In 1900, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on the roads of France. To increase the demand for cars and, accordingly, car tyres, car tyre manufacturers and brothers Édouard and André Michelin published a guide for French motorists, the Michelin Guide.[1] Nearly 35,000 copies of this first, free edition of the guide were distributed. It provided information to motorists, such as maps, tyre repair and replacement instructions, car mechanics listings, hotels, and petrol stations throughout France.
During World War I, publication of the guide was suspended. After the war, revised editions of the guide continued to be given away until 1920. It is said that André Michelin, whilst visiting a tyre merchant, noticed copies of the guide being used to prop up a workbench. Based on the principle that "man only truly respects what he pays for", Michelin decided to charge a price for the guide, which was about 750 francs or $2.15 in 1922.[4] They also made several changes, notably listing restaurants by specific categories, adding hotel listings (initially only for Paris), and removing advertisements in the guide.[2] Recognizing the growing popularity of the restaurant section of the guide, the brothers recruited a team of inspectors to visit and review restaurants, who were always anonymous.[5]
Following the usage of the Murray's and Baedeker guides, the guide began to award stars for fine dining establishments in 1926. Initially, there was only a single star awarded. Then, in 1931, the hierarchy of zero, one, two, and three stars was introduced. Finally, in 1936, the criteria for the starred rankings were published:[2]
1 star : "A very good restaurant in its category" (Une très bonne table dans sa catégorie)
2 stars : "Excellent cooking, worth a detour" (Table excellente, mérite un détour)
3 stars : "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey" (Une des meilleures tables, vaut le voyage).
Líbí se mi, že to neznamená jenom to, že dvě hvězdičky jsou víc než jedna hvězdička, ale že je v tom zakódováno (nebo spíš bylo), jak moc je ta restaurace lepší.
Michelin Guide - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_Guide#Stars