The international director of the Michelin Guides Gwendal Poullennec at the Vaudeville brasserie in Paris on March 14, 2024 (AFP / Alain JOCARD)
“Paid to eat in the best restaurants in the world” but above all to remain as anonymous as a secret service agent. Here’s what we know about the Michelin Guide inspectors:
– 8,000 applications, 25 nationalities
The management of the guide published by the French multinational Michelin receives 8,000 spontaneous applications each year, AFP learned from its boss Gwendal Poullennec.
The recruitment criteria are “professionalism” and “openness” to travel and world cultures, as well as to novelty, explains Mr. Poullennec, who promises that some of these spontaneous applications will be successful.
Michelin does not communicate on the number of its teams or its recruitments to guarantee total anonymity for its employees and not to risk compromising the surprise dimension of its visits, guaranteeing a meal without preferential treatment and a reliable recommendation.
The inspectors are today of 25 nationalities, men and women of all ages, mobile across France, Europe and the 45 destinations covered by the red guide.
Most of the employees, all on permanent contracts, and in small teams outside France, come from the world of restaurants, sommeliers or hotels and must have “at least ten years” of experience in the sector. , according to the site.
– 2 years of training, 0 index
The digital and printed versions of the 2024 Michelin Guides at the Vaudeville brasserie in Paris on March 14, 2024 (AFP / Alain JOCARD)
A beginner inspector will be paired with more experienced inspectors for a training period of up to two years, or around “800 meals” to assimilate the Michelin method, AFP learned.
The inspector then lives undercover, only his inner circle of family, likely to accompany him to the restaurant in order to perfect the legend, is generally aware of his activity.
To friends and more distant circles, the inspector will generally say that he is in “consulting” with restaurants, a good excuse to travel the country and indulge without having to justify himself. They follow continuing training and with seniority can become “editor-in-chief” within the guide.
These employees regularly change their means of payment and even their telephone number to ensure that they are not unmasked at the time of booking, always under an assumed name. Platforms and applications have taken it upon themselves to “track” them, noted AFP.
If these are spotted by the restaurateur, they must “report” the incident in their report.
– 5 evaluation criteria, not 1 more
The meal takes place without taking notes, even if photos on the phone are customary today. The inspector is thus asked to exercise his memory on the smallest detail of the plate, the service and the place, right down to the appearance of the toilets.
Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, during the ceremony for the winners of the Michelin Guide France 2023 in Strasbourg on March 6, 2023 (AFP / PATRICK HERTZOG)
It is also up to the inspector to investigate the environment of the restaurant, its suppliers, its integration into the local fabric, its economic structure.
The report is written later.
Five criteria are ultimately retained for the recommendation: quality of ingredients, analysis of cooking and culinary techniques, harmony of flavors, perception of the personality and emotion that the chef wanted to convey in his plates, regularity of the cuisine through the menu and between different visits.
The inspector pays for his meal.
Addresses are visited several times before being recommended by the guide. When it comes to promotion to the rank of starred restaurant, it must be done unanimously during meetings called “star sessions” bringing together the inspectors.
If disagreement persists about an establishment, further visits are organized until consensus is reached.