It has been rating restaurants on their quality of food and service for over 100 years. The Michelin guide is often hailed as the top award for chefs and their restaurants. But in this day and age, with the rise of sites like Trip Advisor, Zomato and OpenTable, is the guide outdated or is it still as relevant as ever?
What is the Michelin Star?
Started in France in 1900 by Andre and Edouard Michelin, the brothers used the guide as a way to sell more tyres for their company, Michelin. In France, there were few cars on the roads and the brothers used the guide to encourage road tripping.
Nowadays, Michelin stars are the crowning glories for many chefs over the world. Published annually, the guide is the hallmark of fine dining restaurants for both chefs and diners. Many chefs build their careers around the guide and strive to be recognised.
How do restaurants get stars?
The Michelin guide works on a three star rating system.
1 star: A good restaurant with high standard cuisine. A good place for you to stop on your journey.
2 star: The restaurant has ideas which have been crafted carefully and has outstanding food quality. Two star restaurants are worth a detour on your journey.
3 star: This is the top award. These restaurants have exceptional cuisine and dining experiences where distinctive dishes are executed using outstanding ingredients.
Restaurants are also assessed with the following criteria:
1. The quality of the ingredients
2. The mastery of the flavour
3. The techniques used
4. The personality of the chef in his / her cuisine
5. The consistency between visits
Restaurants are visited on various occasions by anonymous diners. The results are revealed at the Michelin Star annual awards ceremony. Equally as restaurants can gain stars, they can lose them too. Chefs have to be constantly at the top of their game.
Michelin stars in Ireland
Ireland has ten Michelin star restaurants. There are five in Dublin, two in Galway, two in Killiney and one in Waterford. This year saw Heron and Grey in Dublin awarded their first star. Winning a star has a massive impact on a restaurant. It will change a busy restaurant into one which is reserved months in advance. As soon as Heron and Grey won their star, they became booked out until the following August.
Equally, losing a star will have a dramatic impact too. In 2015, Kevin Thorton had to shut his restaurant after losing his star the previous year. He was the first Irish chef to ever be awarded two Michelin stars. After gaining his first star in 1996, he received his second in 2001 but lost it four years later. He said the loss of his first star was a “stab in the heart”.
Criticisms of the star
Like the mass appraisals of the Michelin star, there are equal criticisms of the ranking system. Many chefs claim that, as it is a French system, the guide is simply biased towards French cuisine. It is said the star does not explore the variety of the cuisines around the world. This can be hard for restaurants and their cuisines to be judged on what tastes fantastic if it’s not based around the French cuisine.
Many chefs feel that the Michelin star is more of a curse than a blessing, and that trying to gain and retain the star brings a lot of pressure to restaurants. Take Karen Keygnart for example. Her restaurant, A’Qi, was awarded one star but she decided to hand it back. She believes the star changes diners’ views of how a restaurant should be - that everything should be perfect. Because of this, Michelin star restaurants have to be at the top of their game at all times. This could lead to customers complaining about the material aspects of the dining experience, rather than enjoying the quality of the food.
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This is exactly what Oliver Dunne believes. His restaurant, Bon Appetit, in Dublin, held a Michelin star for nine years. He decided to change the style of his restaurant to something much more casual. This ruled his restaurant out for keeping its star status. At first, the decision was something which Dunne wasn’t sure about, but he claims that business has been brilliant since. He said his decision was due to the shift in customers ditching fine dining to a more casual approach.
Another criticism is that stars are often awarded to restaurants with chefs who have worked in other Michelin star restaurants. A fair point, but this could be because these chefs know exactly what the Michelin star is and what is expected to be awarded a star.
So is the Michelin star outdated?
There will always be two sides to this question – that yes, the star is outdated and doesn’t work with the modern food world. Others will always say that it is still relevant in today’s dining world. It is clear of the impact that the star has on restaurants that are awarded one – bookings straight away and for many months ahead.
Whilst many chefs dismiss the star as a waste of time and too much pressure, the Michelin star is the top award in recognising exceptional food and dining. It is the pinnacle of fine dining, which is clear due to the enormous measures it takes to achieve a star and to keep it. If you choose to dine out at a Michelin star restaurant, then you are going to expect an exceptional meal which has been carefully curated by a chef with many years of experience.
Many say that in this modern world, where technology is superior, sites like Trip Advisor act as a more realistic expectation of where to dine. This is true – it is based on customer’s opinions, day in and day out. However, if you search for the top restaurants in Ireland and even around the world, it is the Michelin starred restaurants that are top on Trip Advisor.
For many chefs, the Michelin star is the pinnacle and they will always strive to gain a star. However, for many other chefs, keeping a more casual atmosphere and focusing on the food rather than other superficial factors is what keeps them motivated day to day.
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By Felicity Jones
