How to Become a Michelin Star Chef

First of all, a common misperception is that chefs receive the Michelin star rating. Not so! It is the restaurant that receives the Michelin stars. The chef, however, is fundamental to the process of winning the stars.A second misperception is that a one-star restaurant is somehow not quite “up to snuff.” A single Michelin star is an astonishing and rare achievement for a restaurant. A multiple star rating is very rare, indeed.To win this recognition is the life goal of many a career professional chef, and it is no easy task.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Get your first kitchen job at a very early age in a restaurant run by a well regarded French chef. Work very hard and accurately and display your wealth of natural talent on a regular basis so that the chef may take you under his wing as an apprentice.

2. Strike out on the journeyman phase of your career once you have learned all you can from your mentor. This is still best done in France or across Europe, focusing on France. Work in a series of restaurants under a number of chefs and learn all the stations of the professional kitchen. You can spend a month in a restaurant or a year, again learning from the variety. Be open to differences and remember that you are the student, not the master in all of these situations.

3. Go to the city where you would like to settle down for a period of years and get a sous chef position at a prestigious restaurant.

4. Continue to work at this restaurant until the chef retires, and step into his role. You can also seek a chef position at a world-class restaurant or save your pennies and dimes until you have a substantial nest-egg, then consult with a bank and some of your favorite high-dollar clientèle to collect enough investment capital to buy your own place. Whichever route you take, make sure that the restaurant is in an area appealing to tourism.

5. Run the restaurant pristinely. Balance brilliant creativity with beautifully crafted and time-tested recipes. The entire facility, front and back of house, should always be exquisitely clean and perfectly presented. Employ an expert wait staff that is knowledgeable about every item served at the restaurant and well versed on the content of your extensive wine cellar. If you run the restaurant magnificently, Michelin will come to you.

Tips & Warnings

• The vast majority of Michelin star rated restaurants are presided over by chefs who went through an old-fashioned apprenticeship rather than a modern cooking school.
• The prestige and success of the restaurant and the reputation of the chef that you are working under as sous chef will factor into the amount of capital that you can command when opening your own restaurant.
• Michelin stars are most often awarded to French style restaurants. There are many non-French recipients, but if your goal is to have your restaurant get a star, the odds are in your favor if you go French.

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