Episode Details

Daniel picked a three-Michelin-star restaurant for his birthday.

Then he asked the obvious question. What does a tire company know about food?

The answer goes back to France in 1900, when two brothers named Andre and Edouard Michelin had a tire company and a problem. There were fewer than three thousand cars in the entire country. No cars meant no driving. No driving meant no tires. So they came up with an idea -- a small free guide to make driving more appealing. It had maps of French roads, instructions for changing tires, lists of mechanics and petrol stations, and -- to make the journey worthwhile -- restaurants and hotels along the way.

The restaurants were not the point. The point was getting people to drive further and wear out more tires. The guide was a marketing tool, nothing more. And they gave it away for free.

For twenty years.

Then Andre Michelin walked into a garage and found a stack of his guides being used to prop up a workbench. He was not happy. He said -- and this is a real quote -- man only truly respects what he pays for. So they stopped giving it away and started charging.

By 1920, as the guide became more respected, Michelin decided to evaluate restaurants professionally. They hired anonymous inspectors -- secret diners who visited restaurants, ate the food, and reported back without ever revealing who they were. In 1926 they introduced the star system. One star for a very good restaurant. Two for one worth going out of your way for. Three for one worth planning an entire trip around.

The inspectors are still anonymous today. Restaurants do not know when they are being visited. Inspectors pay for their own meals. They accept no free food or special treatment. Right now, somewhere in the world, a Michelin inspector is eating at a restaurant and no one in that restaurant knows it.

And the whole system -- the most prestigious honor in fine dining -- started because two brothers needed people to drive more in 1900.

Daniel's reaction to finding out his birthday restaurant has three of those stars is the last exchange worth staying for.

What you will find in this episode:

• Why a tire company made a restaurant guide in the first place
• The workbench that changed everything
• How the star system works -- and what three stars actually means
• Why Michelin inspectors are still anonymous after a hundred years
• Daniel connecting the dots -- and his plan for eating very slowly

Short, surprising, and the kind of episode that makes a Michelin star mean something completely different from now on.

Listen, wonder, and learn.

Find us @smilewithDaniel everywhere.