Food Theory: Restaurants Are LYING To You! (Michelin Stars)

Special thanks to GEICO for sponsoring this episode!

Theorists, have you ever eaten at a Michelin Star restaurant? You know, the fancy places that were awarded stars from the Michelin tire company for their very expensive food. Oh, you didn't know that's who is dolling out these acclaimed stars? Surprise! It's true, a tire company has been telling us what the top tier restaurants in the world are for YEARS and no one thought to question it. Well, Loyal Theorists, that is what I am here to do!


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Credits:
Writers: Matthew Patrick and Justin Kuiper
Editors: AbsolutePixel, JayskiBean, and
Sound Editor: Yosi Berman

#ExpensiveFood #MichelinStar #MichelinStars #MichelinMan #Food #Chef #Restaurants #Lies #Conspiracy #WorthIt #FoodTheory #MatPat #GameTheory #filmtheory

0:00 - Thanks to our Sponsor!
1:57 - Let's get to the FOOD THEORY!
14:15 - Thanks again to Gieco!

[nikkis.]

THANK YOU for this video MatPat!
As a Colombian-American who loves cooking, the fact that Latin America as a whole has so few Michelin stars always irritated me, since we have such wide diversity and flavor in our cuisines! I always felt that there was a European bias with these reviews. Don’t get me wrong, I love European cuisine, but there needs to be more love for Latin America and our amazing dishes. I’m sure there’s a a Michelin-worthy Arepa out there!

PS I feel like Papas Chorreadas would be something Michelin reviewers would like, but maybe that’s just me lol. Maybe they’d appreciate a bandeja paisa?

[alemorrisoncocina]

As a french trained chef whos been lucky enough to eat at several michelin star restaurants, I can say that the food in these restaurants are often very similar in vibe, and the ambiance of the restaurant is always very intense, you have a ton of waiters over your shoulder, everything seems so fancy and part of a protocol. I've realized with time I much rather enjoy a chill atmosphere, were you can hear people buzzing and laughing! Some of the BEST meals of my life have actually been very cheap, in fun, authentic restaurants!

[KidKudos]

As someone who has worked in the restaurant industry a long time and who deeply loves food and this industry I've always believed that if you have a Michelin star that you earned it but if you don't have one doesn't mean you don't deserve it

[edwinschutjes]

There is a restaurant in my area that actually turned down the Michelin Star. They said it brings a lot of stress for the restaurant and the chefs to actually keep it and it jacks up the prices which scares a lot of customers away. Makes sense when you think about it.

[jlfzibr]

I've worked at a michelin star restaurant. It has nothing to do with taste. You're required to obviously serve quality food, but it's mostly about the degree to which your silverware is polished (and good luck getting a star with stainless steel). Your staff basically has to go the extra 500 miles, and culturally speaking the Japanese just have a talent for doing just that for any guest.

[jefftalley]

I have a friend who worked in the kitchen at a Michelin starred restaurant, and she told me the biggest part of earning a star was non-food related. It was how you go above and beyond with the administrative, organization and presentation of the restaurant itself. Obviously you can't serve bad food, but the process of earning the star was more about how much extra you're willing to go to make your restaurant LOOK like a Michelin restaurant.

[professionalamateur]

Food theory video idea: Can eating food you hate actually make you feel sick or really get sick?

[z-beeblebrox]

This is something that directly translates to the few-and-far-between Michelin Stars outside Europe. While watching Netflix's "Chef's Table" I noticed the trend that - no matter what Michelin Star rated restauranteur they focused on in any part of the world, and no matter what regional food the restaurant focused on - the head chef ALWAYS got their start in France. ALWAYS. Super sus

[hi-o]

The next channel could be only about history and I’d listen for hours

[opalinecrystals]

Matpat sponsorships on youtube are always creative and funny....but having him stuck on the road in the middle of a road trip with a busted tire, only to be approached by a french man who has memorized a commerical for a insurance comapny with a biritsh gecko as it's mascot is top quality work.

[TheTrueNicklose]

I can imagine MatPat stopping a stranger to talk about history for ten minutes.

[testerwulf]

I don't think it's just the food, maybe partially, but the atmosphere/vibe of the place and service..most Michelin stars restaurants have very similar vibes and often similar food or similar in styled preparation. They go into a restaurant that isn't run in a tradition fancy French way and it just doesn't hit as "Michelin stars worthy" for these judges because it's not the norm for them. They're judging the restaurant and not really the food which is the main problem I have with it, and it's also why French restaurants are prioritized for Michelin stars because they fit the "right vibe". No one should consider whether or not a restaurant has good food based on whether or not it has Michelin stars..plenty of great places with 0 Michelin stars!

[manfelt]

WAUU THANK YOU MAT PAT! As a Malaysian, i’ve always wondered why Singapore has more Michelin Star than Malaysia yet their food isn’t even favourable amongst their own Citizens. Most Singaporeans would come to Johor to eat out. So i did some digging and wouldn’t you know it, most of them are FRENCH CUISINE! This brings faith to me

[EditDeath]

There's a huge friendship between France and Japan that's gone on for ages, to the point that in the late 90's each country spent a year celebrating each other's culture. Even if the Japanese restaurants getting stars hadn't sold French food, it'd still be a case of giving a best friend a pat on the back

[bboops]

The anime Food Wars literally has an arc about this. A new headmaster wants them to focus only on fine dining and due to the French bias in Fine Dining he specifically calls out Japanese street food as lower class. This show actually lead me to study more non-western cooking.

[KateSang-xunn]

To be honest, I'm impressed Matpat and talk for about 10 minutes straight with a neutral voice and basically not stopping.

[Daniel_Schmaniel]

Another point of interest is that Michelin stars are only available in specific cities in the United States and not many of them either. There are many cities that have turned into culinary hot pots but get no recognition because the Michelin star is for some reason considered the end all/ be all of culinary prestige.

[thefunniesies]

This made me realize that there are no michelin star restaurants in all of Africa, even in Morocco where there are some extremely high quality restaurants that even Gordon ate at and blew his mind. And they mainly serve Moroccan food with a small western twist mainly in plating.

[max_]

As a french I always thought the Michelin star was a national standard for high quality food that also awarded a few restaurants abroad but I never thought they marketed themselves as the international reference for food...

[LUVBOTZ]

I have a friend in Japan who likes to go to Michelin starred restaurants when she travels, which is often. I think she said that she mostly sticks to one and two star restaurants because the three star ones aren't worth it for the price.