Chat and Interview with Derek Bulmer

[Andy Lynes]

In your interview with Simon Carter you say that "At the Two and Three star level we expect originality and innovation – a personal signature if you like."

Would you be able to elaborate in general terms on the criteria Michelin uses in order to assess the originality and innovation of a restaurant and its chef.

[Derek Bulmer]

Derek, welcome to the site, and a question or two:

1) Are the majority of the Guide reviewers/inspectors for the UK British citizens?

2) Is there any fundamental difference to the way the UK restaurants are evaluated from the way they are evaluated in France and Italy? Do you see any major cultural differences between, say a 3 star in England and a 3 star in France?

←

It usually follows that inspectors of each individual guide are nationals of that country although there are a couple of exceptions to this. All UK inspectors are British.

One of the major advantages of Michelin Guides is that our selection is pan European and that each guide is made in exactly the same way. In order to ensure this consistency the training of new inspectors takes place in different European countries - not just the mother country. Therefore restaurant evaluations are fundamentally the same, whether in France Italy or the UK.

Similarly decisions relating to 3 stars are not just 'local' decisions. They are made by senior/very experienced members of our company from different countries. It therefore follows that I don't see any cultural differencies between our 3 star restaurants throughout Europe as the same people are making the decisions.

It should be noted, however, that with regard to stars - and especially 3 stars - the chef's origins, creativity and personality can result in very different cooking styles that cannot be compared and that some styles are more suited to one customer than another.

[Derek Bulmer]

2) Is there any fundamental difference to the way the UK restaurants are evaluated from the way they are evaluated in France and Italy? Do you see any major cultural differences between, say a 3 star in England and a 3 star in France?

←

Yes, is there congruence between the different national guides? For my tastes, a French star is worth about two in the U.K. and one and a half in Spain. Indeed, I just don't believe the U.K. has any three star dining, if by three star we mean the standard to found at Michel Bras or Pierre Gagnaire etc.

Do you think you'd sell less U.K. guides if there were no three starred restaurants in the U.K?

Have you considered doing a 'guide of guides' for Europe as whole, but ranking establishments on a Europe-wide criteria instead of a set of differing national criteria? It would make the list obsessed like myself very happy

←

See my answer to Jason above.

I obviously completely disagree with your suggestion that stars have different values in different countries and that the UK doesn't have any 'real' 3 stars. Our stars - at any level - are just as valid as those in any other country.

I don't think the number of 3 star restaurants we list would affect our sales in any way and that is certainly not a consideration we would make when arriving at our star decisions.

Your idea of a 'guide of guides' is an interesting one although it would be too large as a paper product to include all the current addresses. Perhaps a guide to the star restaurants of Europe might be interesting?

[Derek Bulmer]

How can we, the public, influence the guide, if at all.  Or, putting it another way, how does Michelin view and accept feedback & what weight does it give.

←

We positively encourage feedback from our readers by including a questionnaire in every copy of the guide we sell and there is a similar form for readers to complete online on our ViaMichelin website. We appreciate feedback on both establishments we already list and those that we don't. It's a very useful way of finding good new addresses quickly - essentially a whole army of unpaid inspectors!

For your information we receive approximately 45,000 letters and questionnaires each year for the whole collection and an ever increasing number of e-mails.

If the broad thrust of reader opinions on a particular hotel or restaurant - either in a positive or negative direction - is out of step with our own then we would return for another experience. After all , we can be particularly lucky/unlucky just like any other customer.

[Derek Bulmer]

Derek, I'm not some kookie individual that wants to pick Michelin apart, I place a fair bit of trust in your decisions but I am increasingly baffled at what a restaurant is required to do to earn a star. I can think of numerous examples of restaurants with stars that are not in the same league as restaurants without or that have the same rating but are leagues ahead. How do these discrepancies occur? Do you think that a different rating system, maybe a 5 tier system, needs to be adopted to address these discrepancies?

Would it be possible to accompany an inspector on an anonymous visit to see the processes they adopt? My discretion/professionalism fully assured.

←

In order for a restaurant to earn a star it must consistently produce food of high quality. In arriving at our decisions we consider the following:

- the general interest and balance of the menu

- the quality of the products used

- the technical skill and flair in the preparation

- the compatibility of the ingredients used

- the clarity of the flavours

- the quality of the wine list

- the value for money offered

However, as we say in the Introduction of our guides, 1 star is awarded to a very good restaurant in its category and beware of comparing the star given to an expensive deluxe establishment to that of a simple restaurant (or in the case of the GB guide a pub) where you can appreciate fine cooking at a reasonable cost.

Your request to accompany an inspector has been asked many times before and I'm afraid it will not be possible. Certain details of how we work must remain confidential.

[Derek Bulmer]

Is it fair to say Michelin is a good indicator of restaurants in France but falls short in countries like the UK and Spain?

←

As Editor of the GB & Ireland guide I'm hardly likely to agree with such a sweeping comment. You'll need to be much more specific.

[Derek Bulmer]

Derek, any chance of raising the Bib Gourmand level to say £26 ?? i have sometimes flattered myself that we might attain one, but reading the press release, i'm not in the game.

←

I'm sorry Basildog but I've no plans to raise the limit at the moment. When it becomes difficult to find restaurants serving the required quality at no more than £25 then I'll have to think again.

Remember, it's not necessary to serve only a menu at £25 or less. Many existing Bib Gourmands run these alongside a more expensive carte.

[Derek Bulmer]

Does the Michelin guide and / or inspectors pay any heed to other guides e.g. Good Food Guide in Britain?  Or do you see some clear distinction between what each guide is looking for?

My question is prompted by recent discussion on this board re: some restaurants in the UK - well regarded and rated by the eG community, and which seem to garner a host of awards elsewhere and yet have been unsuccessful in gaining michelin star(s) this year.

thank you

Yin

←

We are naturally aware of how restaurants are rated in other guides and if we were out of step with everybody else it would prompt us to look again. Ultimately though it is our own experiences - and those of our readers - that count.

Sometimes the award of a star takes time as we need to be absolutely sure before making that decision.

[Jason Perlow]

Your idea of a 'guide of guides' is an interesting one although it would be too large as a paper product to include all the current addresses. Perhaps a guide to the star restaurants of Europe might be interesting?

←

Derek, for what it is worth, I'd like to see a Pan-Euro Michelin Star Guide. I think it would be a nice product for a frequent European traveller to have, as well as for us in the industry who need a good point of reference from time to time.

[Derek Bulmer]

what help, support, advice do you give restaurants when they attain a star.  When awarding 3 (or 2) do you consult with them to see if they can sustain that level of interest or is that just a given from you point of view?

←

The purpose in awarding MIchelin stars is to indicate to our readers where they will eat particularly well.

We don't see our role as consultants to the industry and we therefore don't offer help or advice to restaurants. It is for them to decide what to serve based upon their customers needs.

The most we would do, and only if asked, is to give a limited feedback on our experiences and those of our readers.

[Derek Bulmer]

Are you planning a Red Guide for the US - or New York anyway?

←

We are currently studying the possibility of making a Michelin Guide to New York. Watch this space.

[Derek Bulmer]

Derek,

thanks for joining us at what must be a busy time of year for you.

I've always been curious about Michelin inspectors - how are they recruited, what their backgrounds are etc. How many are based in the UK for the majority of their inspections?

←

Our inspectors are recruited directly from the hotel & catering industry. Most have a relevant degree or HND and a passion for food and wine. They would also have several years experience in good quality hotels and restaurants and for that reason they are rarely less than 27 years old when they join us and they would then undergo training of up to 6 months before starting to work alone.

There are about 75 inspectors across Europe (we don't publish numbers in individual countries) and they would be expected to conduct inspections both in their own country and internationally as required.

[Derek Bulmer]

Derek,

thanks for joining us at what must be a busy time of year for you.

I've always been curious about Michelin inspectors - how are they recruited, what their backgrounds are etc. How many are based in the UK for the majority of their inspections?

←

I was just going to make a similar post, I would also be interested in the average age of the inspectors.

←

The current UK team are all aged between 30 - 45.

[Derek Bulmer]

Dear Derek

How many of your UK Michelin inspectors are female? What percentage do they form of the total number of inspectors?

←

I've only one at present although in the past I've had as many as four.

[Derek Bulmer]

As Michelin aren't in favour of Restaurants referring in any way to their inclusion in their guides, or in many cases, any award that they have received from them, is this policy being revisited? Surely the guide is there as a reference point for those that buy it and all publicity given to Michelin would surely result in (possibly) the sale of more books?

←

Our policy has always been to request that hotels and restaurants don't use our name in any form of publicity. This policy is currently under review and may therefore change in the future.

[pedro]

Derek, thanks very much for joining us and giving us the opportunity to ask you some questions.

What's your view on the fact that the number of star restaurants in Spain is always slightly over 100 for the last 15 year (practically constant in these years)? Hasn't Spanish cuisine experimented enough improvement in these years to deserve a larger number of stars (i.e. Germany doubles Spain in number of star restaurants)?

Thanks very much for your answer.

[Pweaver1984]

Hi Derek,

Thanks again for your time, was wondering how much is the salary for a Michelin Inspector in the United Kingdom?

Cheers

[Derek Bulmer]

Your idea of a 'guide of guides' is an interesting one although it would be too large as a paper product to include all the current addresses. Perhaps a guide to the star restaurants of Europe might be interesting?

←

Derek, for what it is worth, I'd like to see a Pan-Euro Michelin Star Guide. I think it would be a nice product for a frequent European traveller to have, as well as for us in the industry who need a good point of reference from time to time.

←

Thanks for the feedback. Its perhaps something we should look into.

[Derek Bulmer]

Hi Derek,

Thanks again for your time, was wondering how much is the salary for a Michelin Inspector in the United Kingdom?

Cheers

←

I'm afraid that's confidential information although I can disclose that inspectors get a good car and as much food as they can eat!

[Derek Bulmer]

Derek, thanks very much for joining us and giving us the opportunity to ask you some questions.

What's your view on the fact that the number of star restaurants in Spain is always slightly over 100 for the last 15 year (practically constant in these years)? Hasn't Spanish cuisine experimented enough improvement in these years to deserve a larger number of stars (i.e. Germany doubles Spain in number of star restaurants)?

Thanks very much for your answer.

←

I'm afraid I'm not qualified to answer such questions on the Spain & Portugal guide although it's perhaps worth noting that the GB & Ireland Guide is more or less the same size and we also have a little over 100 starred restaurants (120 to be precise).

The Germany guide on the other hand is much larger.

[Derek Bulmer]

Derek, any chance of raising the Bib Gourmand level to say £26 ?? i have sometimes flattered myself that we might attain one, but reading the press release, i'm not in the game.

←

i would say margot's is exactly the sort of place that should have a bib gourmand.

good ingredients, soundly prepared and properly cooked with a decent value wine list.

cheers

gary

←

The only Margot's I know is in Padstow and I assume that is the one you are referring to. The menu price they supplied to us for 2005 was £25.95 - above our upper limit I'm afraid.

[Bux]

I'm afraid I'm not qualified to answer such questions on the Spain & Portugal guide although it's perhaps worth noting that the GB & Ireland Guide is more or less the same size and we also have a little over 100 starred restaurants (120 to be precise).

←

The same number of stars for Spain and the UK? Well you've all but admitted prejudice. That was for effect. I've actually not spent much time in the UK and feel totally unqualified to comment on how well you're doing there. My wife and I do try to spend some time in both Spain and France however, and I have to say that we find the stars in Spain offer greater guarantee we'll be impressed by the food at any star level. Needless to say, I understand that there's a certain subjectivity in this and that we'll all not agree on every restaurant. Still, if I can form a norm for France, I may find some restaurants that I feel should be raised or lowered a notch, while in Spain I've not found a restaurant I thought was over rated and more than a few that were under rated by a star or star and a half easily. In the sense that I am more likely to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of a recommendation in Spain than in France. Thus I could say I find the Michelin Guide more reliable in Spain than in France, but that doesn't lessen my criticism, which I mean to offer in much the same way as I would an opinion about a single restaurant I've enjoyed or not enjoyed. Ultimately, the Michelin remains my first choice in France, but not so in Spain, especially when looking for excellence in out of the way places. I will also admit I've not been good lately about filling in that form. Perhaps I should take some of the blame. By the way, I am indebted for city and town maps in both editions.

[Gary Marshall]

Derek, any chance of raising the Bib Gourmand level to say £26 ?? i have sometimes flattered myself that we might attain one, but reading the press release, i'm not in the game.

←

i would say margot's is exactly the sort of place that should have a bib gourmand.

good ingredients, soundly prepared and properly cooked with a decent value wine list.

cheers

gary

←

The only Margot's I know is in Padstow and I assume that is the one you are referring to. The menu price they supplied to us for 2005 was £25.95 - above our upper limit I'm afraid.

←

basildog's such a money grabber

[Gary Marshall]

derek,

I know technically the knife and fork ratings are for comfort rather than food, but surely the food must account for part of the rating? is it not time to register this in your comments?

when travelling the starred restaurants are easy to find and research, the difficulty is finding the cheaper restaurant that's a gem in a row of very similar looking restaurants, especially abroad.

That to me is the value of michelin, oh and the maps are the best.

cheers

gary

ps i will now use viamichelin to keep michelin in touch on the yorkshire dining scene

Edited January 24, 2005 by Gary Marshall (log)

[Gary Marshall]

derek,

what is the review period for inclusion in the guide?

take the 05 guide for example- is it restaurants opened december 03 to december 04?

thanks

gary