Miami is now home to many Michelin stars. On Thursday, the world’s most famous international restaurant rating guide bestowed its coveted stars on restaurants in Florida for the first time, focusing on three cities: Miami, Orlando and Tampa. Miami emerged with 10 one-star restaurants and one with a two-star rating, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in the Design District. The French restaurant is led by Chef Alain Verzeroli and a team of protégés of the late Joël Robuchon, who held 31 Michelin stars at the time of his death in 2018.
“It was clear to us that the consistency and strength of execution at this location was indicative of a two-star rating,” said an anonymous chief inspector for Michelin. Reviewers, called inspectors, eat at restaurants around the world and go to great lengths to remain anonymous.
The inspectors judge the restaurants on five main criteria, he said, regardless of where they are: quality of the product; each dish’s “harmony of flavor”; mastery of cooking techniques; personality of the chef; and consistency between visits (if one inspector has a great meal and another doesn’t, that’s taken into consideration).