Michelin stars are usually transliterated as Michelin three stars. 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 19, 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. Jacques and Lauren are twin brothers. They were born in the south of France in 1964 and went to hotel school at the age of 14. The cheerful and lively Jacques studied under the new French cooking master, specializing in seafood and desserts; The calm and restrained Lauren works for the chef of traditional French cuisine, focusing on the preparation of meat, appetizers and sauces. At the age of 24, Poucel's two brothers opened their own restaurant "Sensory Garden" in the southern French city of Montpellier.

The restaurant is located in an old castle. Walking through the fragrant path and the vibrant vines, the dining environment designed by Imam Lamoni, a long-term assistant of Philip Stark, is: large floor-to-ceiling glass windows, beige arched roofs, slightly shallow walls, chestnut chairs, crystal glass glasses and snow-white tablecloths, all of which are as bright as the sunshine in the south.

The restaurant's dishes are located in the southern French and Mediterranean styles. In the past ten years, the two brothers have constantly improved their cooking skills and the decoration standard of the restaurant. In 1998, the "Sensory Garden" was finally recognized by Michelin inspectors and won the highest honor in European culinary circles: Michelin Samsung. "Sensory Garden" has become one of only 49 Michelin-starred restaurants in the world. Poucel brothers also became the youngest two three-star chefs in Michelin history.

In recent years, the young Poucel brothers have been expanding the territory of Haute Cuisine, opening branches of "Sensory Garden" to Thailand and Japan. This year, their new store was completed on the Bund, becoming the first western restaurant opened by a Michelin-starred chef in China. Strictly speaking, it is not a Michelin-starred restaurant. First of all, the selection scope of Michelin-starred restaurants has never exceeded Europe. Secondly, the two brothers come to China's restaurant only about four times a year. Michelin starlight shining on their heads has become the biggest selling point of this restaurant. However, we have every reason to believe that this restaurant will be one of the best western restaurants in China if it adheres to the Poucel brothers' interest in food and dining environment. So what does Michelin stars really mean and what is its selection criteria? Restaurants appearing in Michelin Guide must get at least one knife and fork mark, which is the basic evaluation standard of restaurants in the guide, ranging from the highest 5 pairs to 1 pair, indicating the comfort of restaurants. 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.

star rating factors are the quality of raw materials used in the restaurant, 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 55, 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. It is an infinite sight for a restaurant to be rated as a star, and the chef also feels very honored. One more star or one less star will affect the reputation and business of the restaurant in the next year. If, like many restaurants, you have never been rated as a star, it will be a disgrace to be degraded.

There was a restaurant that had maintained three stars for several decades, and suddenly one year it was reduced to two stars, so the chef committed suicide. The staff of star-rated restaurants are all nervous, and waiters and chefs are always at home, waiting for mysterious people to come at most once a month without knowing it. A chef of a one-star restaurant in Britain said that with his growing interest in Japanese cuisine, he tried to change the style of the restaurant several times and gave up, because he didn't know whether such an attempt would please the inspector.