For the food connoisseur, a Michelin star is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a restaurant. But why do they call it a Michelin star? The answer lies in the history of the Michelin Tire Company.
The Michelin Tire Company was founded in 1889 by two brothers, Andre and Edouard Michelin. The brothers were passionate about cars and had a vision for creating a tire that would be safe, durable and provide superior performance.
After experimenting with several different materials, they eventually developed their first successful rubber tire in 1891. It wasn’t long before the company was producing tires for cars all over Europe.
The company quickly gained notoriety for its high-quality products and soon began to expand its reach. In 1900, Andre and Edouard created the now famous Michelin Guide – a guidebook to help automobile owners find hotels and restaurants on their travels. The brothers also used their guidebooks to give ratings to restaurants based on their quality of cuisine – one star was given to restaurants that provided “very good cooking”, two stars meant “excellent cooking” and three stars represented “exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey”.
Since then, the Michelin Guide has become an international benchmark for fine dining; restaurants around the world strive to earn one or more stars from the prestigious organization. As such, earning a Michelin star has become synonymous with excellence in culinary achievement.
Conclusion:
The term ‘Michelin Star’ today is synonymous with excellence in culinary achievement due to its long history of recognizing many of the world’s best restaurants. The name comes from the original creators of the guidebook – Andre and Edouard Michelin – who started out as passionate car enthusiasts making tires but ended up creating something so much bigger than themselves.