5 keys to understand the Michelin Guide

In gastronomy, in addition to the codes and the language of the trade, there is a common element among chefs, and even the the room staff: The need for a well-done job to be recognized. It is curious that one of these culinary recognitions goes hand in hand with a tire manufacturer. Let's review some basic aspects of the prestigious **Red Guide.**

1) The beggining:
In the early twentieth century the French company Michelin, began to give their customers a guide with highlighted places of interest for drivers, maps of some cities as well as information on doctors, mechanics and others. There was a potential target among the few car drivers that existed at that time.

2) Let's eat:
By 1920 the Michelin Guide begins to include in its recommendations, restaurants and basic information about their quality, in this year it also begins to be marketed as a product in itself. Six years later, the stars appear (only one at the beginning). By 1931, they began to classify restaurants with one, two or three stars according to their quality criteria.

3) Men in black:
There is a group of almost 90 people whose job is to travel 30,000 kilometers around the world, try approximately 250 meals and not be able to tell anyone. Of the Michelin Inspectors it is said, with romantic exaggeration, that they take their work so seriously that they can not even discuss it with their relatives, all to preserve the anonymity that allows them to evaluate the food without receiving special treatment, like any other diner.

4) What is sought:
The inspectors evaluate exclusive gastronomic characteristics: quality of the products, price - value relation, flavor and texture of the food; others more subjective, such as the personal reflection of the chef in the restaurant's food. All this using the following estimation scale:
1 star: A very good restaurant in its category.
2 stars: A restaurant with a top quality cuisine "it's worth getting out of the way to eat in it"
3 stars: A restaurant with an exceptional cuisine "it's worth traveling there just to eat in it"

5) The true stars:
A restaurant can reach a maximum of three stars, however chefs can reach many more by working in different restaurants. The chefs with the highest number of stars are currently:
Martín Berasategui (Spain) 8 stars
Pierre Garnaire (France) 9 stars
Gordon Ramsay (Scotland) 14 stars
Alain Ducasse (France) 19 stars Joel Ribuchon (France) 28 stars