If one enjoys dining out while traveling, especially to New York City, California or Europe, the expression “Michelin-starred” is pretty familiar. It’s seen as a big honor, a sign of excellence and prestige, and the promise of an exceptional meal and experience.
Serbia has a Michelin Guide. The nation with 6.6 million is very nice and Belgrade, the capital, is a great city. Their food is similar to most found in the Balkans.
New England has 15 million residents and many unique restaurants in the cities of Boston; Providence; Portland, Maine; Burlington, Vermont; and Mystic, Connecticut. Chefs from all around the world cook a wide variety of cuisines in these cities and beyond. Yet, there had not been a Michelin guide for the region until last year.
Boston and Cambridge now have one, thanks to Meet Boston, the tourism board that represents the city, and the Cambridge Office for Tourism.
Over the years, it’s been revealed that Michelin is pay-to-play. Tourism boards pay a fee, suggested to be in the range of hundreds of thousands of dollars, for the privilege of having restaurants in their geographic area included and rated. Meet Boston didn’t divulge what they paid to have a Boston guide.
Restaurants do not pay for the reviews.
It was in 2005 that Michelin published its first American guide, covering 500 restaurants in the five boroughs of New York City. They added San Francisco in 2007. Since then, Washington D.C., all of California, Chicago, Colorado, Texas, Georgia and Virginia have all been included.
Florida got a guide after Visit Florida and tourism boards in Orlando, Tampa and Miami reportedly paid $1.5 million over three years, according to the Miami Herald.
A tire company guide
When brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin founded their tire company in France in 1889, there were fewer than 3,000 cars in the country. The guide was first published to encourage tire sales by giving practical advice to French motorists. You won’t need tires unless you drive.
The small red guide was filled with information for travelers, such as maps, where to fill up with fuel and where to find respite from the adventures of the day.
For two decades, all that information came at no cost. Until a fateful historical encounter “when Andre Michelin arrived at a tyre shop to see his beloved guides being used to prop up a workbench. Based on the principle that ‘man only truly respects what he pays for,’ a brand new Michelin Guide was launched in 1920 and sold for seven francs.”
Michelin’s reviewers still use the same criteria and manner of selection. It conveys summaries of the reviewer’s experiences and uses an extensive system of symbols, including the Michelin stars. Restaurants may receive one to three stars based on five criteria: quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavor and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef in the cuisine, harmony of flavors, and consistency between visits.
Restaurant inspectors do not look at the interior decor, table setting or service quality when awarding stars.
The value of a star
Casey Riley, chief operating officer of the Newport Restaurant Group, would love Michelin to be in Rhode Island. The cachet of a Michelin star is not to be underestimated, he said.
“I think a lot of chefs and restaurateurs would be interested in it,” he said. “It brings in a different customer, a different traveler.”
“If you have a few starred restaurants, it would make the area a destination, especially for international travelers,” he added.
No doubt, Castle Hill Inn dining, part of Riley’s extensive Newport Restaurant Group, would be on a short list for stars. When Michelin recently added Michelin Keys, to recognize the world’s outstanding hotels, the Newport resort got two keys. Michelin Keys are independent and based on anonymous stays by their inspectors, not financed by tourism boards.
Riley thinks there are certainly restaurants in Rhode Island that would pick up one or two stars from Michelin.
One star signifies “High Quality Cooking. Worth a stop!” Two stars mean “Excellent Cooking. Worth a detour!” Three stars indicate “Exceptional cuisine worth a special journey!”
Josh Finger and Maggie McConnell are very familiar with the guide. The chefs, who own Claudine in Providence, both cooked and baked at Per Se, Thomas Keller’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City.
“The guide gives you a standard you can work on,” said Finger. “What it taught me is so much more than cooking.” It makes a chef fire on all cylinders and strive to expand the customer experience, he added.
“It teaches discipline and consistency,” McConnell said. They both agreed that whether or not they ever get a star at Claudine, they will always strive for that excellence and consistency. It’s now in their DNA.
“We know we have to give the same dining experience, if not better, every time,” Finger said.
They agreed the Michelin Guide is good for tourism. McConnell was baking in Austin when the guide came to Texas and people were talking about welcoming “star chasers.” These are diners who travel around the world to eat at Michelin Guide restaurants and add up all the stars from their experiences.
John Elkhay, a Providence restaurateur with six restaurants including the newest 10 Prime Seafood, has often traveled in Europe, recently taking a month-long trip to Italy. He agrees on how important the Michelin stars are there. But he cites different dining habits among Americans.
“To Europeans, it’s a temple when you eat,” he said. “You aren’t on your phone, you always have wine and special napkins and plates.”
It’s not such an event for most Americans. “We eat fast food,” he said.
Just as the internet has made cookbooks irrelevant, Elkhay wonders if a guide of any type is passé. “There are other ways to find what you want,” he said.
The future of Michelin in RI?
“Getting those inspectors to Boston is the first step in the right direction,” said Finger. “It will get exposure to the guide and bring recognition. The lens will be looking beyond Boston,” he said.
It doesn’t diminish the prestige to acknowledge Michelin is pay-to-play, said Riley. It’s just a fact. “The state would have to say, ‘This is something we believe in,'” he said. Then authorize the funds for tourism boards.
“I consider Providence, and really all of Rhode Island, to have Michelin-worthy restaurants,” said Kristen Adamo, president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“While I don’t know the exact cost of the guide, I do know it’s not something we could afford,” she said. “The only way it might work for us is if it were something we could do regionally, collaborating with all of New England, for example.”
Riley agrees with that concept, and said it would be ideal for a guide that covers the six New England states. “From an international traveler’s viewpoint, it’s one region,” he said.
If you are from Europe and come to New England, you would probably hit several destinations, Riley added. It’s easily drivable, allowing travelers to go from one state to the next in three hours.
Though he can’t be certain how much a Michelin guide would drive business, he said Rhode Island is a small market, and there is room to grow.
This story was first published Sept. 26, 2025.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island has Michelin-worthy restaurants. So why no stars?
Dining and Cooking