KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — The whole country is abuzz with news that the inaugural Michelin Guide will debut this year.
All eyes are on the world-renowned food guide to see which restaurant will be bestowed the coveted stars. The Michelin Guide will put Malaysia on the map for international food lovers.
Malaysia will be the third country in South-east Asia to get their own guide, after Singapore and Thailand.
Here is what we know so far:
1. Who is behind the Michelin Guide in Malaysia
The Michelin Guide works with partners to promote the guide itself and the Michelin Star revelation event.
In Malaysia, the official partner is CF Capital. The company is founded by Chryseis Tan and her husband, SM Faliq SM Nasimuddin.
On their website (http://cfcapital.com.my), they are described as a boutique firm committed to creating high impact ventures.
Tan is well known for her entrepreneurial streak with her own beauty brand Lumi and the Curate Group with dining establishments like Bar Shake, Hide, Park Grill and Sushi Den.
Her business acumen is said to stem from her father Tan Sri Vincent Tan who founded the Berjaya Group. She also sits on the Berjaya Group board of directors while holding various management positions.
On her Instagram account (@chrystan_x) she announced, "Setting Malaysia’s culinary hub on the world gastronomy map. I am super pleased and happy to provide Malaysia with this opportunity via the Michelin Guide. They’re finally here guys!"
During the press briefing held by the Michelin Guide on October 20, in attendance was Penang Global Tourism Chief Executive Officer Ooi Chok Yan, Director Advertising and Digital Tourism Malaysia Roslan Abdullah and Penang State Executive Council Member for Tourism and Creative Economy Yeoh Soon Hin.
In a report by The New Straits Times on October 12, Yeoh had announced the state government would sign an agreement with Michelin by the end of the year.
However, in an interview with Malay Mail, Michelin Experiences Director of Communications Elisabeth Boucher-Anselin confirmed that currently no agreement has been signed and it is still under discussion.
2. When will the list be released
The Michelin Guide for Kuala Lumpur and Penang 2023 will be revealed in December this year. No exact date has been announced for the Michelin Star revelation event.
At the press briefing, it was announced that the launch of the guide will be celebrated with lunch. The guide will be available on their website (www.michelin.com) and on their app. No fee is levied for the use of the guide.
3. Which part of Malaysia will the Michelin Guide cover
For the 2023 edition, the guide will cover places in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Boucher-Anselin explained that for Kuala Lumpur, this is just the city and not the areas around it.
This is just a start and there is a possibility they will expand it to include the areas around Kuala Lumpur or even different districts or regions in Malaysia.
She cites the approach to be similar with the Thailand Michelin Guide which started with Bangkok first. Since the debut, they have pushed it out to more places like Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Phang-Nga.
4. Why did it take so long for the Michelin Guide to arrive in Malaysia
A question many have asked has been why Malaysia has not received their own Michelin Guide despite its rich food culture.
In 2016, they released the Michelin Guide for Singapore. A year later, the Michelin Guide debuted in Thailand with a Bangkok edition.
Boucher-Anselin explained that Malaysia was already on Michelin's radar several years before the Covid-19 pandemic. What held them back was the maturity of the food scene.
Moreover, for every new place, Michelin takes a long-term approach. "The Michelin Guide is a collection of restaurants, not a directory. We have to arrive at a certain moment where we feel the local gems are eager to move forward and welcome the accolade."
The pandemic didn't help with the timeline either as they wanted to ensure the restaurants were able to deliver the meal. Once the pandemic was over, they pushed forward with their plans to launch the guide to boost the F&B industry.
"It's also the time to bring something positive and this is not about a list of restaurants but to build a community of chefs to help people feel proud of what they do and get back on their feet," said Michelin Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Managing Director Prichapakorn Dangrojana.
5. The criteria for the Michelin Guide
The guide's inspectors anonymously award the stars based on quality of ingredients, mastery of cooking, harmony of the flavours, expression of the chef's personality in the cuisine and consistency, both over time and across the entire menu.
The same methodology ensures that a star in Tokyo is the same quality as a star in Kuala Lumpur or Penang.
According to Michelin, three stars are given to restaurants where they serve exceptional cuisine "worth a special journey" and where cooking is an art form.
Two stars are given to restaurants with excellent cooking "worth a detour", while one star is awarded to restaurants with high quality cooking.
You also have Michelin Guide Selected restaurants which have met the criteria of their inspectors to be included in the guide. There's also the Bib Gourmand restaurants, labelled as the inspectors' favourite and what they consider as "good quality cooking for good value."
There is also the Green Star, which was revealed in 2020, which highlights restaurants who are committed to sustainable practices. This criteria covers areas such as the use of seasonal produce, food waste disposal and recycling.
6. How are restaurants selected to be assessed
Boucher-Anselin explained that they will study the local scene. It can take several years to understand it, like how they have been exploring around Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
They analyse how the food behaves and sometimes a visit to one place may send them to other places. "We can't arrive in Kuala Lumpur and six months later say we know everything and these are the best. That is so rude and stupid. It's a long-term approach and it's a cost for us to do things but when we say we are ready, we are ready."
She emphasised that "everybody has a chance and they are very able with the expertise to find the local gems even when they are well hidden."
This would also include street food as she explained, "It is wonderful that the methodology of the Michelin guide allows the inspectors to award street food places because we only focus on the food and not the environment."
What the inspectors are looking at is just the food. Not who is behind the food. With regards to the authenticity of the dish, Boucher-Anselin clarified that it can sometimes be taken as the chef's personality or part of the cooking techniques where it's another way of presenting a dish.
This would not be a restriction but taken as a way on how food may evolve and change to suit the seasons or even a way to please their diners.
7. Who are the Michelin inspectors?
As part of the Michelin Guide's methodology, their inspectors are shrouded in secrecy to ensure they remain anonymous.
Boucher-Anselin shared that all of the inspectors are employees of Michelin. Prior to joining the firm, they would have worked in the F&B industry.
There are former sommeliers, chefs or pastry chefs in the brigade of inspectors. Their profiles are kept secret but Boucher-Anselin can disclose that more than 15 nationalities work as inspectors. It's a diverse group with Asians, South Americans and North Americans, to name a few.
There are also as many female inspectors as male inspectors too. As part of their job, they travel a lot.
The inspectors go through two years of training with senior inspectors to ensure that the way their evaluation is consistent with one another. They train by eating, learning to identify the ingredients (sometimes Boucher-Anselin even blind tests them!) and the technical savoir faire (French for know-how).
Their previous training, whether they are homegrown chefs or trained with a particular chef, carries no weight for their current work with Michelin as the company wants to build up their savoir faire which will allow them to critique the food.
It's only after they have eaten roughly 700 to 800 meals that the inspectors are ready to venture out to start their work.
To ensure there is no bias in their recommendations, they do not employ any external parties to help them. Their inspectors are also experts in different cuisines with a sensitive palate to the nuances in the cuisine.
An example cited by Boucher-Anselin is an Italian who may have spent so much time abroad that the person has a very accurate sensitivity to Indian food.
When they give the awards, Boucher-Anselin elaborated that it's a collective decision among the inspectors. Several people will have to visit and agree with the review as consistency for the meal and the whole year is important. That is why it takes time to make a Michelin guide.
8. What's the future like for the Michelin Guide in Malaysia
An emphasis has been that the Michelin Guide is here to stay for a long-term basis and it's not a one-off situation.
The Michelin Guide also hopes to create a difference for the food industry. Boucher-Anselin explained that the spirit is when they arrive somewhere, they want to follow the food scene and inspectors are on the go all year round.
Year on year, Michelin hopes to have this positive relationship with the chefs. As the ingredients are important to the restaurant, they also want to encourage the whole ecosystem to help the chefs to cook the best
"We take a long time to arrive but when we arrive, we stay very long," said Boucher-Anselin.
