The ultimate stamp of excellence in the restaurant industry is coming to Colorado.
The company behind the Michelin Guide announced today that Colorado is now just the sixth Michelin Guide destination in the United States and the eighth in North America. The other regions that have sparked Michelin’s interest are New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, California, Miami/Orlando/Tampa, Toronto and Vancouver.
“The anonymous Michelin Guide inspectors conducted a destination assessment of Colorado, to evaluate the potential of the state’s culinary landscape,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the Michelin Guides, in a statement to the Denver Post. “The inspector team was impressed to find a world-class culinary offer that was developed enough to become the sixth Michelin Guide destination in the U.S. We are always evaluating potential new destinations for the Guide, and it’s always a pleasure to settle in new ones, in order to highlight the passionate and inspiring local professionals as well as culinary wonders.
As a result, restaurants around the state better be on their A-game. The anonymous Guide inspectors have been in town for a few months and are already visiting spots in Denver, Boulder, Aspen and Snowmass Village, Vail and Beaver Creek Resort, according to the French tire company that produces the guides. The first Michelin Guide Colorado selection will be revealed later in 2023.
“Those are the areas the inspectors noted as Colorado’s dining hotspots when they carried out their destination assessment,” Poullennec said. “There are a number of restaurants in these areas that offer high quality cuisine and show the potential to be included in the inaugural selection. But the arrival of the Michelin Guide in a new destination always creates a positive dynamism in the area, so we’ll be very curious to observe the evolution of Colorado’s culinary offer in the future.”
These “famously anonymous” inspectors award Michelin Stars – one, two or three – based on five criteria: the quality of the ingredients, the harmony of flavors, the mastery of techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed through their cuisine and consistency both across the entire menu and over time, according to Michelin. There’s no limit on the number of restaurants that can receive a Star
The Guide, which covers more than 15 countries around the world, is also “renowned for its Bib Gourmand selection, highlighting restaurants that offer great quality food at good prices, as well as hotel selections, which will also now feature unique places to stay around Colorado.”
Michelin has partnered with the Colorado Tourism Office to establish the Guide, and the Colorado Tourism Office covers some of the costs incurred to fund communication, digital and marketing campaigns to promote the selections, according to Poullennec.
“The involvement of local destination marketing organizations in publishing a new Guide does not have any influence on the inspectors’ judgments for the restaurants in the selection, or the award distinctions,” she said.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Michelin Guide to highlight the exceptional cuisine, sustainability efforts and innovation of the culinary industry in Colorado,” said Timothy Wolfe, Director of the Colorado Tourism Office, in a statement. “Colorado residents have long enjoyed the expanding food scene of our incredibly talented chefs, who bring locally harvested ingredients to life. The Michelin Guide will further elevate Colorado as a global dining destination, serving a variety of flavors with the authentically friendly attitude that can only be found in Colorado.”
Anna and Anthony Nguyen, owners of the highly anticipated Sap Sua, previously worked at Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles when it was awarded one Michelin Star. The couple said they’re excited to see Denver get the recognition it deserves and how the Michelin Guide will elevate the local restaurant industry from both a food and service perspective.
“Michelin Stars will bring a really good influx of talent in to the city,” Anthony said. “When people see Stars, they attract a certain caliber of cooks, servers and chefs. Ultimately, I think it will be great and bring our food scene into the spotlight, pushing restaurants to step up their game on both the kitchen and dining side of things.”
