Many of you have probably heard about a “Michelin star restaurant” – a prestigious place with high-class cuisine that is famously hard to get into without advanced reservation. Others, however, interlink Michelin with a major tire making company. But did you know that both ofthese lines of business belong to one common company? To begin with, let us put you in the picture about the story of one tire making enterprise becoming one of the most prestigious restaurant rating systems in the world.
Michelin company was founded in France in 19th century by two brothers Andre and EdouardMichelin. Michelin brothers were trailbreakers in tire making. However, they initially faced a crucial problem concerning development of their business – the culture of travel was hardly arising and cars were not in a favour at that time. Thus, Michelin brothers’ tire business did not bring much income at that moment due to a small demand for automobiles. In order to stimulate interest in cars and, subsequently, in travel (frequent tire changes) the brothers came up with a brilliant marketing move – to create a travel guide.
In 1900 Andre and Edouard compiled the first Michelin Guide that included all the necessary information for auto enthusiasts, namely the location for gas stations, car services, hotels and restaurants. This guide was initially handed out for free. As time went by, the guide’s focus moved to specifically gastronomic discoveries. Eventually, that move gained a positive feedback from public. Nowadays it has become easier to surf the list of Michelin restaurants since online guide with restaurants from all over the world is available for public use.
How to get into the Michelin Guide?
Restaurants undergo strict and anonymous inspection. Michelin inspectors are true gastronomy professionals who anonymously visit certain restaurants to form an opinion about both the establishment and the cuisine itself. Restaurants are subject to evaluation according to the following key criteria: quality of ingredients, skill of the chef, individuality, stability, value for money factor. In case all the above-mentioned factors are met, the establishment can be included in the Michelin Red Guide rating and even receive the desired star.
Les étoiles de Michelin
In 1926, Michelin began awarding stars to restaurants for outstanding cuisine. Originally, it was one star but later the rating system evolved into a three-star system. Each star has its own meaning:
• One star – a good restaurant in its category.
• Two stars – restaurant with excellent cuisine, which is worth a detour.
• Three stars – a gastronomic masterpiece, which is worth a special trip.
The “Michelin star” has become the highest sign of recognition in the gastronomic world, changing the fates of restaurants and chefs worldwide.
Other restaurant ratings
It is worth noting that there are other exquisite restaurant guides except Michelin. Take for example Gault & Millau (Gault Millau) – another French restaurant guide that rates establishments, or more precisely – their cuisine, on a 20-point scale. However, we will raise this topic a little later in our blog and suggest primarily focusing on the Michelin guide;
SAVALAN and Michelin?
By all means, there is a reason why we began discussing the topic of elite restaurant ratings.SAVALAN products are proudly presented in an impressive number of Michelin restaurants around the world – from those that are only mentioned in the guides to restaurants with 3 Michelin stars!
Since the list of restaurants is quite extensive and we want to deliberate about each one, we decided to launch a series of articles dedicated to restaurants from the Michelin guide that feature SAVALAN products. For our part, we will try to convey the atmosphere of these establishments as much as possible in order to help our audience form an idea of the restaurants where you can taste magnificent signature dishes along with a glass of SAVALAN wine.
Best regards,
Fuad Seyidaliev and Arif Rahimov
Founders and Co-owners of SAVALAN-ASPI Winery