The Michelin Guides are a series of guidebooks that have been published by the French tire company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a star or stars can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant.
Can You Reject a Michelin Star?
As Michelin Guide international director Michael Ellis told Vanity Fair in 2015: “’You can agree with it or you cannot, but you can’t give it back. That’s not an issue. ‘ The giving back of stars — that’s ‘kind of an urban myth. ‘”
Can You Lose A Michelin Star?
The guide is updated annually, and while restaurants can lose their stars if they close during the year of assessment, they will not lose the stars if the head chef leaves, even if it’s just after a new guide has been released, as long as there is continuity of culinary quality.