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Michelin tires ride on reputation of dining guide
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WHEN the Michelin Guide first went to press in France in 1900, an underlying agenda of its tire-company parent was to encourage emerging private car owners to take more journeys of discovery so that Michelin could sell more products.
More than a century later, the spirit of promoting exciting experiences on wheels remains very much alive. The International Michelin Guide, now in its 27th edition, is still exploring the culinary scene from boutique restaurants to street stalls.
But can this time-honored marketing strategy work its magic in China? We are about to find out. The 29th edition of the guide to star-ranked eating is coming to China, set for launch in Shanghai later this year, following the 28th edition for another Asian city.
Bruno de Feraudy, president of Michelin China, said he doesn’t expect the new guide to trigger a sudden boost in tire sales. Rather, he said, the guide offers an opportunity for Michelin to promote itself as a friendly, harmonious brand, just like the road experience its products inspire.
“With the Michelin Guide, we are not looking for volume, but rather quality, delivered with the same professionalism and consistency as we do with our tires,” he said.
Private cars are no longer novel luxuries in China. And in the age of the Internet, everyone can be a food critic. Not only are restaurants rated by customers in real time, but location-based services guide motorists to smart food choices.
A once-a-year publication like the Michelin Guide runs the risk of lagging the public’s pace of culinary adventures.
Michelin understands the challenge. Instead of trying to stimulate road travel or steer readers toward the best places to eat, the guide is taking on more the role of brand marketing to keep in touch with consumers before they need to buy tires again — a gap that can last 2-3 years.
While keeping pace with an app to its guide, Michelin retains its old-fashioned, time-consuming method of critiquing restaurants by sending teams of gastronomes across the world to dine in a large variety of restaurants repeatedly, each at a different time of the year, before they regroup to make annual collective decisions.
To ensure that its star-rating system remains consistent, be it in China or in France, the Michelin Guide doesn’t rely on just one inspector’s personal preferences and doesn’t ignore mitigating factors that may influence a chef’s performance on any given day.
Just as a comfortable road experience comes from balanced tires, the ratings are based on an overall evaluation of the food, from the quality of ingredients and cooking consistency over time and across menus, to harmony of flavors and value for money.
If one person on the team doesn’t agree with a decision, the team sends out an inspector to double-check the particulars.
The identity and even number of team members remain top secret, even to de Feraudy.
“I shouldn’t know,” he said. “Independence is critical to their work.”
All we are told is that each inspection team travels 30,000 kilometers a year, dining at 250 restaurants and spending 160 nights in hotels. The cost of supporting such an effort is formidable. De Feraudy said it’s all worth it. The guide isn’t a big business for Michelin, but it is a big deal to the Michelin brand.
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