Guided by the stars

Michelin has been quietly reinventing itself even as it holds on to its feted (and feared) rating system. Here's everything a good foodie needs to know

Almost everything you think you know about Michelin stars is wrong. Let's start with the basic misconceptions. Michelin gives stars (ranging from one to three) to restaurants, not to chefs.

Each year, these stars are reviewed, and if the restaurant is found not to have maintained its quality, the star is taken away.

So when a chef claims to be a Michelin-star chef because he once worked in a restaurant that had a Michelin star, he is talking nonsense. When a restaurant claims to be Michelin starred because it once held a star, it is lying unless it holds a star for the current year.

These are mistakes made usually by people outside the food industry. But there is a second and third set of mistakes made within the industry.

Visiting chefs are often described as Michelin-star chefs. The star wasn't the chef's to begin with (it was the restaurant's). And some chefs continue using the Michelin name after they have left the restaurant or the restaurant has lost its star.

And there is a third, more serious range of mistakes. Chefs will tell you that because Michelin is a French company, there will be a prejudice against Asian countries. You can't use too much spice. All dishes must be presented on pretty plates.

There is a formula for how you have to balance your tangy flavours to please the Michelin inspectors.