“Michelin has gone to extraordinary lengths to maintain the anonymity of its inspectors. Many of the company’s top executives have never met an inspector; inspectors themselves are advised not to disclose their line of work, even to their parents (who might be tempted to boast about it); and, in all the years that it has been putting out the guide, Michelin has refused to allow its inspectors to speak to journalists. The inspectors write reports that are distilled, in annual “stars meetings” at the guide’s various national offices, into the ranking of three stars, two stars, or one star—or no stars. (Establishments that Michelin deems unworthy of a visit are not included in the guide.)“ [x]
Okay but Michelin inspector AU where they use all the cheesy spy lines and dodgy excuses and their SO is convinced they work for the CIA or something
but actually they just really secretly review restaurants
@copperbadge I don’t know who fits the bill for this job but my first thought was FOODIEVERSE
This was going to be part of the June Fic Fest but I needed a little pick-me-up this afternoon so I am POSTING IT NOW. 😀
It’s not quite what OP suggested but the whole thing gave me an idea. From the Foodieverse…
***
The banging on Steve’s apartment door woke him from a dead sleep at six in the morning, and he was fairly unsurprised to find Tony Stark on the other side of it when he opened it. Slightly more surprising was Bucky Barnes behind Tony, but Tony and Bucky were pretty much the only two assholes who would wake him at six am.
What was really strange was Thor looming over Tony’s shoulder, Sam Wilson leaning on the door frame, and Natasha Romanoff leaning on Sam Wilson.
“Am I wearing underwear?” Steve asked Tony. He’d assumed it would be Tony, alone, and hadn’t bothered putting on clothes.
“Yes,” Sam said, and “But only your underwear,” Natasha added, right before Tony shoved a book in his face.
“How does it feel to own the first Michelin-star food truck in the world?” he asked.
Steve blinked.
I thought you were on about Michelin TYRES and I was so confused as to why they’d be so anal about reviews
Interestingly, you are not entirely incorrect!
The Michelin Guide, which is the restaurant industry’s bible (in that it can be drastically misinterpreted and causes great controversy :D) began as a free guidebook for motorists published by the Michelin tire company, recommending good eating establishments for tourists driving in Europe. The idea was that it would increase demand for cars and motor touring, which would increase the demand for tires. It evolved into a sort of restaurant criticism compendium, with the structure mentioned above.
Michelin only actually started rating American restaurants in limited geographical areas in 2005. Steve’s star for 107 was probably kind of a huge deal, given his youth and the relative newness of the American guide. And realistically, Tony’s actually being rather kind to the Michelin people in excusing their stinginess with stars – the reason Tony and Bruce don’t have a second star is more likely because nobody can bear to give two Michelin stars to a man who used to run Papa John’s major competition.
If Steve had a storefront instead of a food truck he’d almost certainly have two stars for the food War On Hunger puts out. (There is one restaurant that has a food truck and recently earned a star, but the star was for the storefront, not the associated truck.)
But to return to the point, the guide is still owned and administered by an arm of the tire manufacturer, which is kind of amazing. The Michelin Man knows his eats, yo.
America’s equivalent to the Michelin guide used to be Duncan Hines, a travelling salesman who in the 1930s began publishing (with his wife) a guide to restaurants and hotels for others on the road; his name is on cake mixes now because he eventually expanded into publishing recipes, and then licensed his name to a food company.
Mooncustafer 