The broken stars of the Michelin Guide

The impact of the Michelin Guide on restaurant employees

OpinionsFélix Pageau-Lussier — Published March 17, 2025 3 minutes

Like the Olympics, an internationally recognized institution attracts proponents and opponents, and such debate has not escaped the arrival of the world-renowned culinary guide in Quebec. 

Those enthusiastic over the Michelin Guide coming to Quebec often put forward the economic benefits due to the international recognition and subsequent uptick in tourism. 

Meanwhile, others who are more doubtful of the positive impact have expressed fear over the guide hindering Quebec's unique and diverse culinary culture. However, very few, if any, have questioned the Michelin Guide’s potential effect on the workers and work environment. 

One thing that stands out above everything else in the Michelin guideline is its focus on excellence. However, there is no reference to work environment and working conditions in its criteria. It doesn't matter to a Michelin inspector how a restaurant treats its workers, which inevitably multiplies working hours and exacerbates employee stress, without the promise of a better paycheck.

Couple the lack of institutional oversight of workers' conditions with the inherently competitive nature of the Michelin Guide—awarding either one, two or three stars to restaurants it deems deserving—and this could very well be a recipe for disaster for those boots on the ground. 

The lack of public discussion on the impact of the Michelin Guide for workers is especially concerning when the industry in Quebec has just recently started to talk openly about its abusive and exploitative tendencies.

Many have noted a gradual improvement in working conditions, salaries and benefits in the food industry, especially following the COVID-19 labor shortage. This recent renegotiation of the relationship between employers and employees is particularly significant for Quebec's food industry, which is still largely not unionized.

Amid this upward trajectory for workers' conditions and salaries in the industry, the Michelin Guide may be a new excuse for restaurants to return to their old ways. While there will be exceptions—as not all restaurants will seek to win a Michelin Star or abuse the prestige the guide grants—it is, nonetheless, an elitist system that too often rewards precisely the same predatory behaviours that need to change in the industry. 

However, all is not lost.

For one, the final say ultimately lies in the hands of the consumer. For instance, following a controversial job offer listed by the renowned restaurant Au Pied de Cochon in 2021, many in the public pushed for a boycott of the restaurant on social media.

The anger was centred around a measly proposed hourly wage of $13.50. The outrage was exacerbated by the fact that the offer came from a popular and expensive restaurant, one that someone expects to better pay its employees.

Following the backlash, the restaurant changed course and proposed better remuneration. The same could be done with any exploitative restaurant; awareness is in order. 

In a publicly neglected culinary scene, the Michelin Guide could spell a downward spiral for workers and their working conditions. Thus, let us not forget that we, the consumers, have an important role to play.

With compassion and awareness we can mitigate and hopefully uplift workers in the age of Michelin’s excellency.