I remember watching a video on how Michelin Stars started out as a travel guide brochure for the best restaurants in France as a sort of advertisement for Michelin branded tyres (look at all these restaurants you could go to with Michelin tyres!).
How did the Michelin stars become so sought after by top restaurants and chefs? Was the head of the Michelin tyre company also a renowned food connoisseur or something? What about other tyre companiee, why didn’t they do something similar? Are Michelin Stars still given by the tyre company, or has it been spun off into its own thing?
Michelin stars are pay to play.
Inspectors will not visit cities unless the city registers with Michelin, which carries high, recurring fees.
That’s why many prominent cities like Boston, for example, have zero Michelin star restaurants, because they won’t pay the shakedowns(tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the city) that Michelin demands for their stars.
They wouldn’t give a star to anyone in Manchester for years. It was a real point of contention. There are two now though.
Wow. Had no idea that’s how it worked over there, fucking ridiculous. Glad that’s not how it works over here.
I get it, I was shocked when I looked it up. Extremely disappointing