How Michelin inspectors are navigating AI to remain anonymous

“We always take anonymity very, very seriously.”

That was the message from Michelin after the latest Great Britain & Ireland ceremony last month.

A worldwide group of inspectors each visit hundreds of restaurants across the globe every year, making their recommendations on who should and should not be included in the much-anticipated guide. Given the prestige which comes with holding a star, not revealing their identity is a key part of the inspectors’ jobs, to ensure the respective restaurants’ service is authentic and natural.

But in an ever-changing and technological world, with advanced booking systems and algorithms, is it still realistic to expect Michelin inspectors to remain undetected?

The Staff Canteen spoke with Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, after he co-hosted the Glasgow ceremony, as well as Michelin’s chief inspector (who of course remained anonymous).

Why Michelin anonymity is crucial

“We always take anonymity very, very seriously, and we make great efforts to get into places under the radar,” said the chief inspector.

“We have a large international team that travels globally, which hopefully makes it a little bit more difficult for people to spot us. It's never easy, but we know that it's important for us to judge places properly. It’s important for us not to be known.”

While key figures from this country’s hospitality sector descended on Scotland for this year’s spectacular ceremony in Glasgow, the inspectors had to watch from home, to avoid detection from anybody in the room.

Asked about the challenges AI poses, in terms of keeping under wraps who the Michelin inspectors are, and also how relevant Michelin recognition remains to restaurants, Gwendal said: “It (choosing who gets a star) is always team decisions, so you can't have an individual bias. That's a reason of the anonymity.

“That's the reason why we send different inspectors at different times of the year to the same places, involving international inspectors. Every year we are expanding a worldwide team of inspectors, so we can play with the cards in a way.

“So will AI be a challenge for the inspectors? I would say maybe on the contrary, because with AI, it comes together with a lot of fake information as well.

“I'm pretty sure that we can safely continue to work and carry on with the human-based approach, which is still quite unique today in the industry. Professional inspectors train within the industry having been in position for several years and then joining the Michelin Guide team full time.

“I would say from a consumer’s perspective, AI is much more an opportunity, because the more you have AI, the more you have information. And ultimately, even discussing with some of the AI leaders, they are more than interested by the Michelin Guide. Why? Because not only do we have reliable information to feed the algorithm, it’s what AI needs, proper information at the beginning, otherwise garbage in, garbage out.

“Also, we are still at the top of the food chain, if I may say. We have the ultimate brand and reputation. And when people are using a digital tool today, they need a trust that comes with the brand.

“They need the really relevant information at the source of it. So I think we are uniquely positioned even in that field today for the end user. But for the inspectors, we will of course adapt. We will continue to change their phone numbers. We continue to change the credit card numbers and make them travel even more!”

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trends in uk dining scene

This year’s Michelin ceremony saw Mark Birchall take to 10 the list of three-starred establishments across Great Britain with Moor Hall.

Meanwhile, there were three new two-star restaurants and 22 new one stars, taking the total to 220 restaurants in Great Britain & Ireland being awarded at star level in 2025, up from 206 in 2024.

Discussing trends he has noticed over the past 12 months across the country, the Michelin chief inspector said: “This year, I think the strength of cooking over wood continues and we've seen that with Lita in London, another restaurant where they're cooking over wood and it's great to see these lovely, wonderful ingredients prepared quite simply, but with such terrific flavours and complexity.

“And such a diverse range of new stars as well, a real mix and diversity there, which is wonderful to see.”

He added: “The food scene in the UK is diverse, it's exciting, it's developing on a very continuous basis.

“We've followed trends, but we don't necessarily follow what is trendy. We’ve always had a great sense of diversity in this country and such wide variety of cuisine types. This really shows throughout the whole selection.

“It's terrific that it just continues. Even if you just look at the new stars this year, a vegan restaurant, a Greek restaurant, a Thai restaurant, a more classical inspired Modern French influenced restaurant.

“You see such a diversity across the whole selection that it does make Great Britain & Ireland quite unique in that respect.

“We have inspectors internationally who come to the UK, when you say to them after they've been here ‘how did you find it?’ that's one thing that they always remark on, that they're just quite surprised at the diversity across the range.”

Gwendal concluded: “The country’s chefs continue to raise their game, to raise the bar. But no doubt that the English chefs will continue to be part of the Premier League.”

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