MICHELIN Star Criteria Checklist

Wondering what is the criteria for a MICHELIN Star? Use this MICHELIN Star criteria checklist to improve your restaurant’s chances of earning a star by offering what inspectors are looking for. 

Key Takeaways

Here are the five criteria MICHELIN Star inspectors look for and that you should follow if you want to learn how to become a MICHELIN Star restaurant:

1. Quality of ingredients
2. Mastery of technique
3. Harmony of flavors
4. Personality of the chef
5. Consistency 

With these five elements in mind, our MICHELIN Star Criteria checklist serves as a tool that operators, managers, and chefs can use to evaluate their restaurant and make improvements to increase their chances of earning a MICHELIN Star. Continue reading to learn more about what a MICHELIN Star is, what is the criteria for a MICHELIN Star,  and why operators worldwide value this esteemed recognition in the restaurant industry.

What is a MICHELIN Star?

Before diving into how to get a MICHELIN Star as a chef, let’s go over what a MICHELIN Star is.

So what is a MICHELIN Star? A MICHELIN Star is an international award bestowed by inspectors from the MICHELIN Guide to a restaurant that exemplifies culinary excellence based on five universal criteria. A restaurant can be anonymously awarded up to three stars. 

How Does a Restaurant Get a MICHELIN Star?

Now that you know what a MICHELIN Star is, you might be wondering how does a restaurant get a MICHELIN Star? A MICHELIN Star gets awarded to restaurants that meet these five criteria:

1. Quality of ingredients
2. Mastery of technique
3. Harmony of flavors
4. Personality of the chef
5. Consistency 

These five criteria must be consistently met over an indeterminate amount of anonymous visits by formal MICHELIN inspectors. There is no formal application process in place.

How Does a Checklist Help You Earn a Michelin Star?

So how does a checklist help you earn a MICHELIN Star? A checklist helps ensure that each staff member is measuring against the award criteria and staying consistent over a given period of time. In other words, delivering the same exceptional service every time. This checklist also helps prevent the misallocation of resources and keeps your staff focused on what will help them be MICHELIN-recognized (i.e. focusing on the quality of ingredients versus the decor of the restaurant).

FAQs

How to get a MICHELIN Star as a chef?

MICHELIN Stars are awarded to the restaurant, not the chef. Chefs looking to earn a Michelin Star must follow these five criteria: quality of ingredients, mastery of technique, harmony of flavours, personality of the chef, and consistency, in order to improve their chances of having their restaurant recognized and awarded. 

Does MICHELIN only review expensive fine-dining restaurants?

No, MICHELIN Inspectors do not exclusively review expensive fine dining restaurants. While it may seem as though the MICHELIN Guide only awards fine dining restaurants like Toronto’s Alo, inspectors also have recognized many affordable restaurants around the world, such as Sister Wah or Din Tai Fong in Hong Kong. In fact, the MICHELIN Guide created the Bib Gourmand as a recognition for restaurants that serve high-quality food at more affordable prices – giving restaurants no matter the price point an opportunity to be recognized.

If my restaurant ticks every box, am I guaranteed to be recognized by inspectors?

While our MICHELIN Star Criteria Checklist is based on the official MICHELIN Guide criteria, our checklist only aims to help operators measure their restaurant against these criteria. This doesn’t guarantee they’ll earn a star as this process is up to the inspectors themselves. Our checklist can be used as a starting point for improving a restaurant’s chance of being recognized by anonymous inspectors and earning a star in the future.

Download our MICHELIN Star Criteria Checklist for free to learn more on how to become a MICHELIN Star restaurant and start making your venue shine bright enough to hopefully earn a star in the near future. And who knows, your restaurant might just make the top 10 restaurants in NYC or wherever your restaurant is located!