Like modern-day will-o'-the-wisps, the mysterious figures responsible for awarding Michelin stars slip from establishment to establishment, leaving no trace other than a settled bill, and no inkling as to their opinion of the meal they've just eaten. What they look for in a restaurant, nobody knows: notoriously reluctant to yield a magic formula for securing stars, they leave chefs and proprietors guessing at how they reach their decisions.
Given such smoke and mirrors, this week's revelations from Derek Brown, head of Michelin travel publications, make interesting and inspiring reading. Speaking to Caterer, Brown said Michelin welcomed the growing trend of independent regional chef-restaurateurs sourcing the best produce and offering good food in accessible, non-intimidatory environments. Winning stars, Brown said, wasn't about gilding the lily, but about focusing on consistent quality and customer satisfaction.
Brown's words give hope to the little people of the cheffing world: you needn't be a lavishly appointed, generously bankrolled London establishment to achieve recognition. So pack away your fancy tablecloths, cancel that meeting with the interior designers, get back into the kitchen and carry on doing what you do best.
Last week's release of the 2004 Michelin guide corroborated Brown's statements. Two more pubs achieved star status, taking the total number to six, and there were three stars for Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, where steak and chips have made way for molecular cooking in the space of just a few years.
Of course, the lot of an independent restaurateur is often precarious. It takes a certain courage to go it alone and risk savings, mortgage, marriage, even sanity, in the pursuit of culinary glory. But the rewards can be huge - just ask Heston, or Claude Bosi, whose Ludlow restaurant Hibiscus received a second star last week. In an online opinion poll at www.caterer-online.com, two-thirds of respondents told us they thought that Michelin stars bring in more business. But guess what? Even if you never win a star, by offering high-quality dishes, you're still bound to draw in punters in their droves.
Maybe this is the year to live dangerously; and maybe, just maybe, doing so will earn you a Michelin star a few years down the line.