Bib Gourmand, Another Prize for Michelin Star Restaurants; Your Restaurant Can Get It, Too!
In November 2019, Michelin Star announced the Michelin Guide for Thailand in 2020. The event included announcements of awards for restaurants selected for inclusion the Michelin Guide in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Phang Nga. For the 2020 edition, 24 restaurants received one Michelin star, 5 restaurants received two Michelin stars and 94 restaurants were awarded the Bib Gourmand.
A Michelin star is an international award. Any restaurant given this award is guaranteed to have great flavor. This award is given only to the most outstanding restaurants and raises the restaurant’s credibility among gastronomists worldwide. This is because the criteria used by Michelin are concerned only with the food in the plate and not other components such as atmosphere and location in scoring in line with the concept “The stars are on the plate and only on the plate.” The five criteria used in awarding stars are ingredient quality, flavor mastery and cooking techniques, display of the chef’s personality in cuisine, monetary value and consistency between visits. There are three different Michelin star awards as follows:
1 star means the restaurant is high-quality and worth a stop.
2 stars means the restaurant is excellent and worth a detour.
3 stars means the restaurant is one of the best restaurants around, and should be visited at least once in a person’s lifetime, regardless of the restaurant’s location.
In addition to the Michelin stars, there’s another equally important award that Michelin grants to every type of restaurants from street vendors to luxurious restaurants. This award is the Bib Gourmand. Indicated by the symbol of the Michelin Man licking his chops, this award is given to quality restaurants that offer three courses, namely, appetizers, main courses and desserts at reasonable prices in line with the concept “Good cuisine at reasonable prices.”
Michelin Star and Bib Gourmand awards are well-known for giving great turning points to restaurants. In addition to causing these restaurants to be published in the Michelin Guide, Michelin Star’s widely accepted reputation of over 120 years serves as a great driving force in raising awareness about restaurants and transforming them into destinations for tourists worldwide.
And from another point of view, with Michelin Star’s strict consideration criteria primarily covering food quality and preparations, Michelin stars and Bib Gourmand mean that the restaurants with these awards are attentive to the importance of food quality and customers, which is the foundational standard every accomplished restaurant must maintain, regardless of whether or not the restaurant cares about the awards.
Therefore, for all restaurateurs who give importance to ingredient quality, flavor mastery and cooking techniques, display of the chef’s personality in cuisine, monetary value and consistency between visits, don’t be surprised if restaurant orders flow in and customers pack restaurants every day in addition to potentially receiving a Michelin Star or the Bib Gourmand. We’d like to remind you that these five criteria are not difficult, but are in fact foundational to every accomplished restaurant.
We would like to thank the Michelin Guide for the illustrations: https://guide.michelin.com/th/en/to-the-stars-and-beyond-th
