Michelin Food and Beverage Asia has announced that starting in 2020, it will rate and introduce restaurants in not only Taipei, but also Taichung. It is currently carrying out the rating work.


Michelin Food and Beverage Asia announced on Nov. 14 that it will begin rating and introducing restaurants in Taichung, in addition to Taipei, starting with the 2020 Taiwan edition of the Michelin Guide. It is currently carrying out the evaluation work. When asked why it selected Taichung, the company said it took both the city's tourism and gastronomic scene into account.

First what we look, we look at the gastronomic scene of the city, and also we look at the potential for the next few years.

Michelin is actively seeking to expand its gastronomic clout in Asia. It published the Michelin Guide Taipei for the first time in 2018. At that time, the Tourism Bureau allocated over NT$10 million to pay for secret diners to visit Taiwan and rate restaurants. The bureau says that the Michelin Guide's global reputation is worthy of investment, and the publication of the Michelin Guide Taipei produced outstanding results.

I had a group of guests from Morocco who were traveling through Asia. They went to Seoul, Tokyo, and Osaka, and then came to Taipei and came to my restaurant. There's a 10 to 20 percent chance that they came to Taipei just for that.

Tourism experts say in the past, international attention was centered on Taipei. Now that the Michelin Guide has decided to add another city, there are good opportunities for other cities to gain global exposure. In the future, Taichung's gastronomic delights won't be limited to night market food, and international tourists won't only visit northern Taiwan.

It doesn't matter whether we believe in the "Michelin curse" or not. International tourists will no longer only focus on Taipei, they will gradually shift their focus to central Taiwan.

Can Michelin stars bring tourists to Taiwan? That's questionable. I think that tourists coming to Taiwan will end up noticing Michelin.

Experts add that some of the restaurants with Michelin stars are considered to serve Taiwan food suitable for foreign palates. Individual tourism is on the rise, and therefore authentic Taiwan flavors are a selling point. They advise the Tourism Bureau to bring together culinary experts from around the country to formulate a local culinary map and develop that into tourist itineraries to promote Taiwan in the global market.



翻開2020米其林紅色指南，米其林集團宣告，在台灣的評鑑範圍，由台北擴大到台中，升級為"雙城版"，目前已經在進行餐廳評選作業，為何選中台中，米其林集團表示，兼顧城市的觀光與餐飲實力。

亞洲區總監Nicolas Achard表示：「首先我們會看城市的美食地圖，除此之外，我們還會看未來幾年的潛力。」

米其林集團近年積極拓展亞洲市場，2018年台北米其林指南首度發行，當時觀光局已砸下上千萬元預算，支付秘密客來台評選等相關費用，觀光局表示，因米其林具有國際知名度，值得投資，台北米其林指南發行後，效應也非常顯著。

2019年台北米其林二星餐廳主廚 何順凱表示：「有一組客人是從摩洛哥來的，然後他們是亞洲的旅行，然後他們去了首爾，去了東京，去了大阪，然後來到台北，然後他們就來我餐廳，就是(專程來的)大概10%到20%是有的。」

觀光學者分析，過去國際對台灣的印象停留在台北，現在米其林多納入一個城市，是其他城市躍上國際的好機會，未來台中印象不再只有夜市美食，有機會讓國際旅客走出台灣北部。

世新大學觀光學系副教授 陳家瑜表示：「米其林不管我們認為它有沒有魔咒，但它其實會讓就是國外的旅客把眼光不要再只看著台北，他會慢慢聚焦到中部。」

高雄餐旅大學副校長 劉喜臨表示：「米其林是不是能夠吸引觀光客進到台灣來，這個我是比較打一個問號，那倒是今天觀光客進到台灣之後，能夠多一樣可以吸引他的(米其林餐廳)。」

學者也提醒，其實米其林在台灣發行兩年指南以來，部分摘星的餐廳還是被認為是"外國人眼中的台灣味"，但在自由行盛行趨勢下，"道地台灣味"才是賣點，觀光局可以廣邀全台美食專家，規劃出本土化的美食地圖，進而發展成旅遊行程，加強國際行銷。