趙青奇

獲得米其林星級餐廳的稱號是無數(shù)餐廳和主廚的夢想，因為獲此殊榮就猶如獲得了餐飲界的奧斯卡獎一般。另一方面，如果一家餐廳獲得了米其林餐廳的稱號，想必大家都會想要前往那里一品高水準(zhǔn)的美味佳肴。那么，米其林是如何評定星級餐廳的？被稱為“密探”的美食評審員們又是怎樣在匿名的情況下完成對餐廳及其菜品的評審工作的呢？

Since the first edition of the Michelin Guide was published， back in 1900， the inspection process has been kept a closely guarded secret. However， over the years a number of clues have emerged which help to shine a light on1） how restaurants are awarded Michelin stars.

How did the guide

come about？

Yes， it is the same Michelin that make the tires2）. In fact， the purpose of the first guide tied in with their tire making heritage. To boost the demand for cars and， therefore， car tires， the company began making atlases3） which included certain restaurants on different routes. At that time， one star meant the restaurant was worthy of a stop along the way； two stars meant it was worth a detour4） and three stars that you ought to make a special journey to visit the restaurant.

Michelin claim that the stars mean the same thing today， only adjusted for a more mobile society. Yet with the proliferation5） of restaurants in the 114 years after the foundation of the guide， many people think Michelin stars actually possess more value than that—particularly with the degree of prestige6） the stars hold in today's society.

1900年問世的《米其林指南》

自首版《米其林指南》于1900年出版以來，米其林星級餐廳的評定過程一直都是高度機(jī)密。不過，在這么多年的時間里，有很多線索浮出了水面，幫助我們了解米其林是如何評定餐廳星級的。

《米其林指南》

是如何誕生的？

沒錯，這個米其林就是制造輪胎的那個米其林。事實(shí)上，出版第一本《米其林指南》的目的就跟該公司歷史悠久的輪胎制造生意有關(guān)。為了提升人們對汽車（進(jìn)而對輪胎）的需求，米其林開始制作地圖冊，上面標(biāo)注的內(nèi)容包括不同路線上的一些餐廳。當(dāng)時，一顆星意味著該餐廳值得在順路經(jīng)過時停車前往，兩顆星意味著該餐廳值得繞道前往，三顆星則意味著你應(yīng)該專程前往該餐廳。

米其林公司聲稱，星級在今天所代表的含義和過去相同，只不過為了適應(yīng)如今出行更為自如的社會進(jìn)行了調(diào)整。然而，自指南問世114年（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2014年10月）以來，隨著大量餐廳的涌現(xiàn)，很多人認(rèn)為米其林的星級實(shí)際上擁有更大的價值，尤其是其星級在當(dāng)今社會所享有的極高聲譽(yù)。

1. shine a light on： 使……顯得更加清楚；使……更易于理解

2. tire [.ta..（r）] n. 輪胎

3. atlas [..tl.s] n. 地圖冊；地圖集

米其林評審員的生活

令很多人驚訝的是，全世界僅有約120位米其林評審員，盡管《米其林指南》現(xiàn)在已在23個不同的國家使用。每位評審員都是匿名的；如果評審員聽到了任何有關(guān)餐廳懷疑自己身份的風(fēng)聲，他們就會立即取消預(yù)訂，并讓一位同事在未來隨機(jī)挑一個日子重新進(jìn)行預(yù)訂，然后他們自己則在接下來的十年里都不再造訪這個地區(qū)。

不過，一位評審員表示，即便自己被識破了，而自己又沒有察覺到，這也不大可能會對結(jié)果產(chǎn)生太大的影響?！癧主廚]不會僅僅因為我在餐廳里用餐就變得更加出色，他做的飯菜也不會變得更加可口。他唯一能做的就是在我的盤子里加一些原料，但這樣做也是有風(fēng)險的，因為一個食譜中的食材配比都是十分精確的?！?/p>

由于米其林評審員的人數(shù)不多，他們每人一個月有三個星期都在奔波，每晚都住在不同的酒店里。他們每天都要試吃午餐和晚餐，每年品嘗約240家不同餐廳的美食菜肴。當(dāng)然了，米其林會為其報銷餐費(fèi)。不過，這個福利只能他們自己獨(dú)享，和他們一起用餐的人必須單獨(dú)支付費(fèi)用。

評審員每年駕車的里程超過1.8萬英里（編注：約2.9萬公里），和健康隱患（他們或許認(rèn)為這是自己享用如此豐盛的美食所帶來的）相比，路上存在的危險才是更令他們感到擔(dān)心的事情。米其林公司會確保評審員定期接受健康檢查，與此同時他們每半年還有資格享受一次膽固醇檢查。endprint

The life of a Michelin inspector

Surprisingly to many， there are only around 120 inspectors worldwide. This is despite the guide now operating in 23 different countries. Every inspector is anonymous7）； if an inspector heard any hint that a restaurant suspected who they were， they would immediately cancel the booking and have a colleague reschedule at a random date in the future. They would then stay away from the region for the next 10 years.

But even if they were rumbled8） without being aware of it， one inspector said， it would be unlikely to change much. "[The chef] is not going to be better， and nor is his food， simply because I'm eating at the restaurant. The only thing he could do would be to add some ingredients to my plate， but that's risky too， since a recipe is made with very precise proportions."

Due to the small number of Michelin inspectors， each is on the road for three out of every four weeks， staying in a different hotel every night. They eat lunch and dinner every day， sampling9） around 240 different restaurants every year. Michelin， of course， picks up the inspector's bill10）. The perks11） don't extend to a plus one， though—their cost would have to be paid independently.

Driving over 18，000 miles every year， dangers on the road are more of a concern to inspectors than the health risks one might perceive to be associated with enjoying such a rich diet. Michelin ensure there are regular health check-ups for inspectors， while they are also entitled to a six-monthly cholesterol12） check.

4. detour [.di.t..（r）] n. 繞行的路，迂回路

5. proliferation [pr..l.f..re..n] n. 激增；涌現(xiàn)；大量的事物

6. prestige [pre.sti..] n. 威信，聲望

7. anonymous [..n.n.m.s] adj. 匿名的；不具名的

8. rumble [.r.mbl] vt. 察覺，發(fā)現(xiàn)；看穿，識破

9. sample [.sɑ.mpl] vt. 品嘗

10. pick up the bill： 付賬

11. perk [p..k] n. （工資以外的）補(bǔ)貼，津貼

12. cholesterol [k..lest.r.l] n. 膽固醇

13. premises [.prem.s.z] n. （商店、參觀、公司等使用的）房屋及土地

14. décor [.de.k..（r）] n. （房間、家具等的）裝飾（布局），裝潢（風(fēng)格）

15. signature dish： 招牌菜。signature [.s.ɡn.t..（r）] adj. 顯示個人特色的，個性化的

16. re.nement [r..fa.nm.nt] n. （精細(xì)的）改進(jìn)，完善

17. set apart： 使顯得突出，使顯得與眾不同

18. culinary [.k.l.n.ri] adj. 烹飪的；廚房的

How do the inspectors come to their decisions？

The exact scoring systems used by Michelin inspectors remain a very closely guarded secret. Yet we do know some aspects of the process. Inspectors visit premises13） around once every 18 months， unless it is being considered for gaining or losing a star. In these instances， a one star restaurant will receive four visits before it can gain its second star. A two star location must be inspected on ten occasions before it can claim the ultimate honor of three stars.

After every meal， the inspector writes a report. It was thought that service， décor14） and location were each considered as part of the process， but the Michelin Guide editor， Rebecca Burr， this year told us that "It is all about the food. Absolutely". Burr suggested that to go from one star to two means displaying "that technical strength， signature dishes15）， refinement16）， something that sets them apart17）". While the journey from two to three stars is about the "ultimate culinary18） experience".

評審員是如何做出決定的？

米其林評審員使用的確切的評分體系仍然是高度機(jī)密。不過，他們評審過程的某些方面我們還是了解的。評審員大約每18個月造訪一次餐廳，除非該餐廳正在被考慮升一顆星或是降一顆星，在這種情況下，米其林一星餐廳將經(jīng)過評審員的四次造訪才能獲得第二顆星，兩星餐廳則必須經(jīng)過十次造訪才能獲得三星餐廳的至高榮譽(yù)。

每次用完餐后，評審員都會寫一份報告。有人認(rèn)為餐廳的服務(wù)、裝飾風(fēng)格和位置都是評審過程中會考查的方面，但《米其林指南》的編輯麗貝卡伯爾今年告訴我們：“最重要的就是食物，絕對是這樣?！辈疇柋硎緩囊活w星升至兩顆星意味著餐廳展現(xiàn)了“那種技術(shù)上的實(shí)力、招牌菜、對菜品的完善，就是使其與眾不同的一些因素”，而從兩顆星提升至三顆星則在于餐廳提供了“極致的用餐體驗”。endprint