Star Power: Michelin Guide Comes to Canada
Michelin inspectors are visiting restaurants across Toronto in preparation for this fall’s inaugural MICHELIN Guide Toronto.
Announced in May at the Four Seasons’ Café Boulud and at RC Show 2022 as the first Canadian destination for the selection, the news is an acknowledgement of Toronto’s world-class dining experiences and an opportunity for local chefs to join the more than 15,000 restaurants across the globe with Michelin Star ratings. “For the first time in its history, the MICHELIN Guide lands in Canada, and our inspectors are excited to experience the impressive culinary landscape of Toronto,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the MICHELIN Guides. “This first selection for Canada’s largest city, and our first in the country, will represent the local flavours, international inspiration, and distinct creativity that makes Toronto’s dining scene world-class.”
A Michelin Star is awarded for outstanding cooking and considers the quality of ingredients, the harmony of flavours, the mastery of techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed in their cuisine as well as consistency over time and across the menu. A restaurant can be awarded between one to three Stars, with only 134 restaurants with a three Michelin Star rating. As part of the process of finding new Star restaurants, those with a Michelin Star are reassessed to maintain their Star rating in the next Guide. Restaurants can ask also Michelin to be considered for inclusion in the MICHELIN Guide.
Michelin also bestows Bib Gourmand ratings, which recognize restaurants that offer great quality food at good prices and are included in each city’s MICHELIN guide. As well, they award the Michelin Green Star to restaurants involved in sustainable gastronomy.
Inspectors are full-time employees of Michelin and are experts in food, dining and hotel sectors with many years working the hospitality industry. They remain anonymous during the dining process by making reservations and paying for their meals to ensure they are treated the same as any other customer. The decision to award a Michelin star is a team process, with multiple inspectors visiting the restaurant to ensure consistency.
Toronto was being considered as a destination for the MICHELIN Guide before the COVID-19 pandemic. “Toronto’s culinary scene is as diverse as the city itself, and the MICHELIN Guide Toronto is the perfect way to celebrate our culinary community,” said Scott Beck, President & CEO of Destination Toronto. “It will be a powerful way to share our culinary capabilities with new audiences from around the world. We’re so proud to partner with Michelin and our destination partners Destination Ontario and Destination Canada, to bring the MICHELIN Guide to Canada for the first time.”
