＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
The number of stars in the “Michelin Guide” is an interesting indicator of good restaurants.
The Michelin Guide has traditionally been criticized by “anti-Michelin” chefs and critics, but this year, while there were 75 new or promoted restaurants, there were also “demotions” of well-established restaurants, and the criticism of these demotions has been controversial.
What is the Michelin Guide?
The Michelin Guide is a restaurant and hotel guide published by Michelin, a French tire manufacturer, which rates restaurants by the number of stars they receive.
2. criticism of the 2019 Michelin rating changes
(1) Criticism of the 2019 rating changes
The Michelin Guide 2019, published in January 2019, came as a big shock. This is because the changes were so drastic that it is hard to believe that different evaluation criteria were introduced.
One of the reasons for this is that Michael Ellis, who was the director until 2018, stepped down and was replaced by Gwendel Poulenec.
The “Auberge de l’Ile” in Alsace, which had held the “3-star” rating for 51 years, was demoted; “Marc Veyrat” in Savoie was also demoted after only one year of “3 stars”; “Astrance”, which had been awarded “3 stars” in 2007, was demoted to “1 star”; and “Auberge de l’Ile” in Paris was demoted to “1 stars” in 2008.
Gwendel Poulenec stated that “Michelin’s 3-star rating is renewed on a yearly basis and does not last forever.
This can be taken as a warning to long-established restaurants not to neglect their diligence just because they have been awarded three stars.
Alain Doutournier of Carré des Fouillants in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, known for its classic French cuisine, exposed Michelin’s shortcomings in detail in an official letter to Michelin.
Then, the stars of his two restaurants were subsequently revoked.
Doutournier said, “There is no independence in Michelin, which has turned its attention to the major hotel industry and the financial sector and lost its original artisanal and family-oriented side.” He also questioned the “photogenic appearance of the restaurant, which in recent years has been valued more than the actual taste.
(2) Criticisms of the validity of past evaluations
In 2005, the first “New York City Edition,” which covered non-European countries for the first time, caused controversy when it found only four three-star restaurants, and all of them were by French chefs.
Pascal Remy, a Michelin inspector for 16 years, revealed in his 2004 book “Michelin Behind the Scenes – The Gastronomic Authority with the Veil Torn Off” that “some three-star restaurants have already lost their value, yet they maintain their star count because of ties The magazine’s foreign editions are not the only ones that have been criticized for their lack of star value. As for the expansion line to foreign editions, he criticizes “Nalet (who promoted this line) has changed everything: he is only interested in 3-star restaurants and has turned his investigators into amateurs.”
I cannot say anything about “fairness of evaluation” because I do not have the materials to judge objectively. Whether the food is good or not” is subjective and depends largely on personal taste. It is like the “artistic point evaluation” of figure skating, synchronized swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, and so on.
We understand that the person who is given a failing grade may well feel that the evaluation is unfair. On the other hand, the evaluator may think, “It is natural for a restaurant that is resting on its laurels to lose its reputation.
3. History
It was first published in France as a guidebook for motorists in 1900, the year of the Paris Exposition. 35,000 copies were printed and distributed free of charge. (From 1920, it was distributed for a fee.)
The hope was that this would stimulate automobile travel and increase tire sales.
The principle that “the Guide exists to sell tires” and “for Michelin, the Guide exists to market its brand name and to develop its tire business” continues to this day.
The method of rating hotels serving cuisine by stars was initiated in 1926. The number of stars was initially limited to one star, then two stars were created, and in 1931 the three-star system was introduced.
In 1956, a foreign version (Europe outside of France) was created, and in 2004, Jean-Luc Naret, who became the general manager, further expanded the scope to include non-European countries such as the United States and Japan in 2005.
3. evaluation criteria
The evaluation criteria by “stars” are as follows
① 1 star: Particularly good cuisine in its field.
② 2-star: extremely delicious and worth the detour to visit.
③ 3-star: Outstanding cuisine that is worth the trip to taste it.
In addition to the “star” rating, there are also the “fork and spoon” rating (for comfort and service) and the “Bib Gourmand” (for value for money).
4. survey method
The survey is conducted by a combination of “undercover” investigations by undercover investigators and “in-home” investigations in which the investigators interview the respondents without revealing their identities.
There are approximately 90 investigators worldwide, and there are seven Japanese investigators in Japan.
