At last, a clear, no-holds-barred explanation of the Michelin star-rating system.

This gorgeously illustrated book tells the great saga of the birth and the rising influence of the Guide Michelin, as well as its role in the expansion of postwar French gastronomy onto the world scene. Covering some sixty restaurants and their legendary three-étoiles-winning chefs, readers will delight in this rich cornucopia filled with anecdotes, posters, menus, newspaper clippings and celebrity photos. Food writer Jean-François Mesplède takes readers on an intimate journey to meet the men and women behind the Guide rouge who passionately stood for a certain idea of “the art of living”. Chronicling the histories of those great Parisian temples of gastronomy, La Tour d’Argent, Lapérouse, Le Grand Véfour and Maxim’s, among others, we are also treated to inside looks at treasured culinary destinations well outside of the hexagone. The later part of the book is devoted to contemporary stars from Alain Passard to Pierre Gagnaire and well beyond. Readers, food writers and gastronomes alike will delight in this lovingly compiled homage to the Guide Michelin and its profound impact on our understanding of what it means to eat well.