The Michelin Guide’s inspectors had a trickier task than usual finding their noteworthy chefs of the year, rushing to get a seat at top tables after coronavirus lockdowns forced restaurants to close for extended periods. The Michelin Guide is on track to reveal its top French picks on January 18, after releasing some listings elsewhere, including in Japan, Spain and Thailand, Gwendal Poullennec, its international director said. “As soon as restaurants reopened, the inspectors were the first on the scene,” Poullennec said. They had to adapt in some cases, like when a restaurant needed a few days to operate normally, and returned to fully appreciate the offer, Poullennec added. Known for their exacting standards, the Michelin inspectors’ choices can be controversial, with some chefs fighting back in the past after losing stars. Some 3,236 restaurants globally now carry Michelin stars, up from 3,093 at the start of 2019. The guide’s reviewers anonymously award stars based on creativity, quality and service. Three stars are given to restaurants where the cuisine is akin to art and “worth a special journey”, two stars are given to those “worth a detour”, while one star is awarded to establishments that are considered good restaurants in their category, according to Michelin. The number of restaurant reviewers working for the guide is kept secret, although Michelin has disclosed people from 15 nationalities work as inspectors. This year the guide, first published in 1900, wanted to press ahead as a means of paying tribute to one of the industries hardest hit by coronavirus measures worldwide, Poullennec said. In France, seen by many as the standard-bearer for fine-dining, restaurants may only reopen on January 20, at the earliest, having been forced to shut since the end of October. Michelin Guide? If the Olympic Games were postponed, we can wait for new stars The Michelin Guide has had to innovate too, and has tried to foment an online following by publishing chef’s recipes. And for the first time, this year, it has begun to list recipients of a “green star” – recognising 164 chefs worldwide who emphasise seasonal cooking and use of local suppliers. One recipient of a green star, recognised for its eco-friendly and sustainable operations, is Pru, a restaurant in the Thai province of Phuket that hosts its own organic farm and sources its ingredients locally. “ Phuket is almost empty , the only tourists we get are from Bangkok,” Pru chef Jimmy Ophorst said on receiving the award. “We are trying to survive, but it’s not easy.” More Thai restaurants won Michelin star ratings this year, but the top billing of three stars eluded the country for the fourth time. Blue by Alain Ducasse, which serves contemporary French cuisine and is located by Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River; the capital’s Sushi Masato; and Cadence by Dan Bark, popular for its Asian and Western fusion meals, were awarded one-star ratings. Chef’s Table, also in Bangkok and known for its open kitchen in the middle of the dining space and modern French cuisine, was upgraded to a two-star rating from one. The fourth edition of the Thai guide covers restaurants in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Phang Nga, but, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has said, the goal is to cover the whole nation by next year’s edition, under a five-year agreement with Michelin. While Thailand has been relatively successful at containing the coronavirus outbreak, the slump in global travel has put its economy on course for its worst ever annual contraction. The country has eased some restrictions on entry of foreign tourists, but the industry has struggled to draw visitors because of a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival.