The Michelin red guide is like no other travel guide. Relying primarily on symbols such as stars, rocking chairs, and forks and spoons, it makes qualitative judgments about thousands of restaurants and hotels. The guide begins with a brief explanation about the symbols that raises almost as many questions as it answers. It then lists in alphabetical order cities and towns with restaurant and hotel entries throughout France. The order of the listings within a town reflects the guide’s preferences. A handy set of maps show the location of top hotels and restaurants.
Until recently, the red guide used only symbols to convey it judgments. The Guide, however, now includes a short description of each hotel and restaurant that captures some of the highlights of the restaurant or hotel.
In the abstract, the concept of rating restaurants and hotels based on a few common symbols seems straightforward. As applied by Michelin, however, it is incredibly complex. In Cluny I learned about stars and houses, but soon realized that things were not as simple as they first appeared. Stars and houses came in two colors, and rocking chairs, forks and spoons, and a myriad of other symbols filled my new universe.
Rating Restaurants
The guide rates restaurants by stars as well as by forks and spoons. The symbols are either in black or red.
Stars: Although the numbers vary slightly from year-to-year, there are approximately 500 one-star, 75 two star, and 25 three star restaurants in each edition of the guide. Stars are retained, awarded, or removed annually. In early March, the release of the new Michelin red guide is eagerly awaited in France. The granting of stars can mean the difference between a restaurant’s success and failure. In one celebrated case, a three star chef recently committed suicide in part out of the fear that his third star would be taken away by Michelin. (It was not—and the restaurant continues today with three stars.)
The guide’s introduction states that stars are awarded based solely on cooking quality. This may be true for one-stars, but in practice the awarding of two and three stars is based upon a combination of cooking, service and ambiance. A restaurant with a relatively modest level of service can have a one star rating. Unless the service improves, however, it is unlikely to ever see a second star, regardless of how much the cooking improves.