Tokyo tops Michelin stars
- Tokyo, famous for its sushi, has overtaken Paris to become, officially, the world leader in gourmet dining.
- The Japanese capital now has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city on the planet.
- The city's leading food outlets scooped a total of 191 stars, almost double that of Paris (97). New York took third spot with 54 stars, followed by London (50) and San Francisco (42).
- Eight eateries in Tokyo, five serving Japanese cuisine and three French, were given the prestigious three-star rating by the first edition of the Tokyo Michelin Guide. Twenty-five Tokyo restaurants were awarded two stars, while 117 were given one star. Every restaurant listed in the new Tokyo Michelin Guide has at least one star.
- Jean-Luc Naret, director of the Michelin guides, told a press conference in Tokyo: "We were so surprised by the quality of the cuisine here. Not only Japanese making French cuisine, but Japanese food in all sorts of genres such as kaiseki, kappo, fugu, soba kaiseki, sushi, tempura, teppan yaki and unagi." He added: "A star won in Japan has exactly the same significance as a star in Las Vegas or Paris."
- A team of three undercover European and two Japanese inspectors pre-selected 1,500 Tokyo restaurants and, after more than 18 months of anonymous meals, narrowed down their selection to just 150 establishments.