Why Does a Tire Company Judge the Finest Restaurants?

A Michelin star can transform a restaurant, yet the institution behind it began with a much less glamorous concern: France did not have enough cars.

When brothers André and Édouard Michelin published their first guide in 1900, fewer than 3,000 automobiles traveled French roads. Their company made tires, but tires could not become a major business unless people drove more often and farther from home. The brothers therefore gave motorists a small red book containing maps, repair instructions, lists of mechanics, fuel sellers, hotels, and places to eat. A useful journey, they hoped, would eventually wear out a set of Michelin tires.

The guide was initially free. According to a story preserved by Michelin, André later saw copies being used to support a workbench in a tire shop. Concluding that people respected only what they paid for, the company began charging for it in 1920.

Restaurants gradually became the guide’s greatest attraction. Michelin hired anonymous inspectors, awarded its first restaurant stars in 1926, and introduced the familiar system of one, two, and three stars in 1931. The meanings still quietly reflect the guide’s motoring origin. One star marks a restaurant worth stopping for. Two indicate that it is worth a detour. Three mean that the restaurant deserves a special journey.

The language of the world’s most famous restaurant rating system is still telling diners to get in the car.