On January 16, 1853, André Michelin was born in Paris. Six years later, his brother Édouard was born. The two brothers would go on to run the company Michelin and Co., inventing the modern pneumatic tire and becoming one of the largest purveyors of tires in the world. The Michelin brothers are also responsible for creating the Michelin Guide, which has gone on to become of the most prestigious awards given to restaurants around the world. How does a tire company relate to fine cuisine? We’re glad you asked.
Michelin and Co. began long before André and Édouard were born. Their great-aunt and uncle, Elisabeth Pugh-Barker and Édouard Daubrée began making rubber bouncy balls in their Clermont Ferrand home in 1829. Daubrée realized that rubber had a more practical application in the production of farm machinery. He joined forces with his cousin, Aristide Barbier, and the two started a successful company selling farm machinery equipped with rubber hoses and valves. When Barbier died, the company fell on hard times. Her grandsons, André and Édouard Michelin took over the company and looked for ways to bolster the company’s portfolio. In 1889, a cyclist approached the brothers and asked them to look into creating a bicycle tire that was easier to replace than the tires of the time, which were glued to the rim. In 1891, the Michelin brothers filed a patent for their detachable pneumatic bicycle tire. It wasn’t long before they had applied the same concept to automobile tires.
At this point, cars were not very widely used in France. In order to drum up business for their tire company, the Michelin brothers needed to convince more people to purchase cars and use them for travel. In pursuit of this, the brothers created the Michelin Guide. Published for the first time in 1900, the guide listed French towns alphabetically and gave suggestions for lodging, restaurants, car repair shops, museums, and other points of interest. In 1926, the Michelin guide began putting a single star next to restaurants considered “fine-dining” establishments. In 1931, the three-star system that exists today was created. In 1936, the official judging criteria for the system was released. Today, the Michelin star is one of the most impressive designations a restaurant can receive. The Michelin Guide today covers 37 countries and there are approximately 2,800 Michelin Star restaurants worldwide.
Learn more here:
- https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/about-us
- https://www.escoffier.edu/blog/world-food-drink/a-brief-history-of-the-michelin-guide/
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Michelin
- https://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/andre-michelin/
- https://www.michelin.com/en/michelin-group/about-us/michelin-heritage/#histoire-2-2