For restauranteurs, there is no greater marker of success than Michelin stars. Veteran French chef Paul Bocuse once said “Michelin is the only guide that counts”.
Of course, to receive one Michelin star is an incredible honour. However, for a select handful of chefs, Michelin inspectors confer the very highest honour: three Michelin stars.
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As of 2018 there are only 130 restaurants in the entire world with three Michelin stars.
So what does it take for a restaurant to gain three Michelin stars? Are there certain kinds of restaurant more likely to get 3 Michelin stars? Are Michelin inspectors in certain parts of the world more likely to grant three Michelin stars to restaurants in those areas? And, for customers, how much does the average three Michelin starred restaurant cost to eat at?
Using the database of Andy Hayler, a connoisseur of three Michelin star restaurants, we crunched the numbers around Michelin star restaurants.
What cuisine do 3 Michelin star restaurants serve?
The vast majority of three Michelin star restaurants serve French cuisine. Of the 130, 55 restaurants (42 percent) serve French cuisine.
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By GlobalDataThe next most popular kind of food for Michelin inspectors is Japanese. These restaurants make up 21.5 percent of all three Michelin-starred restaurants.
[visualizer id=”144911″]Where in the world are 3 Michelin star restaurants located?
While French cuisine might be the most popular cuisine for three Michelin starred restaurants, France actually isn’t the home of the most three Michelin starred restaurants.
In fact, Japan beats France by two, with 28 3 Michelin starred restaurants in the country, compared to France’s 26.
The US comes in third place.
[visualizer id=”144917″]How much does it cost to eat at a 3 Michelin star restaurant?
One of Andy Hayler’s criteria is average cost per person. Therein, Hayler estimates the average cost of a three course meal in a 3 Michelin starred restaurant. He bases this estimate on the cost of the meal and a reasonably priced bottle of wine.
Of course, each restaurant has its own prices. There is, after all, no set cost to enjoy a three Michelin starred meal. Some restaurants charge as little as $120 per person, while others charge up to $563.
We took all of this data and found that the average price for a three course meal in a three Michelin starred restaurant is $267 per person.
The perfect 3 Michelin starred restaurant
In summary, taking all the data as it stands, the best way for a restaurant attain three Michelin stars is to be located in Japan, and serve French food at an average cost of $267 per person.
Coincidentally, there is actually already one restaurant which fits the bill exactly.
Joël Robuchon Tokyo fits every trend exactly. Andy Hayler described the restaurant’s food presentation as “uniformly superb”, celebrating the “superb” service and “really helpful” chef.
For diners searching for the quintessential three Michelin star restaurant experience, this is it.
