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Michelin Guide is an annual guidebook that is published by the French tire company Michelin for more than a dozen countries. It provides recommendations for restaurants and hotels in various price ranges. 

What is Michelin Guide and Michelin Star?

Interestingly, the invention of the Michelin Star rating coincides with the invention of the automobile. The first Michelin Guide was compiled in 1900 by Michelin Tire founders and French industrialist brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin. The aim of the guide was to create a demand for automobiles, and therefore, Michelin tires.

After a few decades, the Guide evolved to include restaurant listings. More than a century later, the Michelin Guide now highlights and uplifts the finest international food establishments, guiding foodies to the world’s best restaurants and culinary destinations. 

The Michelin Guide awards a restaurant one to three stars based on the culinary experience it offers. An anonymous Michelin inspector follows a five-point criteria system as they assess restaurants. Restaurants are judged on elements of the food itself such as ingredient quality, cooking techniques, and flavor harmony. The restaurants’ ability to maintain quality over time and across a variety of menu dishes also plays a role. The most interesting criteria, however, is whether or not the chef’s personality is accurately reflected in the food.

One star is awarded to restaurants for “high-quality cooking that is worth a stop.” A restaurant with “excellent cooking that is worth a detour” is awarded two stars. The coveted prize is a three-star ranking, awarded to restaurants with “exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.” 

How is a restaurant awarded a Michelin Star?

First, the Michelin Guide team will select a limited number of restaurants in specified locations for an anonymous reviewer to evaluate. After visiting the chosen restaurant, the inspector writes a detailed report on the overall culinary experience, including the quality and presentation of the food, as well as the other grading criteria specified below. The Michelin inspectors will next meet to evaluate the reports and debate which restaurants deserve a Michelin Star (or two or three).

A Michelin Guide rating is one of the world’s most distinguished culinary awards. A star designation of any number has a significant impact on a restaurant’s reputation as well as the entire region where the restaurant operates. Many travelers choose restaurants and places based on their Michelin Star rating, frequently returning to and extending their stays at Michelin-awarded facilities. It benefits both the local economy and the individual restaurant. 

The Michelin Guide’s entry in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will bring much-deserved worldwide recognition to Vietnamese cuisine. It will expand the country’s food scene’s acclaim beyond its existing limits. Vietnamese cuisine should be honored on a global scale. Such attention will encourage Vietnamese chefs to practice their gastronomic art with even more passion, originality, technique, and dedication that has ran through the country’s and culture’s very fundamental value. 

The meaning of Michelin to Gia Restaurant

On behalf of everyone at Gia and supporting Gia, we would like to present this star to Vietnamese cuisine. It belongs to our every home-cooked meal, our mother, father, and grandparents who cook, and through every meal they nurture us into who we are today.

Also, the people who made Gia earned this prestige star. They are the team of chefs, Front of House, Back of House, and office staff who come to work at Gia every day and truly create the Gia experience in every service. They are resilient and patient suppliers who fulfill every request from Gia’s kitchen. They are the precious customers who have chosen us, from the very first service until today. And finally, those are our dear investors who have invested financially, and emotionally, and provide us with the strongest mental support, to bring Gia to this point.

We want to thank the Michelin Guide for this prestigious recognition. Gia has become one of the first restaurants to develop Vietnamese cuisine to receive a Michelin star, and our journey from today definitely won’t be the same. However, there are two things that will never change. First, the meaning behind our name. Gia comes from the word gia đình, which means family in Vietnamese. It’ll always be our approach to create all the values at Gia. Second, our mission is to continue to develop and preserve Vietnamese cuisine. It has been our foundation to grow on, and it always will be.