What do you think of this fact?
For chefs, a Michelin star is basically an Oscar. People grind for years to get one, and three is the dream. So who hands them out? A company that sells car tires. No joke, that was the plan from the start.
A booklet full of reasons to hit the road
André and Édouard Michelin founded their tire company in France in 1889. The problem: cars were still a rarity. According to Michelin, around 1900 there were fewer than 3,000 cars in all of France. Few cars, few tires, few sales.
So the brothers flipped the problem around. Instead of just selling tires, they set out to make people want to drive. The first Michelin Guide came out in 1900, and about 35,000 copies were given away for free. It had maps, tire-changing instructions, mechanics, gas stations, plus hotels and restaurants. The math was simple: drive more, wear out your tires faster, buy new ones. Ideally from Michelin.
From repair shops to stars
The restaurant tips were such a hit that the company sent out anonymous inspectors to eat at restaurants and review them. According to Michelin, the guide introduced its first star in 1926. In 1931, the system with up to three stars that you know today arrived.
According to Wikipedia, the stars were defined in the 1930s like this: one star for a very good restaurant in its category, two for excellent cooking worth a detour, and three for exceptional cuisine worth a special journey. A detour and a special journey, in other words: more miles. Whether that was intended or not, for a tire company it fits suspiciously well.
Free didn’t last
The guide didn’t stay free. In the early 1920s, Michelin started charging for it. According to Archives Portal Europe, that was a sign it was seen as more and more valuable.
The legend behind the price tag: André Michelin reportedly walked into a garage and saw his free guides propping up a workbench. His takeaway, according to Michelin: “Man only truly respects what he pays for.”
Today the stars are the most coveted prize in fine dining. They started out in a tire ad you could forget in your glove box.