Michelin Guide Taipei to be issued in Q1 next year

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter





The French Michelin Co yesterday announced plans to issue a Michelin restaurant guide for Taipei in the first quarter of next year, a move that might help boost local restaurants and the tourism industry as a whole.

Taipei is to become the world’s 30th city whose restaurants the French tire maker is to rate in one of its Michelin Red Guides, the revered food bible on which chefs pin their careers and lives.

Michelin Guide regional president Bruno de Feraudy refused to comment on the identity and number of food inspectors in Taipei, as Michelin inspectors are tasked with carrying out assessments anonymously.

Michelin Guide regional president Bruno de Feraudy, center, and Tourism Bureau Chief Secretary Eric Lin, left, stand next to a Michelin Man at a news conference yesterday in Taipei to promote the firm’s first-ever restaurant guide to Taipei, scheduled to launch at the beginning of next year. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

“The Michelin Guide Taipei will be launched in the first quarter of next year and the publication might help enhance the number of tourists and their dining experience here,” De Feraudy told a news conference in Taipei.

Intended originally to spur demand for tires, the guides have grown into the most authoritative reference books about restaurants and hotels by awarding a rating of stars for excellence to a select few establishments annually.

De Feraudy said the company’s inspectors must rate local restaurants and hotels for at least five consecutive years in line with its long-term commitment.

The company does receive financial assistance for the guide books, but sponsors do not have any influence over their content, he said.

Tourism Bureau Chief Secretary Eric Lin (林坤源) refused to reveal how much financial aid, except that Taiwan offers less than other nations in the region.

“The bureau does not have a large budget in the first place,” Lin said, adding that there are to be 10,000 copies of the Taipei edition available next spring.

Thailand recently approved a five-year budget of 143.5 million baht (US$4.33 million) to launch the Bangkok edition of the Michelin Guide, which is due out next month.

Restaurants do not pay for the culinary assessment and are unable to trace the inspectors to ensure the professional quality of the books, De Feraudy said.

Food culture in Taipei has attained international standards, meriting its own edition, De Feraudy said.

Inspectors are to visit upscale restaurants, as well as food stores and street vendors, he said.