What is the history behind the Michelin Guide?

André Michelin published the first edition of the guide to help drivers maintain their cars, find decent lodging, and eat well while touring France. It included addresses of gasoline distributors, garages, tire stockists, and information on fuel prices, changing tires and repairing automobiles.

The guide was distributed freely from 1900 until 1920. The Michelin brothers introduced the charge to establish more credibility after a pile of guides were found propping up at a garage workbench. The guide introduced the star in 1926 to note good cooking; two and three stars were added in the early 1930s. The cover of the guide was originally blue, but since 1931 has been red.

The guide awards one to three stars to a small number of restaurants of outstanding quality. Stars are awarded sparingly; for instance, in the UK and Ireland 2004 guide, out of 5,500 entries, there are 98 with one star ("a very good restaurant in its category"), 11 with two stars ("excellent cooking, worth a detour"), and only 3 with three stars ("exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey").

A 3-star Michelin ranking is exceedingly rare. Only 26 3-star restaurants exist in France, and only 81 in the world.[4]

Since 1955, the guide has also highlighted restaurants offering "good food at moderate prices", a feature now called "Bib Gourmand". They must have a menu priced at no more than £28 in the case of the UK, or €40 in Ireland. The name comes from Bib (Bibendum), the Michelin Man, Michelin's logo for over a century.

The guide also recognizes many restaurants without any stars or Bib Gourmands. These restaurants are usually rated solely on the scale of "forks and knives". The forks and knives rating is given to all restaurants recognized in the guide, and range from one to five, one fork and knife being "Quite comfortable restaurant" and five being "Luxurious restaurant". If the forks and knives are colored red they designate the restaurant to be "pleasant" as well. The forks and knives scale is designated to speak of the overall comfort and quality of the restaurant, however any listing in the guide requires a relatively high standard of the kitchen as well.

Restaurants, independently of their other ratings in the guide, can also receive a number of other symbols next to their listing.

The coins are given to restaurants that serve a menu for a certain price or less. The price depends on the local price-standard. In France the required price is currently €16.50.

Interesting view or Magnificent view, designated by a black or red symbol, are given to restaurants that offer dining with a view.

The grapes are given to restaurants that serve a somewhat interesting assortment of wine.

As motoring became more widespread, the star system was developed and guides to other countries introduced. Today a series of twelve guides list more than 45,000 hotels and restaurants across Europe, and the guide to France has sold 30 million copies since it was introduced. There are now Red Guides covering France, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium/Luxembourg, Italy, Germany, Spain/Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK/Ireland. The guide covering France is still by far the most thorough. There is also a Red Guide covering the "Main Cities of Europe". The first guides for cities outside of Europe were published in 2006 for New York City and for San Francisco (Hauman).

Guides for Tokyo, Los Angeles and Las Vegas have been released since November 2007. A guide for Hong Kong and Macau was published on 5 December 2008. Michelin today publishes guidebooks in 23 countries and is one of the best-selling restaurant guides in the world.

In 2008, German restaurateur Juliane Caspar was appointed the editor-in-chief position of the French edition of the Guide.[1] She is the first female and non-French national to take over at the French edition.[2]

A guide for Kyoto and Osaka was published on 16 October 2009. Kyoto and Osaka were awarded a total of 106 and 79 stars respectively.

Michelin Tires History

I'm Le Cordon Bleu trained, and did NOT know these facts, they ARE related:

(Copy and pasted from Wikipedia)

Michelin (full name: SCA Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin) (Euronext: ML) based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer, currently either the world's second-largest[2] or the largest (see below). It is also notable for its Red and Green travel guides, for the Michelin stars that the Red Guide awards to restaurants for their cooking, for its road maps, and for its emblem, the Michelin Man.

The tyre manufacturing subsidiary is officially called Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin, "Michelin tyre manufacturing company of France." The company headquarters is in Clermont-Ferrand, 424 km south of Paris, France. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the B.F. Goodrich, Taurus, Kormoran and Uniroyal (except in Australia) tyre brands.

Michelin is currently ranked first in the global tyre market, with Bridgestone second, Goodyear third, and Continental and Pirelli fourth and fifth, respectively.[3]

So, there IS a connection to the "tyres" and the food related Michelin Star............Very interesting....

Christopher K.