‘The Bear’ Is Obsessed With Michelin Stars. How Does the System Work?

Spoilers ahead for “The Bear” Season 4, Episode 1.

For “The Bear” protagonist Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), a Michelin star may be the only thing that keeps his restaurant open — but why is it such a big deal?

On June 25, all 10 episodes of Season 4 dropped on Hulu/FX, and from the opening shot — snow falling gently as a timer ticks to zero, startling Carmy’s blue eyes awake — viewers know they’re in for yet another artful and stressful season.

In the season premiere, we rejoin some of the crew’s key players, like Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Sugar (Abby Elliott) and, most notably, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), who is still working with Carmy and the crew after she was offered a position — and had a panic attack because of it — at Adam Shapiro’s new restaurant at the end of Season 3.

Sydney’s calmer here — even after ignoring Shapiro’s phone call — but she and the rest of the group are in for more anxiety-inducing news. Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and Nicholas “Computer” Marshall (Brian Koppelman) explain that there are only 1,440 hours — or two months — before the restaurant runs out of money and is forced to shut down.

“When that clock shows zero, this restaurant needs to cease operations,” Jimmy says to a stressed-out group. But, then a light-bulb moment occurs.

“OK, what about when we get the star?” Carmy poses.

“If,” Computer retorts.

“If we get the star, right?” Carmy says. “I’m serious.”

“Carmen, this has never been more serious, OK?” Jimmy says. “Never ever.”

Carmy is convinced his restaurant is going to get a Michelin star and change its fortune, even after the eatery received a decidedly mixed review from the Chicago Tribune last season. He and Sydney have been discussing the star for multiple seasons, both wanting and fearing the lofty goal.

They’re not wrong, though: Stars given by the tire company — yes, it’s the tire company — have been known to improve the business of restaurants that have received them. Restaurants — not chefs, it should be noted — strive for the highest accolade awarded by Michelin’s anonymous inspectors who place the “best culinary experiences” in its guide.

And Carmy and Sydney aren’t the only TV characters clamoring for the accolade: Other shows like “La Grand Maison Tokyo” and “Emily in Paris” have used the Michelin star as a major plot point. So, how does the star system really work?

How are Michelin stars awarded?

First, a bit of history: In 1889, brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin founded the tire company, and since there were only mere hundreds of cars on the roads in France at the time, they had to find a way to drum up business.

So, in 1900, the brothers produced a free little red handbook that helped more motorists take to the roads, plan trips and run their tires down so they would have to buy more of them.

“At that time, before it became the international benchmark for restaurant and hotel guides, it was a 400-page guidebook containing practical information for travelers,” the anonymous chief inspector for the Michelin Guide North America tells TODAY.com, including restaurants, hotels and sightseeing guides.

Since 1933, anonymous inspectors have been tapped to find the best restaurants in a region. These days, an inspector is required to have 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry, possess a “very fine palate,” be able to put aside their own taste preferences to judge the food of a restaurant and show proven knowledge of world cuisines.

Michelin wouldn’t reveal how many inspectors it employs but did say that a single inspector eats more than 250 anonymous meals per year and reports every one in detail.

After they trawl fine-dining establishments, city hot spots, quiet bistros, rowdy pubs and street-food stands multiple times over a year, they cast votes with the international director of the Michelin Guides, the local editor and all of the inspectors involved to award stars. The decision has to be unanimous, too.

The inspector notes that one common misconception portrayed in pop culture involves the anonymity of the inspectors: A restaurant is never made aware of a visit. So, Carmy and the crew would never really know if a Michelin inspector stopped by this season, at least until the moment they were awarded one.

“Another one is that only ‘fine dining’ restaurants are inspected and/or included in the Guide, when in fact, we only evaluate the food on the plate, not taking into account service, decor, etc.,” the inspector says.

While the whole thing began with one star in 1926, it evolved between 1931 and 1933 to extend to three levels of stars; three stars means the establishment has “exceptional cuisine” that is “worth a special journey.” Only 125 restaurants on the planet currently hold three stars.

The inspector adds that Michelin has guides dedicated to over 60 destinations worldwide, including several cities across the U.S. like Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and New York City.

How Michelin decides which cities to cover has been controversial, especially among chefs whose cities have been passed over. A 2019 New York Times report revealed that Michelin would send its inspectors to states whose tourism boards had paid a hefty fee. Both California and Colorado have paid Michelin hundreds of thousands of dollars for some of their cities to be included. Atlanta’s tourism board paid Michelin $1 million for a three-year contract, while six Texas tourism boards chipped in for a total of $2.7 million to Michelin for a three-year presence. Boston and Philadelphia are up next, though their tourism boards haven’t disclosed how much they had to pay.

Michelin has said the involvement of what they call “destination marketing organizations” — or “DMOs” — “does not have any influence on the Inspectors’ judgments regarding the destination assessment, the restaurants in the selection, or award distinctions,” and that “DMO teams have no access to the Inspectors’ work or the final selection until the list of selected restaurants is revealed by the MICHELIN Guide.”

Luckily for Carmy and Sydney, Chicago has had a dedicated guide since 2011. Whether or not they get any stars remains to be seen, but what is for certain is that the realMichelin inspectors will be watching.

The inspector says they “are always entertained to see themselves represented in media, even though it isn’t an accurate representation.”