Restaurant industry circles in Shanghai have been awash with rumors that the Michelin Guide, a restaurant reference book widely regarded as the world's foremost authority, will launch later this year in the mainland for the first time.
Already established in Japan, Hong Kong and Macau, the guide is a selection of the best restaurants in a city, divided into four categories: 'bib gourmand' restaurants that offer 'exceptional good food at moderate prices;' one Michelin star denotes a 'very good restaurant in its category;' two stars for 'excellent cooking, worth a detour;' and three for, 'exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.' The gaining or loss of a star can have a dramatic impact on the success of a restaurant – to put it lightly.
Michelin in Asia
The influence of the guide in Hong Kong has seen dining establishments skyrocket onto the international stage, and helped cement the city as a global centre of gastronomy. If Michelin does indeed launch here, could the same be in store for Shanghai?
Diners in Shanghai have been calling for the guide's launch in the Mainland, and see its possible debut as a good thing for raising the profile of China's culinary practice. But there is a more complex side behind the esteemed book which raises the question: is Shanghai really ready to enter the Michelin system?
Traditionally, the guide assessed only classical fine dining restaurants, a notion which garnered the less than savory nickname of 'the toilet guide,' since it was apparent how many stars a place would have dependent on how fancy the bathrooms were, perhaps regardless of the food. 
Michelin three-star restaurant Le Meurice in Paris.
This changed once the guide had hit Asia with the release of the Tokyo 2008 guide, responding to contemporary (and broadly international) styles of dining by awarding stars based on food quality alone – and giving the Japanese capital more stars than both Paris and New York combined. Hence why Sushi Saito, a three-star Tokyo restaurant looks like a "janitor's closet" from the outside, and why you can eat in for less than USD10 in Hong Kong's one-star dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan – a world away from the white table cloth fine dining temples of Paris.
Michelin one-star dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong.
In fact, Hong Kong has more than a few 'local' restaurants imbued with Michelin stars. Many people feel the stars awarded in Hong Kong are too lenient compared to Michelin standards in Europe and America.
Restaurant critic Andy Hayler, reportedly the only man to have eaten in every Michelin three-star restaurant in the world, considers Hong Kong's starring standards to be "egregious to the point of damaging the Michelin brand."
Image via Andyhayler.com
Scaling the Impossible
Regardless, Hong Kong is a small city which despite its high restaurant per capita ratio lends itself to the critiquing of each and every one of its local restaurants, long celebrated for their quality. But let's consider Shanghai by comparison, a sprawling city of 23 million (registered) people and over 47,000 restaurants. Is it even physically possible to judge these equally, fairly and impartially?
Consider then that Michelin's anonymous inspection standards require multiple visits before judgement can be passed. The funding, not to mention manpower required of parent company Michelin Tires would be a project of massive scale.
Understaffed and Overpriced
It's not just local restaurants that stand to lose out, many Western chefs are also dubious about the impact and deeper implications that the guide may have. One chef de cuisine of a prominent contemporary Western restaurant expressed serious concerns about how the guide could actually damage the progress of 'non-fine' Western dining in China, already hindered by exceptionally high rent and overpriced costs of importing 'Michelin quality' ingredients.
Another issue that hampers Western cuisine in Shanghai are good local staff, or lack thereof. Many are experiencing a dearth in talent due to perceived unprestigiousness of a culinary career, leading Western chefs attempting to cook quality food that falls outside the bounds of traditional Michelin caliber to wonder how they will be able to attract staff over starred restaurants.
After all, why work in an un-starred restaurant when the career trajectory of working in a Michelin kitchen will be exponentially higher? At worst, some estimate that it could set the industry back 10 years in terms of quality.
Western fine dining restaurants like Otto e Mezzo Bombana may stand to gain from the debut of the guide.
To the Winners Go the Spoils
On the other side of the table, who are the chefs and enterprises that would stand to gain from a Mainland Michelin debut? Certainly those with big names and budgets to match; and the guide may even have the benefit of attracting more to a career in the restaurant industry. Even the humble consumer may benefit from the guides' influence over raising standards in general, along with international diners in search for unequivocal good food out of Shanghai's myriad restaurants.
Disruptive though the guide may be, there's little doubt that its game changing debut would take Shanghai's restaurant scene to the next level, and that can only be a good thing.
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