Thank you so much for the kind words! We had 60 minutes together so what was going through my head was to speak as little as possible to learn as much as I could from Chris. He was brilliant and generous with all of my questions!
Bravo on the scoop! A hugely insightful read, in particular this snippet: "If two inspectors come back with split opinions, the star doesn’t get awarded." I'll link into your interview in my newsletter tomorrow.
It’s what we call in the States a softball interview. It’s too complicated to go in to here, but it’s a situation I am always dealing with in the Substack “Thinking About Food”
Really enjoyed this. The tourism-board answer especially caught me because it separates two questions that are easy to collapse: whether funding changes Michelin’s standards, and what funding makes possible geographically. His description of the rigor once inspectors are actually in the market makes the first much easier to believe.
Thank you for the kind words, and totally agree! I found his response so insightful, especially as I just wrote about what tourism funding does to Michelin's quality a few weeks ago!
Thanks for the support Fiona! I'm glad my enthusiasm could be felt through the screen. It was a brilliant conversation and Chris was so generous with my questions.
Absolutely fascinating read! I’m quite envious you got to speak to someone who was a former inspector. This is probably one of my most favorite reads here thus far!
Such a great read D! It’s so fascinating, what an interesting job he had and of course we only think of the glamorous bits instead of the reality of having to eat out that much!
What an interesting read! Love the story about 3 inspectors dining on the same night. Would love to know if they went out for dinner together socially and where hosted their work Christmas party!?
He is a great person and truly balanced in how he discusses the authority of the guide. Tell him I said hello! We met years back in Amsterdam on a group (whole group) three day trip..
Michelin seems to need good judgment about taste above all ... and that is not quite the same thing.
Chris Watson describes inspectors being trained until they can reach similar judgments.
that makes sense but gets harder across very different food cultures.
an inspector may personally prefer one style of food and still need to recognize when another style is done exceptionally well.
the training has to separate “I like this” from “this is excellent.”
chefs make that even harder.
Albert Roux said his job was to cook for his customers, not chase Michelin. and Michelin itself asks inspectors to judge the chef’s personality in the food.
that creates a real tension: personality should be different from chef to chef.
so inspectors have to compare very different meals and still decide whether they reach the same level of excellence.
the risk is that calibration could make familiar kinds of originality easier to recognize and reward than unfamiliar ones.
the hard part is agreeing on quality without narrowing what great food can look like.
A fascinating read, and well done to you. What was going through your mind while you were conducting the interview?
Thank you so much for the kind words! We had 60 minutes together so what was going through my head was to speak as little as possible to learn as much as I could from Chris. He was brilliant and generous with all of my questions!
Bravo on the scoop! A hugely insightful read, in particular this snippet: "If two inspectors come back with split opinions, the star doesn’t get awarded." I'll link into your interview in my newsletter tomorrow.
Thank you for the kind words and support! Yes, I found that insight really interesting as well!
It’s what we call in the States a softball interview. It’s too complicated to go in to here, but it’s a situation I am always dealing with in the Substack “Thinking About Food”
Haha ... as an American I'm familiar with the term. Hope you still enjoyed the interview!
Really enjoyed this. The tourism-board answer especially caught me because it separates two questions that are easy to collapse: whether funding changes Michelin’s standards, and what funding makes possible geographically. His description of the rigor once inspectors are actually in the market makes the first much easier to believe.
Thank you for the kind words, and totally agree! I found his response so insightful, especially as I just wrote about what tourism funding does to Michelin's quality a few weeks ago!
Thanks for the interview and the insights.
Of course, thank you for reading!
What a fascinating article! Thank you for sharing! ❤️
Thank you for the kind words!
Another fascinating, well written article. You can feel your enthusiasm through the lines.
Thanks for the support Fiona! I'm glad my enthusiasm could be felt through the screen. It was a brilliant conversation and Chris was so generous with my questions.
Absolutely fascinating read! I’m quite envious you got to speak to someone who was a former inspector. This is probably one of my most favorite reads here thus far!
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Great read and very well written! Your interview covered some very interesting points that the average restaurant-goer wouldn’t contemplate!
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Such a great read D! It’s so fascinating, what an interesting job he had and of course we only think of the glamorous bits instead of the reality of having to eat out that much!
Right!!! That part really resonated with me as well... it's still very much a job!
What an interesting read! Love the story about 3 inspectors dining on the same night. Would love to know if they went out for dinner together socially and where hosted their work Christmas party!?
Really enjoyed reading this!
Thank you for the support ❤️
Excellent!!!!
Thank you! Appreciate the feedback especially with your background in the role
He is a great person and truly balanced in how he discusses the authority of the guide. Tell him I said hello! We met years back in Amsterdam on a group (whole group) three day trip..
love, love, love this interview!
What a great insight! 🙏🏻
Thank you! Really glad you enjoyed it
maybe great taste is the wrong phrase?
Michelin seems to need good judgment about taste above all ... and that is not quite the same thing.
Chris Watson describes inspectors being trained until they can reach similar judgments.
that makes sense but gets harder across very different food cultures.
an inspector may personally prefer one style of food and still need to recognize when another style is done exceptionally well.
the training has to separate “I like this” from “this is excellent.”
chefs make that even harder.
Albert Roux said his job was to cook for his customers, not chase Michelin. and Michelin itself asks inspectors to judge the chef’s personality in the food.
that creates a real tension: personality should be different from chef to chef.
so inspectors have to compare very different meals and still decide whether they reach the same level of excellence.
the risk is that calibration could make familiar kinds of originality easier to recognize and reward than unfamiliar ones.
the hard part is agreeing on quality without narrowing what great food can look like.