Michelin stars: loved by some, coveted by many, but also hated in equal measure – or so it would seem.

In Denmark for example, some critics are in shock, as one of the world’s best and most creative restaurants, Noma in Copenhagen, has not been awarded its third Michelin star this year. I’m afraid that my attitude is, ‘so what’, and I don’t mean that in the sense that it does or doesn’t deserve it, because I’ve never eaten there. If I did then I’m sure that the fact it doesn’t have its third star would not diminish my enjoyment at all. Indeed, any rating is purely subjective and is the just the opinion of the reviewer.  One of my very favourite restaurants here in Galicia only has one star, but to be honest I’d still queue up in the rain to eat there even if it didn’t. I really like it – full stop.

I am not sure if it’s because we’re somehow reluctant to decide for ourselves or whether it is simply that we feel we require some point of reference, but from my own perspective the famous Red Guide works for food pretty much in the same way as Parker points works for wine. I think the key to how we disseminate the information that they provide can be found in the word itself…… the original objective of these books is merely as a ‘guide’, to help us. They exist only to steer us in the right direction, and should never become the overall determining factor in whether any particular business is deemed to be a success or a failure.

I guess that’s what I mean about having the ability to decide for ourselves, and trust our own judgement. Yes, a guide can be useful to give us an idea, and perhaps lead us to some new experience, but that’s as far as it should go.

Some people like Marmite, some put butter on their Weetabix, whilst others eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but who am I to tell them that this is wrong, or that they shouldn’t enjoy it? I actually quite like peanut butter and banana on toast, but I don’t think that this particular snack would win any Michelin stars!

Michelin stars: loved by some, coveted by many, but also hated in equal measure – or so it would seem.

In Denmark for example, some critics are in shock, as one of the world’s best and most creative restaurants, Noma in Copenhagen, has not been awarded its third Michelin star this year. I’m afraid that my attitude is, ‘so what’, and I don’t mean that in the sense that it does or doesn’t deserve it, because I’ve never eaten there. If I did then I’m sure that the fact it doesn’t have its third star would not diminish my enjoyment at all. Indeed, any rating is purely subjective and is the just the opinion of the reviewer.  One of my very favourite restaurants here in Galicia only has one star, but to be honest I’d still queue up in the rain to eat there even if it didn’t. I really like it – full stop.

I am not sure if it’s because we’re somehow reluctant to decide for ourselves or whether it is simply that we feel we require some point of reference, but from my own perspective the famous Red Guide works for food pretty much in the same way as Parker points works for wine. I think the key to how we disseminate the information that they provide can be found in the word itself…… the original objective of these books is merely as a ‘guide’, to help us. They exist only to steer us in the right direction, and should never become the overall determining factor in whether any particular business is deemed to be a success or a failure.

I guess that’s what I mean about having the ability to decide for ourselves, and trust our own judgement. Yes, a guide can be useful to give us an idea, and perhaps lead us to some new experience, but that’s as far as it should go.

Some people like Marmite, some put butter on their Weetabix, whilst others eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but who am I to tell them that this is wrong, or that they shouldn’t enjoy it? I actually quite like peanut butter and banana on toast, but I don’t think that this particular snack would win any Michelin stars!