What will the Michelin Guide mean for Houston restaurants?

Known for its immense culinary diversity, Houston has long been hailed by chefs, locals, and travelers alike as one of the world’s top dining destinations. A roster of James Beard Award winners and nominees, chefs with Michelin-starred restaurant experience, and restaurants that have Michelin stars elsewhere (think Jardinier and Tim Ho Wan) have only added to its hometown pride. But the recent news that the Michelin Guide has officially, Finallylandfall in Texas gives it an extra boost — especially after a devastating tropical storm that left much of Houston without power.

Of course, now that Michelin is here, Houstonians have started to wonder: What exactly does the guide mean for the city?

Felipe Riccio, the chef behind Goodnight Hospitality establishments including tasting menu restaurant March and the recently opened Marigold Club, says it’s exciting for Houston restaurants to be getting international recognition. “I think anyone who runs and operates a restaurant here is a champion of the city. We believe in the food scene in our city,” Riccio tells Eater.

He says it was a good idea to offer the guide in Texas’s five major cities, but accurately assessing Houston, the fourth largest and most diverse city in the country, could prove difficult for the Michelin Guide’s anonymous inspectors. The three years Michelin has committed to Texas probably aren’t enough, Riccio says, but he’s confident the inspectors will be pleased with what they find. “It’s going to take time to unearth the gems in the city. I’ve lived in Houston for the better part of the last 18 years, and I continue to discover places and restaurants that amaze me,” Riccio says. Given that, Riccio says locals can expect a few “hiccups” in how the guide assesses Houston’s dining scene. What will matter, he says, is that Michelin examines the city in its entirety.

Benchawan Jabthong Painter, the James Bearding Award-winning chef behind Houston’s “unapologetic” Thai restaurant Street to Kitchen, says she’s thrilled to receive the Michelin Guide after seeing firsthand the changes the guide has brought to Bangkok. She and Graham Painter, her husband and co-owner of STK, travel to Thailand every year to monitor the evolving culinary scene. Together, they’ve seen firsthand what a boon the guide has been to Bangkok tourism and the surrounding community. “It’s done a huge thing for the city. It shines a spotlight on places that are consistently exceptional,” Painter says. “We want to see the same thing in Houston.”

Some local chefs and restaurateurs predict the guide will increase pressure on restaurant teams, forcing them to approach their menus differently. Felipe Botero Sanchez, the chef behind Le Jardinier, which has Michelin-starred restaurants in Miami and New York, says the Michelin Guide will usher in a new era for the Texas dining scene. “It’s going to be the Olympics of Texas cuisine, with all eyes on Texas,” says Sanchez, who encourages chefs to use the guide as an impetus to seek out and deliver top-notch cuisine and service to local diners and travelers. “There’s no going back,” Sanchez says. “We have to embrace it and do something with it, and make changes for the better.”

Still, other chefs in the community say Michelin could complicate things. Aaron Bludorn, the Beard Award-nominated chef behind Houston restaurants Bludorn, Navy Blue and Bar Bludorn, says he wasn’t keen on Michelin coming to Houston because of the potential for stifling creativity. “I think I had PTSD from having to deal with the guide so many times at Café Boulud and what that entails,” says Bludorn, who worked with Daniel Boulud at his restaurant for “I was so happy to get out of that rut where we were afraid of losing a star, and are we doing the right thing? That became the number one goal: to keep our stars. When you have that mentality, you don’t cook for guests.”

When he arrived in Houston in 2019, Bludorn says he was excited to focus solely on the diner experience with his kitchen at Bludorn, which opened in 2020. “I felt like anything was possible. You can do anything you want as long as the customer is happy,” he says. “The biggest reward for me is having regulars in the restaurant. … I’d rather cook for our (regulars) than for an inspector once a year.”

James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd admits he has “no interest in the game” since retiring from owning local restaurants in 2022, but says he also has some concerns. “I don’t want people to cook for stars and stop cooking with their hearts,” he says. Shepherd, a longtime advocate for Houston’s culinary scene, says he’s skeptical of Michelin’s entry into the city, given that Travel Texas, the state’s tourism arm, paid the tire company an undisclosed sum of money to rate restaurants. Shepherd says he also finds Michelin’s criteria, which state that its star ratings are based solely on food — not service or design — confusing since all aspects are an important part of the diner’s experience. “There are so many questions,” he says.

Shepherd says Bib Gourmands and one- and two-star accolades can be helpful to restaurants, but once the recognition ventures into three-star territory, things get hectic. “There’s enough pressure to keep the restaurant busy and take care of the staff, and then you get one of these things. What happens if you lose them? It’s devastating,” he says.

Others worry that the star rating system will create undue competition in Houston’s restaurant community, which is typically collaborative and supportive, Graham says. “We all have our lists of other restaurants, written or verbal, that we share with our customers. As long as that spirit continues, we’re good,” Graham says. “If someone gets stars in Houston, we all win.”

Both Bludorn and Shepherd acknowledge that many restaurants will benefit greatly from Michelin’s presence in Texas. “It will shine a light on the incredible food scene in Houston, strengthen it, and attract more talent and enthusiasm,” Bludorn says. “I think it’s a great thing overall.” Riccio says his team’s decisions will continue to be driven by their internal goals, not Michelin metrics. “We want to do a good job for our team and for our customers who spend their time and money with us. That’s what drives the team here,” he says. “I don’t think (Michelin) changes the way we do things. It just enhances our quality of service. We do it because we love it.”

And every restaurant is only as good as its last meal, Graham adds. “No award can make up for that,” he says. “Houston should be reaching for the stars. Houston deserves it. We deserve it.”