Search: michelin restaurant stars
Why: Zack introduced me to the Michelin Restaurant Star thing for the first time this weekend in Las Vegas. I had never heard of them.
Answer: Yes! The Michelin Guides are published by Michelin in over a dozen countries. In 1900, André Michelin published the first guide to France to help drivers maintain their cars, find decent lodging, and eat well while touring. It included addresses of gasoline distributors, garages, and info on fuel prices, changing tires, etc. In 1926, a star was added to denote good cooking. The 2nd and 3rd stars were added in the 1930s. Stars are awarded sparingly: Out of the 5,500 restaurants in the 2004 UK/Ireland guide, only 98 have 1 star, 11 have 2 stars, and 3 restaurants have 3 stars.
The guide to France has sold more than 30 million copies since it was introduced. Today, "Red Guides" cover more than 45,000 hotels and restaurants in Europe, covering Austria, Belgium/Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain/Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK/Ireland. In 2005, the first Red Guide was published outside of Europe, in New York City. Now there are also guides for Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Macau, San Francisco, and Tokyo. They look like this:
Source: Wikipedia
The More You Know: In February 2003, Bernard Loiseau, chef of the prominent French restaurant Côte d'Or in Saulieu, Burgundy, committed suicide. Rumors flew that this was because his restaurant was danger of a downgrade by Michelin from 3 to 2 stars. Another 3-star chef quoted Bernard in an earlier conversation: "If I lose a star, I'll kill myself." Loiseau was probably the inspiration for the deceased chef Auguste Gusteau in the 2007 film Ratatouille.
