How Do Restaurants Get Their Michelin Stars?

5 hours ago 3

October 14, 2025 | 04:57 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As the most prestigious awards in the culinary world, the Michelin Star honors restaurants that meet specific criteria and undergo periodic evaluations. Recipients of the Michelin Star are regarded as the best of their kind for food quality and culinary experience. But how exactly is this evaluation conducted? Are the inspectors paid for every meal they review, or is it the other way around?

Restaurant evaluations are carried out by an inspector assigned by the Michelin Guide, a restaurant guide published by the French tire company Michelin since 1900. The Michelin Guide operates in multiple countries, reviewing dining experiences at restaurants and stays at the world's most luxurious hotels.

Michelin Inspection

According to NDTV, a Michelin inspector enters a restaurant or checks into a hotel without receiving complimentary meals, free stays, or special treatment. They remain anonymous and pay the full price for each experience, as listed publicly.

The inspectors are permanent employees of Michelin. The Michelin Guide does not disclose the identities of the inspectors but ensures that they are experts in the food, culinary, and hospitality sectors with years of experience in the industry.

Inspectors do not make just one visit, as mentioned in the culinary school's website escoffier.edu. They may dine for both lunch and dinner, on weekdays and weekends. The inspectors then write comprehensive reports on the overall culinary experience, covering the quality and presentation of dishes, mastery of flavors and cooking techniques, the chef's personality reflected in the dining experience, value for money, and consistency across inspector visits.

Subsequently, groups of Michelin inspectors gather to analyze the reports and deeply discuss which restaurants deserve a Michelin Star, whether one, two, or three stars.

Michelin Guide Partnerships

The Michelin Guide operates based on a combination of tourism partnerships, corporate sponsorships, and strategic business ventures. However, Michelin insists that its ratings remain independent and unbiased.

Partnerships with national tourism boards serve as the most significant source of funding for the Michelin Guide in new markets. Executives openly acknowledge that these collaborations help offset the operational costs of inspector teams worldwide.

"We need these partners because what we do is costly," said Julianna Twiggs, Chief International Business Development Officer at Michelin, at an event in Paris as quoted by NDTV.

These partnerships involve financial contributions. According to Eater, the Thailand Tourism Authority (TAT) reportedly pledged 144 million Thai baht, approximately Rp73.2 billion over five years. This partnership began with the inaugural Bangkok Michelin Guide in 2017 and is part of a broader campaign to transform Thailand's image from a party destination to a global culinary hub.

Additionally, the Korea Tourism Organization reportedly paid Michelin around 2 billion won, approximately Rp23 billion, in 2017 for the publication of the Seoul Guide.

Moreover, the Michelin Guide earns commissions from hotel bookings, as the organization also awards Michelin Keys to hotels. In 2018, Michelin acquired the boutique hotel booking platform Tablet. Michelin lists hotels awarded Michelin Keys on its website. If users book directly through the Michelin platform, the company takes a standard industry commission of around 15 percent per booking.

Michelin also secures sponsorships. In 2016, Resorts World Sentosa became the main sponsor for the gala launch of the Singapore Michelin Guide, where its restaurants collectively earned seven stars. Such partnerships fund events and promotional campaigns but, according to Michelin, do not influence the inspection process.

Editor’s Choice: Cities with Most Michelin-Starred Restaurants; Japan Dominates

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