Are any New Zealand restaurants worthy of a Michelin star?
Thursday, 6 November 2025
Which eatery do you think deserves a Michelin star? Have your say in the comments below or email news@thepost.co.nz.
Bon vivants and enthusiastic gourmands, faites attention! (Take heed!) Michelin Guide inspectors are on the ground in New Zealand for the first time, surreptitiously feeding themselves in the country’s top restaurants as they decide which of them - if any - will be getting the coveted 1, 2 or 3-star ratings.
It is the first time the Guide has entered Australasia, and transpires because our Government has paid Michelin $2.5 million for an initial year of having its inspectors dining and quaffing across the best restaurants in its biggest cities.
This is the way the system works. Michelin is paid by tourism agencies to consider a country, region or city, with the quid-pro-quo that Michelin stars become part of its branding proposition, attracting high spending locals and tourists wanting top-notch dining experiences to that locale.
Despite the payment, Michelin insists its inspectors work entirely secretly, independently and without fear or favour - and restaurants are not guaranteed to receive either good reviews or stars. Because nothing is known about which restaurants are being visited or when, there is no guarantee the New Zealand Guide, expected next June, will contain any coveted 1,2 or 3 star restaurants.
How does the Guide find the “best”, in its initial foray?
In the time-honoured Michelin way, Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, told The Post from Europe.
“We send inspectors on[to] the ground years before to monitor the evolution of the culinary potential [and] to also define the scope of the future selections,” he says. “We have been following some of the local restaurants for quite some years already, and I can confirm that as we speak we have inspectors boots on the ground, reviewing the restaurants in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown,” he said.
Michelin inspectors are full-time employees of the Michelin Group; people who constantly travel and review restaurants and are cuisine experts. They present as any other diner and pay for their meals in the normal way. They visit a location several times a year to check for consistency and the higher the rating, the more other inspectors will come to verify that rating.
While the inspectors may yet find things not to their pleasing in New Zealand, the official view of the four cities appears to have already been formed, if the notes accompanying the Michelin announcement are anything to go by.
Auckland is described as a place in which “New Zealand cuisine remains at the heart of the dining experience” and its gastronomic experience “welcoming and refined”.
Wellington — “New Zealand’s creative capital”— thrives on bold ideas and big flavours, Michelin notes, and is “one of the world’s top coffee cities”. It also has “a deep-rooted commitment to organic and sustainable produce, [which] encourages farm to table practices”.
Christchurch restaurants capitalise on the region’s natural abundance, Michelin says, blending “New Zealand staples with Pacific Rim flavours”, while Queenstown marries “natural bounty with eco-conscious innovation”.
' The Central Otago terroir shapes the world’s southernmost wine region and its organic seasonal produce, paired with wild-caught venison and premium lamb sourced from the surrounding high country.”
The business case
It’s not cheap to bring Michelin to New Zealand or anywhere. The first year of the programme will cost New Zealand $2.5m, of which $1.9m comes from the $100 international visitor levy gathered from tourists to the country.
An additional $3.8m from that levy pot will be spent in the two following financial years.
It is unclear how much Tourism New Zealand will be on the hook for in subsequent years minus this levy money. But it is probably more. The Daily Telegraph reported that Michelin approached Tourism Australia in mid-2024, asking $4 million for the first year, $5m for the second then $7.5 million each financial year for the rest of this decade to establish the Guide in that country.
This was promptly rejected which is why there is no Michelin Guide in Australia.
Whatever the ultimate sum, our tourism agency felt the business case did stack up. In August Tourism NZ hosted a dinner at Castle Hill in Canterbury called Star Grazing, celebrating the country’s food and beverage offerings, to which 50 food writers and influencers were invited. One of the taglines for the dinner was that while New Zealand had no Michelin stars, it had “a billion of our own stars” in the winter night sky.
The phrase “piqued Michelin’s interest,” said Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive René de Monchy.
After about a year of talks, the deal was done. So how did the agency justify its multi-million dollar outlay?
“We’ve often thought of ourselves as a great food destination, but this recognition from the world-renowned Guide coming here allows us to use that as a platform to talk more about it,” de Monchy said.
“Secondly, it’s a great opportunity for our hospitality sector to put itself on the world stage, from here in New Zealand, and thirdly, we do think it will boost international tourism.
“From the research we have done amongst our target audience - those people actively considering coming to New Zealand around international markets - they say it increases their intent to travel; others say it tips them over the edge into making a booking.”
Cashflow increase
The world’s most Michelin-starred chef, the late Joël Robuchon, estimated that one Michelin star brings about 20% more business, two stars about 40% more, and three stars can double business (100% more). There are also the premiums that can be charged at restaurants where stars feature, the media and publicity opportunities, and the multi-month wait-lists for the top of the top, that help create certainty of cashflow.
New Zealand’s hospitality scene certainly needs a cashflow boost in a cost of living crisis that has had an outsized impact on eating out. Is spending on the Michelin Guide only going to help the restaurants in main centres that are already doing okay in difficult times?
De Monchy said he acknowledged the point, but said while a Michelin star is the pinnacle of the guide, “there are broader selection criteria as well … [some] celebrate street food and acknowledge value for money - the guide produced is much broader than just an overview of starred restaurants.”
He did not rule out expanding the Guide’s footprint at some point in the future, but it was likely any regions chosen for inclusion in the guide would have to be where tourists congregated in any case.
“Some of the research we did in our major markets is that food and culinary experiences are really important drivers in choosing a holiday destination - up to 85% of our target audience in the US, China and India said that to us. And more than 80% in those same three markets said they’re more likely to consider New Zealand if we are part of the Michelin-star programme,” de Monchy said.
The coveted Chinese tourists that have been missing since 2019 are also being targeted with this move - not the large coach, dual destination groups that were a mainstay of the sector before Covid, but the increasing number that want “free and independent travel, have an interest in outdoor activities like skiing, have an interest in food and wine, and are a high value visitor,” he said.
“The Michelin-star play will likely appeal much more to the new Chinese visitor than the one that might have come here prior to 2019”.
Michelin
The Michelin Guide was created in 1900 by the Michelin tyre company to support the growth of automobile mobility.
The restaurant reviewing methodology, which was established from the early days of the Guide, sees inspectors look for five universal criteria in each establishment:
- The quality of the ingredients
- The mastery of cooking techniques
- The harmony of flavours
- The personality of the cuisine
- The consistency both over time and across the menu
The Guide conveys its restaurant reviews through an extensive system of distinctions, which are awarded to special restaurants within its full selection. The most famous distinctions are its stars awarded to the restaurant offering the best culinary experiences: one star for restaurants offering “high-quality cooking that is worth a stop,” two stars for “excellent cooking that is worth a detour,” and three stars for “exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.”
Alongside the coveted Star ratings, the selection also includes the popular Bib Gourmand category, a distinction awarded to restaurants that provide good quality food at a moderate price.