The world is changing - so must restaurant ratings
Why we should look beyond Michelin Stars as we determine the future of dining
By Serena Weaver
Photography by Webster Mugavazi
There’s something in the air these days. A glimpse of hope, a humble excitement. The knowledge that, as winter fades, our long season of unrelated hibernation may soon, too.
I’ve gotten somewhat tired of reading articles about what life will be like after, though. About when or how or even if things should ever return to “normal.” It seems that first we must get there, and try “before” on for size. Have we indeed grown out of it? Are the shirts of memories past now too small, for how far we feel we’ve come since then?
There are some signs that this will be the case. Personally, I’ve left behind the need to fill silence with conversation, my living space with new items. Meaning now comes from daily moments of good feeling, from meeting deadlines without a rush, from getting through each week with as much calm and purpose as possible. Collectively, it would be a lie to say that the likes of Corona, Black Lives Matter, natural disasters, and attempted coups haven’t affected us. We’re now more alert, more aware, and in all of our quietude, quite alive. But still.
Status Quo
For the past two decades, restaurants have been my passion. Trying the latest dish of a favorite chef, scouting out hidden gems, or even traveling to eat in acclaimed eateries are activities that historically led to my greatest joys. As a teenager, each new plate or place felt like the discovery of a whole world, with flavours and designs informed by different regions and schools of thought.
There was so much inspiration in the ritual of dining, until there wasn’t really, anymore. March of 2018 was the first time that I felt truly disappointed by a supposedly top notch culinary experience. And then again that spring, several times over. I couldn’t shake off how what had always been right was suddenly wrong, and so I sought out the source of the problem.
By the summer of 2018, I had understood that, as far as the restaurant industry goes, the old guard had been in charge for far too long. The way that we view and rate restaurants hasn’t changed in over a century, since the early 1900’s, when Michelin launched its then innovative guide books to finding great places to eat while on the road. But now, whether it’s Michelin or Google, The World’s 50 Best or even Happy Cow, we’re still only superficially assessing eateries based on their food, and just rewarding existing acclaim with more of it.
The restaurant world has continued on in this way, with mostly superficial ideals at its core, because we’ve all participated in accepting this as the way that it is. When eaters “like” anything simply because it’s made by a famous chef in a creative way and in an expensive restaurant, and third parties like Michelin award them for this formula, the cycle continues, with lack of sense or direction except for more of the same.
But as we’ve seen in the past year, the only constant is change. We cannot move forward as before, forever. Globalization, if not contained, will have consequences. Systems need to be inclusive, or combust. The environment and existing democracies must be stewarded at all costs. And in similar suit, the restaurant world must reconsider what it holds to be true and important, for we’ve now seen what happens when the glitter goes away.
Moving Forward
What I came up with in 2018 was that what makes a meal truly great is not superficial qualities at all, but rather the combination of five elements in particular: Cuisine, yes, but also Experience, Story, Sustainability, and Diversity. We need to be treated well when we’re hosted. We need to connect to what we’re eating, and the craftsmanship surrounding it. We feel better when we know that we’re participating in a healthy system, and it’s more interesting to celebrate someone unique at the helm of a great eatery, or a server with a special path to share.
What makes a great meal is thus the presence of an holistic set of values that are circular and positive at their core. Intuitively, we understand this. It’s just that they’re not what we’re being asked to rate restaurants on afterwards. And since there are ways for the system to better reflect what we want and need, it's about time that we implement them.
The same will likely be for how we live post-Corona, and after the many marking events of 2020 until now. In some way or another—at home or through our neighbours or our workplaces—we’ve seen the effects of old ways that have gone unchallenged or unchanged for far too long, and I’m certain that we’ve all been touched and have grown to a size that is different than the one before.
When we get “there,” I think that we’ll know.
About the author
Serena Weaver is an impact entrepreneur and the Founder of Table Sage, curated restaurants for the conscious diner.
She is an Italian/ American expat, based in Amsterdam with her Dutch love.
@serena_sandra
@tablesagedining
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