Postscript to Michelin 2027: The Emotional Stakes of a Culinary Award

On Thursday (October 29) the Michelin Guide handed out its much-coveted honors to restaurants and dining outlets in Manila and nearby places (“environs”) as well as Cebu. It’s the second year in a row the French tire company’s hospitality unit has bestowed its stamp of approval to local establishments.

I was overseas last year so I missed the inaugural edition, but I made sure to attend the awarding this year. I’ve spent time covering the local culinary scene and so have made a few acquaintances over the years, including chefs, restaurateurs, and fellow members of the media. Many of them turned up at the event, just as eager as I was to find out which restaurants will get which Michelin award for the coming year.

While the event itself had a fun and celebratory atmosphere—the coming together of colleagues and friends over a shared love of food—what I wasn’t prepared for was how deeply emotional the ceremony made me feel. The energy in the room was palpable, yes, but it was one that felt more like fellowship and camaraderie rather than rivalry or competition. And that was just me being a spectator; I could only imagine what it felt like for those who are direct or active members of the local culinary community.

I first felt a stirring in my chest after a special Michelin Service citation was handed out to Clyde Joshua Zamora of Tito Boy restaurant in Pampanga, which signaled the start of the actual awarding ceremony. While his speech was brief, Zamora was clearly overwhelmed and made sure to mention how he flew back to his home country after years working abroad, and how he was grateful to his team at Tito Boy.

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It was the same when Chef Frances Tariga was given the special Opening of the Year award for her restaurant Tadhana. One of the first words out of the visibly ecstatic chef’s mouth onstage was how she was extremely proud to be both a Filipino and a member of the LGBTQIA community. She, too, spent some time working in kitchens abroad, putting in over 20 years of her life in the United States and in Dubai, before deciding to come back home and opening Tadhana. The restaurant would win a Michelin Selected award later in the ceremony.

Throughout the afternoon, as chefs were honored with the different tiers of the Michelin wards—Select, Bib Gourmand and the elusive Stars—audiences clapped and cheered for their colleagues and friends. Despite the inherent nature of the Michelin Guide as an exercise meant to confer awards to honor excellence and distinguish some restaurants from others, it felt like a community building each other up, patting each other on the back and giving each other high-fives. It was heartwarming to witness chefs, service staff, restaurateurs, and industry officials stand up, applaud, and loudly cheer as each awardee was announced. It was especially moving to see some of the chefs walk up to the stage and receive their awards after bearing witness to their story, and knowing their just how much literal blood, sweat and tears they poured into their respective enterprises. I had a lump in my throat just thinking about what an award like this means to someone who dedicated their entire lives in the pursuit of culinary excellence.

Later, after the ceremony had ended and everybody moved to the adjoining room to sample small plates prepared by Michelin-starred chefs, I found out that other people shared my sentiments. A chef who won his second Michelin one-star award validated my observation and said he felt privileged to be part of a community that supported each other so strongly. Another chef and restaurant owner agreed, although he said the energy and camaraderie were even more pronounced last year as it was the inaugural edition of the Michelin Guide awards and so the kinship was intensified by feelings of excitement and nervousness.

It was also then that I understood what two Michelin-starred chef Josh Boutwood had articulated so elegantly when I chatted with him earlier in the year for Esquire’s July cover story. When I asked about the dynamics of the local chefs and what their relationship is to each other given how small the local culinary industry is, he was quick to note just how tight-knit and supportive of each other everybody really is.

“I think a year before the awarding, in 2025, all of us got really close,” he said. “We were all on the same boat. We were all worried equally. And I think we shared the anxiety and the stress together. And I feel relieved that that connection has maintained even though the awarding has come and gone. And even now that we’re close to the 2027 awarding, our relationship still remains intact. It is a very tight-knit community, and we are all in it to help everybody else.

“And one thing that was mentioned to me during the last ceremony is that we were one of the only countries around Asia that was happy for everyone there,” he added. “But I think that’s a testament to our culture. Our Filipino pride and culture. We’re all about sharing. Whether it be the highs and the lows. That night, we were all excited for absolutely everyone there.”

Of course, I’m not naïve to think that it’s an all lovey-dovey, we’re-all-friends-here, kumbaya thing. The reality is still that Michelin is still a business and it’s become an increasingly important commercial business and strategic brand asset for the French tire manufacturer. In fact, the company reports that the Guide accounted for 71 percent of global digital conversations mentioning the Michelin brand in 2025. That’s a remarkable number considering the automotive roots of the company. I’m under no illusion that any guide or award can adequately spotlight an impossibly diverse culinary environment not just in the Philippines but anywhere else in the world.

But the Michelin Guide is a start. It may have its critics, but there’s no denying how it’s become a way to bring our rich culinary heritage to a global audience, generate business for otherwise overlooked restaurants and eateries, and encourage even more innovation and creativity in an industry already brimming with exceptional talent.

Most of all, as what the atmosphere at the awarding showed, I think the Michelin Guide’s most important contribution to local gastronomy is how it provides a venue for everybody in the industry to come together as colleagues and peers to celebrate each other’s successes. There’s nowhere else where such a disparate group of culinary professionals can cheer each other on, shake each other’s hand, and say to each other, “Congratulations. You did good. Job well done.”