The Michelin Star is the highest distinction a restaurant can receive. It allows them to capture the public’s attention, gain recognition, and ultimately establish themselves as a gastronomic benchmark in their region.
Known worldwide, this prestigious culinary award raises a common question: how many Michelin stars can a restaurant have? At Gasma we’ll answer this and more.
The Michelin Star is an annual award given by the French tire company Michelin to the restaurants that stand out the most within a particular country or geographic area.
One of the greatest privileges of earning this distinction is being featured in the prestigious Michelin Guide, which lists all restaurants awarded at least one star. Organized by country and city, the guide offers practical details such as short reviews, addresses, and phone numbers. Today, it’s considered an essential travel guide for food lovers, covering 39 countries across Europe, America, and Asia.
In the culinary world, the Michelin Star is often seen as the “Ballon d’Or” of cuisine—a dream for most chefs. In fact, many students who begin their culinary degree at Gasma do so with the goal of one day achieving this honor, knowing that here they will gain the knowledge and skills needed to become prestigious professional chefs.
As a forward-thinking university dedicated to cutting-edge gastronomy, Gasma ensures excellence in every aspect of your training. Alongside our degree program, we also offer a wide range of specialized courses to guide you on your path toward the Michelin Star:
Michelin Stars are awarded by the director, editor-in-chief, and the inspector team behind the Michelin Guide. This group is made up of around 100 professionals, including experienced food critics, hospitality experts, and tourism specialists with at least 10 years of experience in the field.
Inspectors visit restaurants anonymously, evaluating their culinary proposals. Based on their final assessments, they have the authority to award, maintain, or remove a Michelin Star. Before starting their roles, inspectors undergo a minimum of six months of specialized training to ensure consistency and rigor in their evaluations.
Contrary to popular belief, there is a limit: the maximum number of Michelin Stars a restaurant can receive is three. Once achieved, the restaurant’s greatest challenge becomes maintaining them year after year.
The Michelin Guide defines restaurants according to their star rating:
Spanish gastronomy is among the most celebrated and highly valued worldwide. Proof of this lies in the fact that Spanish restaurants currently hold 283 Michelin Stars, an increase of 55 from the previous year’s 228.
Spain is currently ranked fifth in the world in terms of Michelin Stars, just behind Germany, Italy, Japan, and France—the latter boasting an impressive total of 621 stars.
