Michelin Guide - Controversies

Controversies

Allegations of lax inspection standards and bias

Pascal Rémy, a veteran France-based Michelin inspector, and also a former Gault Millau employee, wrote a tell-all book in 2004 entitled L'Inspecteur se Met à Table (literally, "The Inspector Sits Down at the Table"; idiomatically, "The Inspector Spills the Beans", or "The Inspector Puts It All on the Table"). Rémy's employment was terminated in early 2004 when he informed Michelin of his plans to publish his book. He brought a court case for unfair dismissal, which was unsuccessful.

Rémy described the French Michelin inspector's life as lonely, underpaid drudgery, driving around France for weeks on end, dining alone, under intense pressure to file detailed reports on strict deadlines. He claimed the Guide had become lax in its standards. Though Michelin states that its inspectors visited all 4,000 reviewed restaurants in France every 18 months, and all starred restaurants several times a year, Rémy said only about one visit every 3.5 years was possible because there were only 11 inspectors in France when he was hired, rather than the 50 or more hinted by Michelin. That number, he said, had shrunk to five by the time he was fired in 2003.

Furthermore, Rémy charged, the Guide played favorites. He specifically named Paul Bocuse, the pioneer of nouvelle cuisine, whose restaurant, l'Auberge du Pont de Collonges, near Lyon, was known, according to Rémy, to have declined considerably in quality, yet continued to hold 3 stars. Michelin denied Rémy's charges, but refused to say how many inspectors it actually employed in France. In response to Rémy's claim that certain 3-star chefs were untouchable, Michelin said only, "...if weren't true...customers would write and tell us."

Allegations of bias for French cuisine

As the Michelin Guide is published by a French company, some American food critics have claimed that the rating system is biased in favor of French cuisine or French dining standards. When Michelin published its first New York City Red Guide, for example, Steven Kurutz of The New York Times noted that Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe, a restaurant rated highly by The New York Times, Zagat Survey, and other prominent guides, received a no star-rating from Michelin. (He did acknowledge that the restaurant received positive mention for its ambience, and that two other restaurants owned by Meyer received stars.) Kurutz also claimed the guide appeared to favor restaurants that "emphasized formality and presentation" rather than a "casual approach to fine dining". He also claimed that over half of the restaurants that received one or two stars "could be considered French".

Allegations of leniency with stars for Japanese cuisine

In 2010, Michelin guides ranked Japan as the country with the most starred restaurants. This sparked grumbling over whether these high ratings are merited for Japanese restaurants, whether Michelin guide was too generous in giving out stars to gain an acceptance with Japanese customers and to enable the parent tire selling company to market itself in Japan. Some critics were surprised by the award of one star for restaurants who serve traditional Japanese cuisines in casual homely ambience with ten tables or being next to a subway entrance. These critics admit that top chefs in Europe and the United States are nearly unanimous in praising the quality of Japan's food and the unparalleled devotion of its chefs. Michelin spokeswoman claimed comparing Japan and France is impossible, given Tokyo has 160,000 restaurants while Paris has 15,000. Some Japanese chefs were surprised after they were awarded the stars, claiming they didn't expect one, and wished they didn't get Michelin stars because the publicity has caused an unmanageable jump in customer bookings, which affects their ability to serve their traditional customers with quality.