It began, implausibly, with a guide to French roads. In 1900 two brothers, Andre and Edouard Michelin, wanted to promote travel by car as a route to rev up sales of their tyres. Their first book gathered practical information such as maps and the locations of mechanics; later, recognising that travellers want fuel for themselves as well as for their vehicles, it expanded its restaurant recommendations. The company introduced its star-ranking system in 1926.

In the century since, more than 30 million copies of the Michelin Guide have been sold – making it about as widely read as Gone with the Wind, The Great Gatsby or Pride and Prejudice. Michelin’s taxonomy has become the restaurant industry’s standard. Only the most exalted eateries earn a star: of the roughly 11.8 million places that serve food in the world, only 3647 (or 0.03 per cent) hold at least one.

The Economist