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How Did a Tire Company Become the Authority on Fine Dining?
The Michelin Guide determines a restaurant's worth — but that wasn’t the original intent
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had? I’m sure it still sticks out to this day. If you’ve had the opportunity to dine in a Michelin-starred restaurant, you know how special it is.
But what does a tire company have to do with food? Michelin is one of the biggest tire makers in the world and has also determined what the very best restaurants in existence are.
The Michelin Guide is the bible when it comes to fine dining, and a coveted 3-star award makes that restaurant part of a very select group.
How did a tire maker become the authority on where the best places to eat are? It all started with a way to get people to drive more.
What is the Michelin Guide?
The Michelin Guide first launched in France in 1889 — but didn’t start out as the definitive guide to fine dining. It began as a simple road guide for places to get gas, eat, or stay. The guide also contained maps and showed how to change a tire.
Things changed in 1926 when they started awarding a star to the best places to eat.
This evolved into a three-star system in 1931. Three stars would be awarded to the very best restaurants. In 1936, they laid out their guidelines for each star.
1 Star: A very good restaurant in its category
2 Stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour
3 Stars: Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey
As the guide grew, so did its influence. It was soon considered the only guide that counted. Being featured in the Michelin Guide would now take your restaurant to a new level.
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The guide then expanded beyond Paris and France and spread to other countries and cities. The Michelin inspectors were anonymous, so restaurants never knew when they were coming. This would keep locations on their toes, as you never knew when one might show up.
