Is Michelin losing the plot?
On Thursday evening, the cream of Singapore's F&B industry gathered at the Marina Bay Sands' Sands Ballroom, where the best restaurants as decided by the Michelin Guide were rewarded with stars and a standup buffet after the ceremony.
Notably missing was the guide's international director Gwendal Poullennec, who nonetheless had prepared a prerecorded video lauding the culinary excellence of Singapore's restaurant scene, while also making the right noises about the challenges the industry is facing.
While it's not the first time he didn't make a personal appearance in Singapore, there was an air of 'Sorry, I couldn't make it, but enjoy yourselves anyway' blaseness about his absence. It was a vibe that continued throughout the evening, which could go down as the guide's laziest, phone-it-in performance since it made its grand debut in 2016.
It feels particularly pertinent this year, what with record closures and economic uncertainty making pretty much everyone in the industry miserable. And without taking away any of the glory of the night's two winners – one star for Omakase@Stevens and a second star for Sushi Sakuta – a guide which sees the highest number of dropouts with barely any replacements does not bode well for Singapore's reputation as a culinary destination.
Were there really no worthy restaurants to recognise this year? Even last year, when the stars were released via e-mail instead of a physical ceremony – as if Michelin had discovered a new strain of Covid-19 we didn't know about – there were four new stars and one promotion.
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Given its long-held vow of secrecy, there is no way of knowing how Michelin thinks, much less its processes in awarding its stars. You can only guess. Maybe Peach Blossoms' tendency to innovate rankles Michelin's definition of Chinese food as dim sum and Peking duck.
Maybe the modern Korean Na Oh isn't fine-dining enough. Perhaps too much red tape is involved in converting Malaysian-inspired Fiz's sustainable green star to a proper one. It's also possible that the lack of a direct bus service to ASU kept the inspectors away from sampling its progressive Asian cuisine.
And who knows, maybe the Noma-esque rumblings about Somma prejudiced them against its refreshingly daring menus. Maybe it's just within its comfort zone to reward what they know – fail-safe Japanese food.
Taste is subjective, we know. Whatever Michelin's reasons, what's worrying is the optics for Singapore. This year's results simply cement the impression that we are lagging behind other Asian cities and that our strong dollar makes it more attractive to travel overseas to eat. That even Michelin doesn't feel that there are any new and interesting restaurants worth making a detour to Singapore for, is not good.
While chefs may rationalise that they work to make their guests happy and make a decent living while at it, it doesn't change the fact that they all want – for better or worse – the tyre-maker's stamp of approval. Never mind that its credibility and relevance have been waning in the wake of alternative guides. For restaurants, not knowing why they're not good enough, because of the guide's lack of transparency, is what hits the hardest.
Talk to people in the industry, and it sounds like trying to reach out to Michelin is like writing a letter to Santa Claus. Except that with Santa, you have the luxury of wondering if he even exists. With Michelin, you know you're just being ignored.
For many, Thursday's ceremony was a bit of a non-event, although it was a welcome excuse for chefs in the industry to party and savour the relief of maintaining their stars. After the ignominy of last year's e-mail presentation (followed up by a belated gathering much later on), MBS gets kudos for trying to bring back some of the glamour of Michelin ceremonies past.
Still, Michelin has to decide – does it want to be an active player in the dining destination it's in, engaging and shaping the narrative of a city that it has a vested interest in seeing flourish, or simply be a passive observer merely reflecting the surrounding situation?
For a guide with so much influence, let's hope it goes back to being more of the former.
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