There is a widespread belief that, in fact, one of the most prestigious awards in the world of gastronomy is awarded not to the establishment, but to the author of the dishes from its menu. We checked whether this is actually true.

Edition of The Village at the end of 2020 wrote: “It is also worth noting that Michelin stars are awarded not so much to restaurants, but to the chefs who lead the kitchens of these establishments. Therefore, a chef’s transfer—moving to another restaurant or opening his own—can take a star away.” A year earlier, on the website of the Ukrainian TV channel “1 + 1” there was published analysis “What are Michelin stars and why are they given”, in which there is a similar statement: “A Michelin star can be awarded to both a restaurant and a chef personally - if the restaurant critic is amazed by his original cuisine. Interestingly, when changing his workplace, the award-winning chef takes his star with him.” It is possible that in both cases the authors of the texts used Wikipedia. And in Russian-speaking, and in Ukrainian-speaking version there is the following fragment: “It is known that stars are often awarded to chefs, and not to restaurants, so the chef can leave and “grab” his star to another restaurant.”

A separate fragment is devoted to the analysis of such statements. selection “Exposing Five Myths About the Michelin Guide,” prepared by its compilers.

First of all, they note that there is no such “term” as “Michelin-starred chef.” Working in an establishment with this award or even owning such a restaurant does not lead to the corresponding formal status. Also, the guide’s compilers draw attention to the fact that, from their point of view, the entire restaurant team works on preparing dishes, so it is not entirely fair to mention only one person.

Secondly, the guide is updated annually - during the time between publications, a chef may leave a restaurant with a Michelin star, but if the establishment maintains the high level of dishes with a new head of the kitchen, then the prestigious status will remain with him.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the Michelin Guide explicitly states: “Chefs cannot take their stars with them, nor can stars go to another restaurant owned by the same chef. If a chef who runs a Michelin star restaurant in Spain opens a new establishment in Hong Kong, he does not automatically receive a star.”

There are plenty of examples of this. Thus, the famous chef and TV presenter Gordon Ramsay opened Gordon Ramsay Restaurant in London in 1998, which already in 2001 received three Michelin stars. Although Ramsay has not headed the restaurant's kitchen since 2007, the guide's compilers still give maximum rating for the restaurant. Since then, the famous chef opened more than a dozen new projects around the world, and not all of them can boast of such success (at the same time, six of his restaurants received one star, another - two).

Cover photo: Reuters / Maxim Shemetov