In France, chefs belong to the category of artists. In France, there is a world-famous and long-standing organization that authenticates these artists and their creative places-restaurants: "Michelin".
Michelin has a long history and is an authoritative appraisal institution in France that specializes in commenting on the catering industry. In 1911, the founder of Michelin Tire published a guide for tourists to choose restaurants during their travels, namely Michelin Red Collection. Since then, Michelin Red Collection, which has been renovated every year, has been regarded as a treasure by "gourmets" and praised as a European gourmet bible. Later, it began to evaluate the stars of French restaurants every year.
Michelin Guide is known as the gourmet bible in Europe, and it has unquestionable authority in the catering industry. It was the tire company named Michelin that published it.
In p>1911, Michelin Tire Company launched a simple and convenient manual at the initiative of its founder, Andrei Michelin. At first, it mainly provided some practical information for drivers, such as suggestions on vehicle maintenance, driving route recommendation and the addresses of hotels and restaurants. Later, this booklet with a red cover began to rate the stars of French restaurants, which won the trust of readers because of its rigorous evaluation system and became famous.
The inspectors who can become the Michelin Guide are all experts in food, and their work will always follow the following four principles:
1. Go to restaurants or hotels to eat and stay in person with their identities hidden, and evaluate them
2. Ensure that any restaurants and hotels appearing in the guide are carefully selected;
3. Pay the bill by yourself;
4. update the guide every year to ensure the accuracy of the information.
In the second half of last century, Michelin Guide's selection of restaurants and hotels expanded from France to the whole of Europe, from Ireland to Turkey, and from Sweden to Albania, leaving the footprints of mysterious Michelin inspectors.
There are 71 full-time inspectors in Michelin Guide. Their identities are confidential, and the only thing they are famous for is their tradition and harshness. Take the restaurant star rating as an example. From the moment you enter the door, you will display your ability to observe six ways: what is the taste of decoration, the quality of tableware, whether the waiter's attitude is supercilious or overly enthusiastic? Even the attitude of service is seen by them, and then a series of judgments on cooking and plate loading skills are made. Each inspector makes an average of 241 meals and 131 accommodation inspections in restaurants every year, and completes about 811 visits and inspections. For star-rated restaurants or hotels, they will patronize more frequently, and if necessary, they will have 12 inferior meals in the same restaurant within one year. In the 2114 edition of Michelin Guide, * * * 49 restaurants were rated as Samsung, of which 27 were in France and 22 were in other European countries.
A restaurant appearing in Michelin Guide must first get the mark of a knife and fork, which is the basic evaluation standard for restaurants in the guide, ranging from the highest 5 pairs to 1 pairs, indicating the comfort of the restaurant. This is based on the restaurant's hardware facilities, furniture, services, cleanliness and maintenance of the surrounding environment. There is a Michelin villain in front of some restaurants, which is a sign of "bibendum Gourmet", indicating that this restaurant is cheap and good.
On this basis, the Michelin star rating, from one star to the highest three stars, is mainly aimed at the cooking level. The Michelin Guide defines the asterisk as follows: a star is a particularly excellent restaurant in the same kind of food style; The cooking of the two-star restaurant is very good, so it is worth taking a detour to eat. The restaurant that won three stars has unforgettable delicious food, which is worth eating before you hit the plane. Such restaurants have usually been observed by Michelin for at least several years. If the standard is kept at a high level, they will finally get three stars.
The star rating factors are the quality of raw materials used in restaurants, the technology used in cooking, whether different flavors are well blended, the consistency and innovation of cooking, and whether it is worth the money. Asterisks are very sparse in a guide, and restaurants with more than two stars also have particularly strict requirements on decoration and service. Restaurants at this level have at least four pairs of knife and fork signs.
The star rating of Michelin Guide, which has an annual circulation of over 551,111 copies, will have a great impact on the business, image and popularity of restaurants, so the star rating process is very rigorous: the inspector goes to a restaurant for dinner in secret first, and after paying the bill, he can identify himself to the restaurant and ask for inspection. Accompanied by the restaurant manager, visit all parts of the restaurant, especially the back kitchen where guests are not allowed to enter. According to a chef who has been rated as a Michelin star, if you dare to ask, "What do you think of us?" They will say, "very good, very good", but the score given to you may make you faint with disappointment. Once the inspection is completed, the inspector can't appear in this restaurant for several years to ensure the fairness of the next inspection.
whether or not to award the star rating is decided by several inspectors. All inspectors who have inspected the same dish in the same restaurant should evaluate the restaurant in the form of a report within a certain period of time and give the evaluation basis. If the opinions are not unified, it is necessary to start the second round of evaluation until the final decision can be made. Every year or 18 months, Michelin will re-rate the restaurants that have won the star rating.