UK: Do people still eat at Michelin star restaurants?

National World - LocalTV

26 restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars at the 2025 ceremony in Glasgow. But what exactly is a Michelin star and what does it mean? So, a Michelin star is an award given to restaurants that are considered to have the best food in a city.

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00:00Well, high-end restaurants charge high-end prices because, of course, you're having to

00:05employ staff who are at the highest level. You're looking at meals which are superb.

00:11The fact is, though, that people have got less money, and the high-end, high-rollers

00:16if you like, are so few and far between, and perhaps maybe they've got bored with them,

00:20but for the vast majority of us, we don't go there because we've got better things to

00:24spend our money on. So I think it's really sort of tough. The hospitality trade has been

00:29sort of assailed by lots of different forces in terms of the cost of labour, most particularly,

00:34but also rents and energy.

00:36Research has suggested that upon a restaurant receiving a Michelin star, that customers'

00:41expectations can be a downstream consequence. David Sands, the author of a study, said that

00:47a Michelin star could lead to a customer base that has tastes that become relatively misaligned

00:53with the restaurant's offerings. He added that meeting the demands of Michelin-primed

00:57consumers can be a difficult and costly challenge for a restauranteur. It's also been considered

01:03that a Michelin star could lead to landlords increasing rent for a restaurant.

01:08Well, undoubtedly, that the national insurers, or the uptick in employers' national insurance

01:17came as a sort of big shock. Now, of course, as we know, this was part of the government's

01:20sort of desire, if you like, to fill the black hole, and not to support own employers. But

01:25of course, I'm seeing lots of reports of every sector, but hospitality in particular,

01:31saying of course that their ability and willingness to take on new staff has been hit by this

01:35because of course the costs are going up. The fact is, we do like to eat out. I'll put

01:42something in here. My parents ran a cafe, so I know the way it works. You have to keep

01:47your margins tight. You have to be very customer-orientated. But hey, this government seems to have a limited

01:52ability to help lots of sectors, and I suspect that hospitality just has to join the queue.

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