expensive tableware, matching uniforms, many-course menus, small bites, and meticulously arranged plating. High-quality fine dining in Western countries is labour-intensive, putting pressure on line chef wages. Because of their high status, Michelin-starred fine dining restaurants often rely on staging, a form of unpaid internship. At the three-star restaurant Noma, chef-owner René Redzepi yielded to public pressure in 2022 and began paying interns. After three months, Redzepi announced the restaurant was no longer financially sustainable and that the concept would close at the end of 2024. The power imbalance between chef-owners and staff has also resulted in workers at some fine-dining restaurants producing intricate dishes complaining of very long hours, difficulty affording food, physical and sexual abuse, refusal of permission to treat injuries at a hospital, and destruction of workers' personal property. Most chefs interviewed by The New York Times said the increase in business and job applicants that comes with the publicity around a Michelin star makes it worth seeking. Many also said the competition for stars improves restaurant quality.