The US Michelin Guides are Back

The Michelin Guide has announced it is getting back to reviewing US restaurants, with new guides for Washington D.C., New York and Chicago to be published over the next three weeks.

After a year in which all restaurants were closed to indoor diners because of the pandemic, the Michelin Guide’s inspectors have tucked in their napkins and put together their listings for Washington D.C., New York and Chicago for 2021, and will be revealed over the next three weeks in a virtual event called ‘Still Serving’. The Michelin Guide to California will be announced at a later date.

The French tyre company has come under criticism by some for forging ahead with reviewing restaurants when many of them have just experienced the most traumatic year in a generation, wondering how inspectors could make a realistic assessment of a kitchen's output. Others have wondered whether adding to the stress of pinned-to-the-collar chefs right now is in the best interests of the hospitality industry.

However, the Michelin Guide has been undeterred and has already released editions this year for France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Great Britain and Ireland among others, with an increase in new three-star restaurants. The reviewing process for this guide was complete by the end of 2020, however Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the guides, claims they decided to wait until now to publish to allow restaurants to reopen.