How the Michelin Star became the ‘Oscars’ of the culinary world

“Diwali has arrived a little early in the United States,” wrote world-renowned Indian chef Vikas Khanna on Thursday (9 November) on social media. The reason for his celebration and joy: Three Indian chefs – Vijaya Kumar of Semma restaurant in New York City, Chetan Shetty of Rania in Washington DC and Sujan S of the restaurant Indienne, Chicago have been awarded with Michelin Stars for their culinary exploits. Lauding the culinary experts, Khanna wrote on Instagram: “Salute to all the 3 Indian chefs who got Michelin Stars yesterday in New York. Michelin Guide announced the NY, Chicago & DC winners and I salute all the chefs who received the stars. What an honour. What an honour for India, our hospitality & cuisine. “I’m cheering for the day when every guide will have an Indian restaurant with the stars around the globe.” For those who are unaware, the Michelin Star is considered the ‘Oscars’ of the food world. Being awarded one star is a sign that you’ve succeeded at the highest level as a chef. Two and your restaurant is excellent. Three Stars and your restaurant is worth travelling to. But what makes the Michelin Star the ultimate food critic? How is it that chefs and people around the world adhere to this rating? We cook up the answers for you. The Michelin Star A Michelin Star is part of the esteemed restaurant rating system and is awarded for food excellence. According to the website, it is handed out on five criteria: the quality of the ingredients, the harmony of flavours, the mastery of techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed through their cuisine and, just as importantly, consistency both across the entire menu and over time. The people behind the Michelin Guide emphasise that the rating is solely based on the food on the plate and nothing else. “The style of a restaurant and its degree of formality or informality has no bearing whatsoever on the award,” it says. Moreover, customer reviews don’t matter at all. The food is judged by undercover inspectors, who undergo official Michelin Guide training in France. [caption id=“attachment_13374792” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of Michelin Guides poses holding a copy of the Michelin Guide 2021. The Michelin rating system is almost considered like the bible in the culinary world. Each year, it releases its guide featuring the best chefs in the world. File image/Reuters[/caption] At the end of the inspections, the Michelin inspectors give their critique of the food and based off on that, a chef receives one star, two star or three star. Interestingly, once a chef receives the Michelin grade, he/she is re-inspected frequently and can lose their status if the inspectors feel that standards have slipped. And trust us, the standards are lofty. In fact, Gordon Ramsay, the ever-famous chef, was reportedly reduced to tears when New York restaurant was stripped of its stars, saying it was like ‘losing a girlfriend’. The origin of the Michelin Star But how is it that a tyre company – Michelin – became the ultimate call on food? There’s a very interesting history to that. The Michelin Guide began in France in 1900 by the Michelin brothers, Andre an engineer, and Eduardo Michelin, a landscape artist. The brothers in 1889 heralded the birth of the brand Michelin – a automobile tyre company. In 1900, the brothers, who wanted to sell more tyres and become richer, came up with the most ingenious and creative way to push sales up. They came up with the Michelin guide as a promotional freebie to encourage drivers to take more road trips – and therefore burn more rubber. The guide at that time had information that any motorist would want or need (remember there was no Google then). It contained a compilation of all the mechanics in the country, instructions on how to replace a flat tyre, the locations of fuel stations and restaurants and hotels where travellers could eat and stay while crisscrossing across the country. [caption id=“attachment_13374852” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A first edition of the red Michelin guide in Clermont-Ferrand in France. The guide was a marketing ploy by Michelin brothers to get people to buy more tyres. File image/AFP[/caption] As the tyre company grew, so did their guide. Interestingly, by the 1920s, the brothers began charging for the ‘little red book’ as it was called and it was in 1926 that the guide changed its focus to ‘fine dining’ – as it is now best known for. It was in 1926 that the brothers handed down their first star and it wasn’t until 1931 that the system expanded from one to three stars. As Professor Patrick Young, a specialist in 19th- and 20th-Century French history at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell told BBC, “Michelin anticipated the directions in which tourism was heading in the early 20th Century.” And as years have come and gone, the Michelin system of rating has become almost like a bible in the culinary world. Today, Michelin covers 37 destinations in Europe, Asia and the Americas and it manages to retain its reputation as tastemaker. The criticism of the Michelin Star However, despite its popularity, the Michelin guide is not without criticism. Some foodies and even chefs complain that the inspectors are very fussy and only represent upper-class French masculinity. A Vanity Fair report in 2012 said the “Michelin guide made kitchens as competitive as football teams, and along the way it killed the very thing it had set out to commend. “It wasn’t the only assassin of the greatest national food ever conceived, but it’s not hyperbole to say Michelin was French haute cuisine’s Brutus,” read the Vanity Fair piece. The guide has been criticised as biased towards French cuisine and technique, and favouring what some view as snobby, formal dining. [caption id=“attachment_13374942” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Many have questioned the Michelin rating system, calling it high-brow and snobbish. However, in 2018, Jay Fai or Auntie Fai won Thailand’s first street style food Michelin star. Reuters[/caption] Moreover, in 2004, an inspector for the France guide was sacked for publishing a book which said some chefs were treated as above criticism and there were too few inspectors on the job. Also, the Michelin guide isn’t a good representation of global cuisine. Despite India’s food being hailed for being innovative, delicious and diverse, there’s no Michelin-starred restaurant in India because the Michelin Guide does not have a presence in India. But this is not to say that Indian chefs haven’t received the Michelin Star. Chef Vikas Khanna, himself, received a star in 2011 for the food he served up at his New York eatery, Junoon. His Masterchef India co-judge Garima Arora is also a recipient of the Michelin Star. She was presented the accolade in 2017. [caption id=“attachment_13375012” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Vikas Khanna is one of the handful of Indian chefs who has won a Michelin Star. He won it back in 2011 for his food served at his New York eatery, Junoon. Image Courtesy: VikasKhanna/Facebook[/caption] Other Indian chefs who have received the coveted rating are Gaggan Anand, Atul Kochhar, Manish Mehrotra and Srijith Gopinathan among others. However, before all of them came chef Vineet Bhatia, who earned a Michelin Star in 2001 for his offerings at Zaika in UK. In conclusion, many believe that while the Michelin Star is coveted, it’s not the only way to appreciate good food. After all, your ‘mom’s daal’ isn’t Michelin rated, but you still love it at the end of the day. With inputs from agencies