Today, a Michelin Star is the most prestigious award in the restaurant business (they are called the Oscars of this industry).
There are upto three Michelin Stars that a restaurant can earn.
One Michelin Star means “a very good restaurant”; two means “excellent cooking that is worth a detour”; three means “exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.”
There are five criteria that a restaurant is judged against: A) quality of the ingredients used, B) mastery of flavour and cooking techniques, C) the personality of the chef in his cuisine, D) value for money, and E) consistency between visits.
Restaurants are rated by inspectors, who visit the restaurants anonymously and several times.
All the Michelin Star restaurants find mention in the Michelin Guide, a book created in 1889 by the Michelin Brothers, who owned a tyre company in France.
Initially, the guide contained information about fuel stations, basic car repair tricks (e.g., how to change a tyre), and nice places to eat and rest.
The purpose of adding places to eat and rest was to encourage drivers to drive more, which would wear the tyres early and increase the company’s tyre business.
Several countries have their own Michelin guides today, and tourists worldwide refer to these guides to pay visits to the restaurants listed in the guide.
But not all the restaurants listed in the guide are Michelin Star restaurants—the guide uses other symbols as well that are far less desirable than the “stars” but are enough to list the establishment as “special.”
E.g., crossed fork-knife equates comfort (1 fork-knife set means comfort, five sets mean luxury).
Similarly, a Michelin Plate is a symbol for excellent food—many Michelin Star restaurants start with a Michelin Plate and move up the following years to gain the Michelin Star.
Another symbol shows the Michelin Man (Bibendum) licking his lips — this symbol means great food at moderate prices, and the restaurants with this symbol are recipients of the Bib Gourmand Award.
