How many inspectors does it take to review the country’s best restaurants – a pinch, a baker’s dozen? For more than a century the answer has been kept secret by the world’s authority on good food: the Michelin Guide.
But the French tyre company’s famous hotel and restaurant reference book has been challenged by chefs, restaurant critics and diners, who question whether the guide has enough of its anonymous inspectors to adequately review and monitor the eateries that are included each year.
Founded in 1900 as a free motorists guide, the red books’ recommendations gained influence in the culinary world, and by 1931 a ranking system was fully introduced: one, two and three stars to denote increasing levels of quality. Michelin stars are now shorthand for some of the best restaurants in the world. They are awarded every year and restaurants with the accolade are appraised by inspectors annually to judge whether they can gain, keep or lose stars.
But chefs and hospitality insiders claim some restaurants go for years without being inspected, and fear Michelin has “lost its credibility”. They believe the inspectors cannot keep up with monitoring the number of restaurants in the guide – there are now 19,653 global entries, according to Michelin’s website – and say that this has “undermined the reliability of the guide”.
Not all restaurants in the guide are starred. The Bib Gourmand award recognises venues with high quality food and good value for diners. Restaurants without any distinctions are “Michelin Selected”, recommended for dining that is not star-worthy. Michelin states that every restaurant in the guide is evaluated with the same process of anonymous inspectors, but it is unclear how often they visit non-starred venues.
The book’s rankings are decided by famously tight-lipped, expert reviewers employed by Michelin, who dine with fake names to maintain confidentiality and honest critique. Michelin says the incognito critics judge food on consistency, flavour, quality of ingredients, culinary technique and chef personality. But with a growing list of starred restaurants in the UK and Ireland guide alone – from 185 in 2021 to 230 in 2026 – some wonder if there are enough inspectors to repeatedly visit restaurants and ensure high standards are maintained.
“It’s absolutely the case that Michelin doesn’t send its inspectors to all of their starred restaurants every year. They can’t get to them all,” said Marshall Manson, CEO of the public relations firm FleishmanHillard and the author of the hospitality blog Professional Lunch.
Michelin does not publish annual numbers for all global entries in the guide, and regions are updated independently of each other. In July 2021, the guide had at least 15,723 total entries worldwide. By August 2026, the number was 19,652.
Manson worries that the guide’s growing number of entries across the globe – along with rumours of dwindling inspector numbers – is affecting restaurant inspections: “You’re trying to cover more ground with fewer people and by doing so, you’re giving less attention to the top-end places.”
One chef with stars awarded by Michelin said they suspected it had been years since an inspector visited.
In a statement, Michelin said it does not publish figures on the number of inspectors, but that it “continues to invest in the extension of its inspection teams to ensure comprehensive coverage of the destinations where the guide is present”.
They said that inspectors are made up of seasoned and newer reviewers, representing “more than 30 nationalities, with each inspector conducting between 250 and 300 meals per year”.
An ex-Michelin inspector said they believe the organisation has a reliance on older reviewers, which means their roster will therefore be ageing out of the job. “Michelin is covering almost 20,000 restaurants in five continents,” they said. “This is ridiculous. The numbers are too high, it is almost impossible to review them all properly.
“We knew each other. It’s a small team. It’s stretching everyone incredibly thin.”
Jonathan Downey, a hospitality entrepreneur from Manchester who has launched restaurants across London – including the Michelin-selected Town and Motorino eateries – also believes inspector numbers can’t meet up with demand. “I’d be astonished if they’re doing anything like the coverage they need to do,” he said. “It’s lost its credibility. The entire industry wishes they would get better.”
Some in the industry have also expressed frustration that Michelin’s secretive approach makes it especially difficult to hold them to account on issues such as inspector numbers, and the decision-making process around rating restaurants.
“We can’t really pull it apart in an analytical way. We can only look at the results of their decisions and say that doesn’t make sense,” says Downey. “If their criteria for awarding stars was transparent, then I think they’d be less open to criticism.”
He added: “It’s criticising this ethereal thing. We don’t really know what Michelin is. It’s like shouting at clouds.”
A Michelin spokesperson said: “We do not comment on anonymous allegations, speculation or claims attributed to unnamed sources.”
But the French tyre company’s famous hotel and restaurant reference book has been challenged by chefs, restaurant critics and diners, who question whether the guide has enough of its anonymous inspectors to adequately review and monitor the eateries that are included each year.
This report is published with credit to The Guardian. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on The Guardian →
Source: The Guardian · George Francis Lee. Published 31 Aug 2026, 11:00 am.
