It rarely makes sense to set the strangest world records, with the exception of the odd one. A new Michelin star record was recently broken, but the question is what exactly is the point of such challenges.
A 34-year-old young man, Eric Finkelstein, set the ball rolling in a strange show: in one day he ate the most Michelin stars restaurant. Meal records are usually a race to eat hot or eat as much as you can as fast as you can - and not on the backdrop of Michelin-starred restaurants.
On the margins of the eating competitions
Already the message of previous big-eating-fast-eating competitions has been criticised. Today, when mankind is finally beginning to realise how important it is not to literally burn the planet, so that tomorrow's generation can have clean soil, drinking water and food, surely the best entertainment for welfare societies is what we can devour in a matter of minutes? We would leave that question open.
Of course, the „once upon a time” mentality permeates our everyday lives. In essence, it's what Eric Finkelstein is determined to eat at as many Michelin-starred restaurants as quickly as possible.
Fast food and a Michelin-star experience
Many of you may have asked the question: is the experience of Michelin-starred dining not overwhelmed by the rush and speed? These restaurants offer an alternative to the everyday, often hurried eating and eating poor quality food. The Michelin Guide's guidelines are well known: in addition to the quality of the food and ingredients, they value the atmosphere and ambience of the restaurants and the philosophy of the cuisine. A Michelin star is awarded to restaurants where we go for experiences that go beyond our biological needs. Without rushing, without hurrying, with more attention and precision than usual towards the restaurant staff, and with the pleasure of enjoying an extraordinary experience.
In addition, Michelin-starred chefs and places represent the art of food preparation, the art of food in every detail, as opposed to the poor quality junk food that is all over the Western world. How does this tie in with the Guinness World Record's principle of „eating as much as possible as fast as possible”?
How the Michelin-star Guinness World Record was born
Former professional athlete Eric Finkelstein is a health IT consultant in his day job. He says he spent more than a year, 14 months in total, planning the restaurant route to set the record. Some 80 restaurants came into his sights, and his plan was hampered by the fact that 20 days before the record attempt, four restaurants lost their Michelin stars from their planned route.
On 26 October, he finally set the record in New York, which was officially recognised by the Guinness World Records earlier this year. He ate at the most Michelin-starred restaurants in 24 hours, 18 in total. The total bill for the rush was $494, excluding tips. That's about 175,000 forints at today's dollar mid-market exchange rate.
18 Michelin-starred places where we expected a bigger bill
Those who are familiar with the world of Michelin-starred restaurants might find it strange, since even a few Michelin-starred menus can add up to such a large sum, especially in New York, a city that is also particularly expensive internationally. All this means that instead of eating time- and money-consuming degustation menus, he could choose from a selection of restaurants that offer a single course in addition to the fixed, multi-course degustation menus - and then run on his way.
The world record has been set, but let's not take it as an example. Many chefs and restaurateurs have said over the years and decades that hospitality is not a competitive race, and that it is not worth living under the full spell of Michelin stars. Especially not the way the young man of record did.
