The Michelin Guide Has Lost Some of Its Star Power
The famous dining guidebook isn’t going away, but it is now just another part of the culinary and media landscape.
Part of a three-star meal.
Photographer: CRISTINA QUICLER/AFPThe announced closing of Rene Redzepi’s Noma restaurant in Copenhagen attracted a lot of attention, but a broader trend is still playing itself out: Michelin-starred restaurants simply aren’t what they used to be, in my view, nor is the Michelin experience.
It started with the pandemic and the collapse of dining-related travel. Japanese customers in particular were important supporters of the Michelin experience, and until the last few months they hardly went abroad. A lot of the tourist business for Michelin-starred dining will undoubtedly come back — but the excitement is gone, and many people are comfortably ensconced in their new habits of home cooking, takeout and quick meals on the road.