Did you know the history of the Michelin Star?

André Michelin published the first edition of a guide to France to help drivers maintain their cars, find decent lodging, and eat well while touring.

The guide was distributed free from 1900 until 1920. However after a pile of guides was found propping up a workbench in a garage, they saw a free guide would not be taken seriously so they introduce a charge.

The guide introduced the star in 1926 to note good cooking; two and three stars were added in the early 1930s.

The cover of the guide was originally blue, but since 1931 has been red.  

The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term refers by default to the Michelin Red Guide, which awards the Michelin stars.

Michelin also publishes Green Guides for travel and tourism, as well as several newer publications.

As motoring became more widespread, the star system was developed and guides to other countries introduced.

Today a series of twelve guides list more than 45,000 hotels and restaurants across Europe, and the guide to France has sold 30 million copies since it was introduced.

In guides released in November 2008, Tokyo was awarded a total of 227 stars – 9 restaurants were given three stars, 36 two stars, and 128 one star. This is more than three times New York City’s total, and more than twice as many as Paris’s total. (It should be noted, however, that Tokyo is home to 160,000 restaurants, versus New York’s 25,000 and Paris’s 13,000.