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The mystery behind the Michelin man

Sudi Pigott meets a member of the culinary world’s most feared, revered and powerful clique: the men and women who dish out Michelin stars

If you found yourself sitting next to Derek Bulmer and idly speculating about his likely profession, Michelin inspector wouldn’t necessarily spring to mind. For starters, he’s trim – and the smartly suited, quietly spoken man is as likely to be reading a golf magazine as poring over gastro-literature. But Bulmer and his fellow inspectors have one of the most coveted jobs in the world – being paid to eat in Europe’s best restaurants and writing for the famous red guide, which still garners more respect from those who matter (including leading chefs) than any other in print.

But it’s not a role to be undertaken lightly. Each of the 70 inspectors currently employed full-time in Europe eats out over 240 times a year. Derek himself has dined in restaurants up to nine times in a week, and has been on the road for three weeks out of four – spending at least 130 nights in anonymous hotels. In addition, inspectors carry out up to 800 ‘declared’ inspections each year – which involve assessing new features in existing guide entries – and file more than 1,000 reports. Even so, many of the inspectors – whose average age is 40-something and who are split fairly evenly between male and female – do have families.

The qualifications for the job are very stringent. Most of the inspectors have been to hotel school and will have worked in kitchens and front of house for a minimum of 10 years before they’re even considered. The interview process includes an assessment while eating out with an experienced inspector – after which they receive detailed critical feedback – and would-be inspectors then undergo six months of rigorous on-the-job, observation-only training before being let loose in restaurants. There has never been a vegetarian inspector.

It turns out that Bulmer’s bloke-next-door look is a deliberate ploy to
avoid attention. Experienced Michelin inspectors usually dine alone, but where this might elicit comment, they may dine with fellow inspectors. If asked, point blank, if they’re from Michelin, inspectors must demure until they’ve paid the bill. When pressed, Bulmer admits the only exception has been for Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli restaurant in Spain, which is notoriously difficult to book for. The Michelin inspectors had to break cover to secure a table.

A restaurant being considered for a star – whether it be one, two or three – will be visited up to eight times, by different inspectors, during the course of a year to check for consistent quality. The inspectors have to mentally note an exacting range of criteria, from the welcome, presentation of the menu and table settings to every facet of the meal, especially the quality of ingredients, the skill in execution, creativity, consistency and value for money. Bulmer admits that, even when he eats out, off-duty, with his wife and friends, he involuntarily goes through his checklist.

Like all of us, Bulmer has favourite ingredients – his are scallops – but he must resist favouring them on a menu. Neither can an inspector plump for anything that doesn’t test the prowess of the chef. A plate of smoked salmon may be a good indication of the quality of ingredients, but it’s no technical test of a kitchen’s aptitude.

After 30 years, Bulmer’s enthusiasm for the job remains undiminished and he is particularly animated when discussing how gastropubs have made a difference to good-value dining in the UK. He sees the recent wave of creative Spanish and Portuguese tapas bars as playing a similar role, and is excited by the revival of the informal Viennese Heurige, offering dishes made from good local ingredients. “There’s a definite buzz about low-mileage, regional food throughout Europe,” he notes, approvingly.

Bulmer also affirms that Spain, gastronomically, remains on a roll – but the hottest culinary territory at the moment is Scandinavia, especially Copenhagen, which is rapidly rising on the gastro and Michelin barometer.

Derek recommends

COPENHAGEN

Noma Strandgade 93, tel. +45 3296 3297, www.noma.dk
Menu: from €40 (DKK 298) lunch A la carte: from €76-€112 (DKK 570 to 840)

Recognised among fellow chefs as the culinary name to watch, Rene Redzepi was recently awarded his second Michelin star. His kitchen uses ingredients from Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands to produce innovative dishes, such as musk ox with dark beer, wild herbs and beets, and sheep’s yoghurt ‘in textures’.

STOCKHOLM

Fredsgatan 12 Fredsgatan 12, tel. +46 (0)8 248052, www.fredsgatan12.com
Menu: €37 (SEK 350) lunch A la carte: from €53-€118 (SEK 490 to 1095).

A striking, stylish restaurant – within a wing of the Royal Academy of Art – serving creative modern Nordic dishes, including roe deer with cocoa beans and berbere, and arctic bramble ‘pearls’ with warm caramel.

BRUSSELS

Touâreg Chaussée de Charleroi 80, tel. +32 (0)2 534 5400, www.letouareg.be
Menu: from €20 A la carte: €30-€39

A minimalist, modern restaurant with an outdoor terrace, serving North African specialities. Decorated in indigo blue – the colour of the Touâreg tribe from the Sahara – it merits a new Bib Gourmand mention.

VIENNA

Fadinger Wipplingerstraße 29, tel. +43 (0)1 533 4341, www.fadinger.at
Menu: from €19 (lunch) to €55 A la carte: from €25

Friendly and lively Heurige, close to the Börse (stock exchange), serving regional Viennese dishes given a contemporary twist: oysters with oyster bread, allium ‘foam’ soup, freshwater fish in salt crust or cooked with Riesling.

LONDON

Benares 12a Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, tel. +44 (0)20 7629 8886, www.benaresrestaurant.com Menu: €44 (£29.95)
A la carte: from (€44-€59) £30 to £44

London is the only city with Michelin-starred Indian and Chinese restaurants. Chef Atul Kochhar’s specialities include crispy soft-shell crab with spicy squid, passion fruit dressing, spectacular lobster masala, as well as ground-lamb kebabs with mint and tamarind chutney.

VALENCIA

Alejandro Del Toro Avenida de Suecia 2, tel. +34 96 393 046, www.restaurantealejandrodeltoro.com
Menu: €55 A la carte: from €56

Creative contemporary Spanish food, mixing traditional ingredients with avant-garde techniques, served in a welcoming dining room. One of four new Michelin one-star restaurants in Valencia.

L’homme de Michelin

Derek Bulmer appartient au petit cercle culinaire le plus puissant et le plus craint du monde, le groupe de gastronomes qui distribuent les étoiles au guide Michelin.

Mais au fait, est-ce dur d’être payé pour manger dans les meilleurs restaurants de la planète? On recense aujourd’hui 70 inspecteurs en Europe, et Bulmer estime que chacun d’entre eux mange à l’extérieur plus de 240 fois par an, dont 130 nuits d’hôtel.

La plupart des inspecteurs sortent des grandes écoles hôtelières et ont bien souvent travaillé autant en cuisine qu’en salle durant au moins 10 ans. La formation commence par six mois de stricte observation, et dans toute l’histoire du Michelin, on n’a jamais désigné un inspecteur pour les restaurants végétariens.

Si on leur pose, sans détour, la question de savoir s’ils représentent le fameux guide, les inspecteurs ont un devoir de discrétion jusqu’à ce qu’ils aient payé l’addition. Mais parfois la situation exige que l’on fasse une exception, admet Bulmer. Comme avec El Bulli, par exemple, le restaurant du grand chef Ferran Adria, où il est impossible de réserver une table.

Lorsqu’un restaurant est pressenti pour une étoile, il peut recevoir jusqu’à huit visites d’inspecteurs différents. Ils sont attentifs à de multiples aspects du repas, principalement la qualité des ingrédients, le savoir-faire dans l’exécution, la créativité, la consistance et le rapport qualité/prix.

Comme la plupart d’entre nous, Bulmer a ses plats favoris – dans son cas, les coquilles Saint-Jacques – mais il doit à tout prix essayer de ne pas les privilégier dans ses choix. Un inspecteur ne peut pas non plus goûter un plat qui ne reflèterait pas la prouesse du chef, tel le saumon fumé.

Après 30 années de cette activité au service du goût Bulmer est toujours aussi enthousiaste, il adore toujours les découvertes gastronomiques, que ce soient les gastropubs au Royaume-Uni ou les bars tapas hautement créatifs à Barcelone et à Madrid. C’est toutefois la Scandinavie et particulièrement Copenhague, qui est en train de grimper à toute allure dans le baromètre du Michelin.

Michelin-man

Derek Bulmer behoort tot een machtige en gevreesde elite in de culinaire wereld. Hij kent Michelin-sterren toe.

Eten in ’s werelds beste restaurants, een droomjob? Momenteel telt Europa 70 inspecteurs. Elk gaat ruim 240 keer per jaar uit eten en brengt 130 nachten op hotel door.

De meeste inspecteurs hebben hotelschool gelopen en ten minste 10 jaar in de keuken en de zaal gewerkt. Ze krijgen een opleiding van 6 maanden waarbij ze enkel observeren en ervaring opdoen. Vegetarische inspecteurs zijn er tot dusver nog nooit geweest.

Ze mogen nooit toegeven dat ze voor Michelin werken voor de rekening betaald is. Eén uitzondering, zo geeft Bulmer toe, is het Spaanse El Bulli van Ferran Adria, waar je anders onmogelijk een tafel kan bemachtigen.

Komt een restaurant in aanmerking voor een ster, dan krijgt het tot acht keer bezoek van verschillende inspecteurs. Elk aspect van de maaltijd passeert de revue: kwaliteit van de ingrediënten, uitvoering, creativiteit, consistentie en prijskwaliteitverhouding.

Ook Bulmer heeft zo zijn favoriete ingrediënten – schaaldieren – maar dat mag hem niet beïnvloeden. Gerechten die de chef niet op de proef stellen, zoals gerookte zalm, zijn uit den boze.

Na 30 jaar als inspecteur loopt Bulmer nog steeds warm voor gastronomie, vooral voor de gastropubs in Groot-Brittannië en de creatieve tapasbars in Barcelona en Madrid. Scandinavië stijgt echter het snelst op de Michelin-barometer, met Kopenhagen op kop.