The Michelin Guide
To choose a restaurant today there is no easier. Just type « best restaurant » in a search engine and a page will scroll with the name, address, menu, notes, photos and even the experiences of previous customers. But if you are looking for advice from gastronomy professionals there you need a guide such as Gault and Millau. But whoever makes the rain and the sun, the bible of French gastronomy is the Michelin guide.
Who is Michelin
Originally Michelin is a French company, it is the world leader in tires. In 1900 the company Michelin already manufactures tires but there are only 2400 motorists in France and therefore the tires are mainly aimed at a clientele of cyclists. In its beginning between 1900 until 1908 it was the advertising guide where we found claims (ancestor of advertising) this guide was free it was given to help travelers in cars. At the beginning of the 20th century the roads were mostly still dirt and at best cobbled, so tires wear out quickly and tires are changed frequently, so you need to find a garage easily, a hotel room, a restaurant. At the beginning it is the mobility aid that the Michelin guide provides.
The brothers Michelin André and Edouard were visionary, they understood to sell the tires it is necessary that the people drive so that they wear their tires. So the guide appeared to encourage and help motorists to drive. At the time there were very few garages and people do not necessarily know the roads of France. Michelin had the idea of selling advertising space in his guide, he also included the list of mechanics doctors, detailed town center maps and maps of companion roads that can be used by cyclists and motorists.
In 1904 for the first time the hotel addresses in the Michelin guide appear with the price according to the type of room, and what provides with the room (example candles..) is this was revolutionary
Appearance of the Michelin guide
In 1908 the Michelin company decided to stop publishing advertisements. The Michelin guide wants to be a reference and to be impartial, so it cannot receive money for advertisements. In 1909 the Michelin guide allows the reader to give his opinion and his recommendations, because in each guide contained an envelope that was addressed to the Michelin office. This envelope still exists in current.
At the end of the First World War, the automobile industry grew considerably Michelin was a relatively small business The automobile, which was previously reserved for heads of state, Maharajas, and movie stars, becomes accessible. People are starting to see the possibility of buying a car. So the emergence of the automobile also allows the emergence of real roads, such as the famous RN7 road that still exists that leaves from Paris via Lyon, Marseille and that allows to descend to Menton. The road will be created at this time, and as today all along the road there are restaurants.
Michelin will from the 1930s begin to rate its restaurants, and cover the entire French territory. The first opinions that will appear are not those of the famous inspectors, but rather of the employees of the Michelin company.
1931 marks a milestone in the history of the Michelin guide because that was the first year that famous stars are introduced, so you may be wondering what these stars mean?
They do make sense then:
*one star the establishment deserves the stop
** two stars the establishment is worth the detour
*** three stars the establishment deserves the trip
There is an anecdote that is quite funny anout the Michelin guide: in 1940 when the Germans arrived in France and they undertook to invade the country there was a lot of road that the Germans in France did not know, To help them find their way around more easily, the Germans used the Michelin guide and its extremely detailed maps.
Michelin guide’s future
There were several more guides published after the Michelin guide. Unfortunately Michelin has not changed since its creation because its opinions boil down to the attribution of a number of stars, a text of a few words can accompany the stars. The guide doesn’t inspire us to travel or dream; it doesn’t appeal to our senses; it has remained rather institutional in its dryness. Let’s not forget that Michelin’s main job is to sell tyres, by encouraging people to go on the road and wear out the tyres.
Over the past 35 years the guide has seen its sales go from six hundred thousand copies to 120 thousand, and especially these ten years because there is another competition, and it is not small it is competition of course of Internet and social networks such as Tripadvisor, Booking and many others.
