New Michelin stars will be awarded on Monday at the DeLaMar Theater in Amsterdam. Such a star is the world’s largest recognized award for restaurants with excellent cuisine and excellent service. How do you get a star as a restaurant? And what is its effect?

A restaurant can earn a maximum of three Michelin stars. Currently in the Netherlands there are two restaurants with three Michelin stars, 18 with two stars and 93 with one star.

Its value is expressed at the time of departure. The tire manufacturer Michelin began to do this in 1957, to direct drivers in the Michelin Guide to good restaurants and hotels and thus incentivize the use of the car.

– a star: The cuisine is high quality and well worth the stop.

– 2 stars: The kitchen is of excellent quality and worth a detour.

Three stars: The cuisine is of exceptional quality and is a travel destination in itself.

Werner Loens, Director of the Michelin Guide at Benelux, NU.nl reports that all so-called Michelin inspectors use the same criteria to evaluate the dish. The quality and taste of the products are checked, as well as the competencies and creativity of the chef in using the ingredients. Also, the level of the plate should be constant at all times of the day. If you score worse than before, you may lose a star.

Inspectors do not take any chances: each restaurant is visited several times. Being a Michelin inspector is a full-time career. Every three months, inspectors are assigned an area in which they visit restaurants. The inspector does not visit the same restaurant twice in a period of three years. Therefore, the restaurant is visited at least four times a year by different inspectors before being given the rating.

All inspectors are appointed by Michelin and act as regular customers. So they are anonymous. With a multi-course menu, all courses are savored with a la carte, and appetizers, main course and dessert are ordered.

Restaurants eligible for a Michelin star are determined once a year in a confidential meeting with all inspectors. Luns says the number of inspectors there is also a secret.

The more prestigious the restaurant, the higher the rating “worldwide”. When given one Michelin star, the restaurant was evaluated by two Michelin inspectors from the same country. When awarding several stars, outside inspectors have also rated the restaurant over a five-year period.

In short: you don’t just get a star, chefs have a Michelin star in high esteem and recognition for their profession. This not only results in additional guests but also in employees. A spokesperson for Koninklijke Horeca Nederland told NU.nl that a Michelin rating also plays a role in attracting employees, because gaining experience in a star restaurant is seen as an important step in the careers of many chefs and hosts.

But such a star is not only a perfume with a rose aroma, it can also create additional stress for chefs. After all, you (usually) want to keep a star like this. French economist Olivier Gergaud said in 2020 in The password That the restaurant’s sales after being awarded a Michelin star increased by 80 percent in three years, but the profit is not growing or hardly growing. As a result, restaurants are in the red.

Hospitality Management There was an explanation for this in 2010, which may still make sense: the higher the restaurant scores, the more luxurious and higher quality ingredients must be in order to retain the stars(s). These products have a higher purchase price and these costs cannot be passed on to the guest separately. The restaurant may attract new guests, but due to the high prices, it may also lose some of its trusted guests and may eventually become a loser.

As a restaurant you cannot refuse a star. Loens: “The service we provide to consumers, not to restaurants.”

However, according to Koninklijke Horeca Nederland spokesperson, there are star restaurants that consciously adjust their style and menu, not qualifying for a star in the next guide.

At lunchtime on Mondays you can read on NU.nl which restaurants have won (or lost) a Michelin star this year.