The French-based Michelin Guide is coming to New Orleans and Louisiana, after years of speculation over when or even if it would happen. That means restaurants in the region are up for Michelin review and are eligible to earn coveted Michelin Stars and other rankings from the global brand for the first time.
The Michelin Guide American South will cover restaurants in a six-state area: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Atlanta restaurants, which Michelin has covered since 2023, will also be included in the guide, which will be presented online, at least to begin.
Michelin's restaurant inspectors are now at work visiting restaurants around the region. The selections for stars and other levels of recognition are expected to be released later in 2025, at a date and place yet to be announced.
Let's break down the basics to know about the Michelin Guide.
Michelin recognition is on display at Le Bouchon Sully, a gently modern read on the traditional bouchon restaurants of Lyon, France. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
What are Michelin Stars?
Michelin Stars and the most famous and prestigious ranking from the brand, with their own hierarchy of one to three stars. Michelin’s inspectors determine if they feel a restaurant deserves a star rating, and how many. Here’s how the guide explains its star rating system:
- One Star: High quality cooking, worth a stop.
- Two Stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour.
- Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.
Stars are rare and generally coveted in the industry, though some chefs have eschewed them over the pressure to maintain that status.
There are only 14 restaurants in U.S. with three stars and 32 with two stars, while 213 have one-star ratings.
How does a restaurant make the Michelin Guide?
Michelin is famously tight-lipped about its doings, but the basics are known. It deploys “inspectors” who anonymously dine at restaurants under consideration in a market. Michelin says those inspectors are now at work visiting restaurants around the region.
What are the criteria for Michelin ratings?
The Michelin Guide explains that restaurants are assessed for the quality of their food based on these five criteria:
- quality products
- the harmony of flavors
- the mastery of cooking techniques
- the voice and personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine
- consistency between each visit and throughout the menu (each restaurant is inspected several times a year)
Do all restaurants in the Michelin Guide have Michelin stars?
No. All restaurants in the guide are recommended by Michelin, but not all at the highest level of star ratings. The guide also expanded in recent years to include Bib Gourmand selections and "recommended" restaurants.
So what does Bib Gourmand mean?
Michelin says this distinction recognizes “good quality, good value cooking.” This is a newer rating system that gives Michelin more latitude to recommend different types of restaurants. Typically they’re more casual than those getting the star treatment, and less costly.
The Michelin Man has a name, Bibendum, which inspired the name of the Bib Gourmand award for restaurants in the Michelin Guide. (Image courtesy of Michelin)
You may recognize the Michelin Man mascot, the fellow built out of tires. He has a name, which is Bibendum, from which Bib Gourmand is derived (fun side note: Michelin says it coined the name Bibendum from the Latin phrase "Nunc est Bibendum," or "now is the time to drink!").
The symbol for a Bib Gourmand selection is an image of him licking his lips. Michelin says this rating “recognizes friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices.”
The Bib Gourmand award from the Michelin Guide recognizes restaurants with "good quality, good value cooking." (Image courtesy of Michelin Guide)
Michelin now rates 381 restaurant around the U.S. with Bib Gourmand status.
What are other levels of Michelin recognition?
Beyond stars and Bib Gourmand, Michelin lists "recommended restaurants" in the regions it assesses. This is a much broader category, signifying a spot Michelin thinks serves food of a high standard, but not at the award levels.
Michelin also has “special awards” in categories including its Exceptional Cocktail Award, Outstanding Service Award, Sommelier Award, and its Michelin Green Star, for "restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices."
Is the Michelin Guide related to Michelin tires?
As the mascot indicates, yes. The French auto tire maker created the Michelin guide early in the 20th century when automobile travel was still new. The idea was to give people traversing the country ideas of where to stop for good meals. It was a traveler’s amenity and a marketing tool: encourage people to drive more, and they will eventually need more tires, preferably Michelin’s. Some of that history still shows up in the parlance of its star ratings (“worth a stop,” “worth a detour,” etc.).
