Michelin Stars: Find The Day Two Angle

Last night’s Michelin stars announcement might have been overshadowed in news bulletins by the King’s cancer diagnosis, but it was still a really big night for the industry – but was it for those journalists on the food beat?

I hadn’t expected there to be any fireworks and indeed there weren’t; my raised eyebrows were the result of having forgotten that The Ledbury didn’t already hold three stars. But it’s still fantastic for the beleaguered world of hospitality needs some good news and there was acknowledgement of some real talent that in years gone by might not have got the (still) coveted award.

My inbox this morning was full of missives from PRs about their clients’ successes but even with digital capacity, the bigger publications didn’t give Michelin much coverage (at the time of writing), most of what I’ve seen has been on social media, still not as meaningful as ‘old-school’ journalism. That must be disappointing.

So what can you do? Find the ‘Day Two’ angle such as a surge in bookings, or unusual staff celebrations. Maybe your client has discovered a ‘pair’ restaurant in another city or country that might lead to some discussion/comparison; perhaps this success is the opportunity for a research trip or a quirky bespoke addition to the offering (Le Gavroche’s highly covetable tableware is notable here). 

Any of these might take the fancy of an editor… And meanwhile, if I don’t get round to saying it in person, congratulations if your client won a Star. It’s still a big deal!