MICHELIN Guide Announces Chicago Guide 2011

 
Today MICHELIN Guide announced their introduction of an upcoming red guide in Chicago. The MICHELIN guide Chicago 2011, the first-ever MICHELIN guide for a Midwestern city, will be published in November 2010. The announcement was made today by Jean-Luc Naret, worldwide director of the MICHELIN guide.

The MICHELIN guide, whose rating system is internationally recognized as the height of culinary success, is already published in 25 editions covering 23 countries, and additionally includes North America guides to New York City, which was introduced in November 2005 and San Francisco, launched the year after. The MICHELIN guide also recently launched titles in Asia, including two guides in Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto & Osaka) and Hong Kong & Macao.

The guide will provide a selection and rating, in all categories of comfort and prices, in a reader-friendly layout made especially for the American market and which reflects the region’s distinctive culinary and hotel landscape. “The diversity, breadth and depth Chicago’s restaurant and hotel scene, coupled with its rich gastronomic history clearly mark the city and surrounding areas as the logical choice for the next North American title in the MICHELIN guide series,” commented Naret. “As with our recently updated guides to New York City and San Francisco, we are making every effort to produce a comprehensive selection that does full justice to the region’s exciting restaurant and hotel culture and also meets our readers’ expectations.”

During the announcement, Naret described Chicago as unique among American cities, citing its reputation as a world-class tourism destination and stressing the importance of its treasured culinary traditions.

For more than a century, the MICHELIN guide collection has made traveling easier by providing a selection of the best restaurants, hotels and guesthouses throughout the world. Today, the 25 guides in the collection cover 23 countries on three continents and include more than 45,000 addresses around the world. Michelin is using the occasion of the new MICHELIN guide Chicago 2011 to highlight the company’s entire line of travel and lifestyle products.

This business category encompasses Michelin’s full collection of travel guides, maps, online travel resources, automotive accessories and footwear designed to strengthen consumer engagement with the Michelin brand on a more frequent basis. These products create nearly half a billion touch points annually and enrich the equity of the brand. According to Parmeet Grover, worldwide head of strategic marketing for Michelin’s travel and lifestyle divisions, these products deliver the same Michelin promise of quality and consistency that consumers expect from one of the world’s most trusted brands. Michelin is the only tire manufacturer with this unique lifestyle offering.

The MICHELIN guide, and its expansion into Chicago, provides a key example of Michelin Travel & Lifestyle’ s goal to enhance the enjoyment of travel in support of the company’s better mobility mission. “We are eagerly anticipating the MICHELIN guide’s entry into this wonderful city known for its cuisine, culture, beauty and innovative spirit,” said Naret. As part of their meticulous and highly confidential evaluation process, Michelin inspectors – both European and American – are currently conducting anonymous inspections to Chicago restaurants and hotels. They’ve been in Chicago for two years.

As with all MICHELIN guide inspections, the process involves test meals or overnight stays at each establishment, in order to assess the level and the consistency of the establishment. And as for all the other guides and all the other countries, the inspectors pay all their bills in restaurants and hotels. “The Michelin inspectors are the eyes and ears of the customers, and thus the anonymity of our inspectors is key to ensure they are treated the same as any guest would be treated,” commented Naret.

The MICHELIN guide Chicago 2011 will complement the existing catalog of Michelin maps and guides to the North American market, including the recently updated guides to New York City and San Francisco. It’s the 26th guide of the collection. The guide will be available in November 2010 at bookstores, boutiques and other participating retailers, including online retailers.

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