The Michelin rating criteria are among the world-renowned guides for the service and food quality in the restaurant industry. Michelin star restaurants are known as establishments that employ some of the best chefs in the world. These businesses are popular for their innovative approach to culinary and their extraordinary customer service. As such, they partner with wholesale distributors that offer the highest quality of products. In order to be a supplier for Michelin restaurants, wholesalers must incorporate order management software and other modern solutions that make the ordering process faster and more efficient. In this article, we’ll shed some light on supplier relationship management for Michelin restaurants. If you’re interested in the topic of Michelin star restaurants, make sure to check our articles on how does a restaurant get a Michelin star and the top 10 Michelin star chefs in the world.
What Is a Michelin Star Restaurant
Restaurants can be recommended to get a Michelin star from their customers or from influencers in the hospitality industry. Then they go through anonymous reviews from professional reviewers. If the business is deemed worthy, it can get between one and three Michelin stars.
- Restaurants with one Michelin star. They are considered as worth the stop. The cooking is of high quality.
- Restaurants with two Michelin stars. These restaurants have excellent cooking and services and they are worth a detour according to the Michelin guide.
- Restaurants with three Michelin stars. These establishments offer exceptional cuisine and are worth a special journey.
In addition to the traditional red stars, the Michelin guide also contains other ratings. For example, green stars symbolize the sustainability of a restaurant. The Bib Gourmand (a symbol with the Michelin Man) shows that a restaurant serves exceptional food at moderate prices. If you’re interested in how stars are earned, check out our full guide on how to earn a Michelin star.
Key takeaway: Michelin star restaurants need to be extremely efficient in their relationships with suppliers. That’s why they search for distributors who can offer various services and solutions related to automation and flexibility. The ingredients and products should also be of the highest quality.
Supplier Management for Michelin Star Restaurants
As restaurants go through a strict Michelin inspection process, it’s important for them to use products and ingredients of the highest quality. That’s why the most important factors that contribute to choosing suppliers are the quality of their products, the integration of modern solutions, and the number of products offered by vendors. Naturally, even Michelin restaurants wish to benefit from wholesale prices. However, since these establishments usually have higher profit margins compared to other venues, the price is not the most important factor when they choose wholesalers to partner with.
Here are some of the factors that Michelin restaurants look for when they choose suppliers.
- Flexibility. Chefs and restaurant managers of top-notch restaurants look for distributors that can offer them excellent services. That also includes flexibility. They must be available on short notice and have flexible conditions such as minimum order quantity (MOQ).
- Number of products in catalogs. In addition to offering the most popular products and ingredients, suppliers should also have in their catalogs exotic products and items that are used less frequently by chefs. Some dishes might require ingredients that need to be specially imported.
- Efficiency with ordering, invoicing, tracking, and other processes. Efficiency is a big part of the overall supplier management process for Michelin star restaurants. These establishments have a high turnover rate of the products in their pantries and they also generate large revenues. As such, they need to partner with suppliers that can offer various solutions related to automation and efficiency. From professional order management systems like BlueCart to online ordering platforms like Revolution Ordering, Michelin restaurants use the latest technology in the hospitality industry.
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Ordering for Michelin Star Restaurants
As Michelin restaurants are among the most popular food service businesses in their area, they often need various automation solutions when they order ingredients and products from suppliers. Here are some things you should know about the ordering process for Michelin star restaurants.
- Automated ordering based on par levels. Some wholesale ordering software solutions allow restaurants and other businesses to set par levels. When a certain product reaches these minimum levels, the inventory management system triggers and an automatic order is sent to the corresponding supplier.
- Vendor managed inventory (VMI). Relying on vendors to manage the inventory is not uncommon for large restaurants. VMI is only possible if both sides have established a trustworthy relationship with each other. It requires the integration of a professional vendor management system.
- Online ordering is a must. Having eCommerce catalogs improves the efficiency of ordering for restaurants. That’s why it’s not likely for reputable food service businesses to work with distributors that don’t have online catalogs and offer online ordering of their products.
- Easy invoicing and integration with accounting software. Invoicing is yet another field in which Michelin restaurants search for automation solutions. They are likely to choose a vendor that offers various automation options and allows integration with the restaurant’s POS or accounting software.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ordering and Supplier Management Michelin Star Restaurants
If you’re a business owner of a wholesale company, the tips above should help you find high-profile customers like Michelin star restaurants. On BlueCart’s blog, you will find various tips for distributors and other businesses. Below we’ve answered some popular questions regarding the Michelin Guide and the relationship between suppliers and Michelin restaurants.
What Are Michelin Keys?
Michelin keys is a system that is similar to the Michelin star system. The main difference is that it is designed to evaluate the quality of stay of hotels. If a hotel gains three Michelin keys, this means they provide an “extraordinary stay”. Two Michelin keys marking the hotel as “exceptional”. Businesses with one Michelin key are deemed as “a very special stay.” There are far more restaurants with Michelin stars compared to hotels with Michelin keys. That’s because the Michelin keys system was first introduced in 2024 while the Michelin guide for restaurants has been around for more than a century.
How Not to Lose a Michelin Star?
The process of earning or losing Michelin stars includes a review from a Michelin star reviewer. These experts visit businesses anonymously, order dishes, and write a report based on the quality of the food. Usually, reviewers visit restaurants every 18 months. In order to gain or lose a star, the establishment will be reviewed a couple of times. If the reports show consistency, the restaurant gains a Michelin star. If the consistency is lacking, the quality has obviously fallen, and the restaurant no longer answers to the high standards of Michelin, then it’s possible to lose a star.
How to Become a Michelin Star Restaurant Supplier?
Wholesalers that wish to become suppliers for Michelin star restaurants need to have high standards for the quality of their products. They should also incorporate various order management solutions that will make it easier for their customers to order products and track inventory levels.
Important factors that Michelin star restaurants consider when choosing suppliers are the quality of their products and the wide variety in their catalogs. Distributors that wish to partner with such food service establishments need to offer various product categories and have strict quality standards.