Founded at the start of the 20th century by French tyremakers, the Michelin Guide has evolved from being a practical handbook for motorists to the world’s star-studded reference in gastronomy and hospitality.
Yet despite its global reach, there are still places beyond the Michelin Guide’s reach — something that its international director Gwendal Poullennec is seeking to change.
In an interview, Poullennec discusses the history and influence of the Michelin Guide on global gastronomy, its role in exporting the French art de vivre and where its focus may expand next.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What first drew you to the Michelin Guide?
It was really a dream job for me. I applied to work for the guide because I was willing to work not only in that industry but also to discover world food cultures. I’ve been able to travel in more than 70 countries to discover different food cultures and meet the people shaping this industry.
The world has evolved tremendously. Today there are a lot of new culinary scenes emerging almost everywhere.
Can you walk us through the history of the Michelin Guide and explain what it represents today on the global culinary and hospitality scene?
The guide was born in 1900 and at the beginning it was very practical. The Michelin Guide was a brand and marketing tool for tyres because it is owned by the Michelin tyre company [and] it was designed to help early motorists to find their way, to fix their car [and] to change their tyres, but also to find places to rest and to eat.
Gradually, it turned into a lifestyle reference with the introduction of the famous Michelin stars in the late 1920s. Today, it is a media platform influencing not only tourism trends but also culinary trends and putting destinations on the world culinary map.
What impact does the Michelin Guide’s arrival have on a new destination?
The Michelin Guide can be a life-changer for the chefs. For a destination, the guide can also be a game-changer because food has a real influence on travel trends. It can be a catalyst for economic development. For example, 10 years ago, the Michelin Guide established its first selection in Thailand, starting with Bangkok, and awarded stars to some of the street food stalls. It was a recognition of food culture on the global stage. And then we were able to extend the Michelin Guide across all of Thailand, contributing to the emergence of the high-quality culinary scene [there].
The Michelin Guide is often referenced in popular culture, most recently in Emily in Paris. What do you make of these portrayals?
There are a lot of myths about the Michelin Guide, especially about the famously anonymous inspectors. Because the Michelin Guide, in a way, is organised and structured like an intelligence service — it’s about investigating to experience a restaurant anonymously, to reflect the quality without any bias and to make sure that you left no stone unturned. You have a lot of TV shows [and] Hollywood super productions using it thematically about restaurants, about performance, about excellence.
I think this is a very good trend to put a spotlight on the talents working for the industry.
At its core, the Michelin Guide remains a distinctly French institution. How does it export the country’s celebrated art of living onto the global stage?
Without doubt, the Michelin Guide is one of the main soft powers for France internationally. Today we have more than 600 stars in France — 18% of the global stars in the world. So this is still weighing heavily. French gastronomy is deeply rooted in this territory, in the history, in the product, and in a lot of [the] know-how. And this know-how has been embraced by many different food cultures. The French culinary style is one of the major styles influencing the world’s kitchens. Today 20%-25% of restaurants at star level do have an influence based on French culinary style, French products, recipes or art de vivre.
How do you respond to criticism that applying the same curation standards across different culinary cultures may be unfair?
The French roots of the Michelin Guide helped Michelin to develop its expertise in terms of a curating reference because of the refinement, because of the craftsmanship. But then, gradually, the Michelin Guide has been able to embrace all the different food cultures, to recognise them; hiring inspectors, adding their own expertise when the Michelin Guide is going to Mexico or when the Michelin Guide is going to Oceania, for example. Of course, we need to hire and train people who have a deep knowledge of all the food cultures of the world.
And we combine all the expertise to make sure that we can recognise fairly all the different food styles and lend to the chef complete freedom to be creative. So no, I think there is more and more diversity in the food styles that the Michelin Guide is able to recognise today, because the food scene worldwide is booming.
What are the main criteria the Michelin Guide considers when expanding into new territories?
When we cover a new territory, we have to have new people [and] we need to train them, so it takes some time. And we do not want to compromise with the value of the ratings. So for sure, there are still today a lot of destinations that are worth being recognised and deserve the spotlight of the Michelin Guide. Yet, what we will consider before expanding to new territory is the maturity of the culinary scene: the number of restaurants, but also the quality and the dynamism: whether you feel real creativity, whether you feel a real push, and you have the feeling that there is potential for much more.
Many countries still do not have Michelin-starred restaurants. How does the guide help shine a spotlight on those culinary scenes?
Today, the Michelin Guide is not yet in India, whereas Indian food is one of the prominent food styles in the world. Yet we are already recognising Indian chefs outside of India, even at a three-star level. So we are already open to all the food cultures. In the years to come, there will be new destinations on the Michelin Guide culinary map. I have little doubt that India or some countries in Africa will be part of the Michelin Guide selection. Stay tuned.
Reuters
Dining and Cooking