we had lunch incognito with an inspector from the Guide

Monday, the little red book unveils its new selection of the best restaurants in France. Exceptionally, an experienced evaluator agreed to reveal to us how she judges whether a restaurant deserves to be starred.

As usual, she booked under a false name. This afternoon, her name is Sarah; last week it was Holly. In her fifties, demure but relaxed, she does not seem to have aroused for a single moment the suspicion of the waitresses of the restaurant where we have just sat, located in the countryside, west of London. Sarah is British and has been an inspector for around twenty years for the Michelin Guide, whose French rankings are revealed on Monday March 18. A full-time job. Always anonymous.

“I have several different email addresses to make reservations. I often change my phone numbershe explains. And since restaurants are wary of single people, most of the time, we come to two inspectors. This also allows you to try more dishes. We want to have the same experience as customers.” Exceptionally, Sarah agreed for us to accompany her.

“We are not going to order the best wines”

The establishment in which we are having lunch is a pub (a sort of British brasserie) already awarded a star in the Michelin Guide. Weathered woodwork, subdued lighting, elegant and warm atmosphere. We opt for the daily menu at 50 pounds (a little less than 60 euros). “We try to choose what allows us to identify the personality of the chefspecifies Sarah. We have an annual budget to respect and we’re not going to do anything: we’re not going to order the best wines or extra truffles, for example.”

The entries are arriving. Mushroom casserole for her, beetroot tartlet and smoked goat cheese for me. He seems to like the presentation. You might imagine food critics painstakingly dissecting every ingredient on their plate. Nay! Sarah is content with bites that could not be more banal. “I studied cooking at a hotel schoolshe tells us. My colleagues have varied profiles: some have been head waiters, others sommeliers. But when we joined Michelin, we all had to follow specific training. To avoid being noticed, Sarah takes very few notes on her smartphone. She prefers to memorize everything.

A star, “it can be as simple as that”

Then comes a traditional English dish: a shepherd’s pie, a sort of slightly revisited shepherd’s pie, with caramelized vegetables and fresh herbs. Does it really deserve a star? For Sarah, it’s a yes: “It’s generous and delicious. Many people think that stars are necessarily for fancy restaurants. But it can be as simple as that.” His speech is part of Michelin’s current line of communication. Faced with increasingly fierce competition (Tripadvisor, Google reviews, Fooding, 50 best, etc.), the Guide seeks to break an image that is a little too elitist. Cautious, Sarah avoids going into further detail about the dishes in front of a witness.

Desserts – she chose a cinnamon and apple pannacotta – take their time. Sarah doesn’t mind: “It looks good. It was worth the wait. We see it’s done just now.” It’s time for the bill. Like all the inspectors in the famous Guide, Sarah always pays for her meal. Prohibition to accept the slightest invitation or the slightest gift. But how can you avoid being unmasked by your credit card? “The Michelin name does not appear on it. But our real identity is mentioned, it is obligatory. The other day, my colleague managed to take the reader from the waitress’s hands and insert his card himself while I was talking to him to divert his attention.”, she says. What if the waitress asks her what she does for a living? “Oh, I answer that I have a not very exciting job, in new technologies…Sarah smiled. And I change the conversation: ‘By the way, how is King Charles at the moment?'”

A collegial verdict

For amateur taste buds, this meal might not have been anything special. But for Sarah, this English pub still seems to deserve its star. “It was good, by the way, look: everyone seems happy” she slips, before slipping away discreetly. “A few years ago, at the end of the meal, we introduced ourselves, we revealed that we were from the Michelin Guideremembers the inspector. I miss it. It was always very interesting to talk, the chef told us about his new dishes…” But the institution has chosen to give up this habit.

“It was a different time, there were fewer restaurants and no social networks. We had to give it up, because we want to continue to be able to do our work anonymously.”

Sarah, Michelin Guide inspector

at franceinfo

The discussions with the bosses are over: Sarah reserves her comments for her computer. Service, atmosphere, menu, wine list, value for money and, of course, opinions on all the dishes tasted… After each meal, in the calm of her hotel room, she writes a detailed report in software that would make any chef fantasize: all the inspection reports from thousands of restaurants around the world can be consulted in real time.

According to Michelin, only the contents of the plate are taken into account to award stars. Sarah must conclude by indicating whether, in her opinion, the restaurant deserves one, two, or even three. The same establishment may be inspected several times by different people. A “star” meeting between all the inspectors makes it possible to decide, in a collegial manner, and to award the precious rewards.

Up to 270 restaurants per year for an inspector

Contrary to popular belief, most inspectors are not French. “We have teams all over the world. I live in the United Kingdom. We have French inspectors who travel to Spain or the United States. We, the English, also travel to many countries.” Because the Guide has embarked on international development and today covers 45 destinations. The number of English inspectors is said to be around a dozen, but Michelin stubbornly refuses to reveal its numbers on a global scale.

Sarah, also responsible for a team of inspectors, eats at restaurants a little less than before. She still ate 180 meals as part of her work last year. On average, she says, an inspector can visit up to 270 restaurants per year. She carefully keeps photos of all the dishes in her smartphone: 584 were taken in France last year, notably in starred restaurants inspected in Provence. In the long run, doesn’t such a pace have consequences on one’s health? “We must carry out regular medical examinationsshe assures. I had my cholesterol and blood sugar tested last year: everything is fine. And then, you know, gastronomy is much lighter than before. I also do sports: a lot of indoor cycling and swimming at least twice a week.” All with a frantic pace. The next day, Sarah will fly for a new 12-day mission. Secret destination.

“Michelin, in the secrets of the stars”: the report will be broadcast Thursday March 21 at 9 p.m. in “Envoyéspecial”, on France 2.