The curse of the Michelin star
Restaurants awarded the honour are more likely to close, research finds
研究发现，获得这一荣誉的餐馆倒闭的可能性更大
2024年9月26日 07:55 上午
THE TWELVE new restaurants added to the New York Michelin Guide this month, serving up cuisine ranging from “haute French” to “eco-chic”, will be toasting their success. Being featured in the handbook of the tyre-maker- turned-restaurant-critic is the first step towards receiving a Michelin star, the most coveted award in fine dining. Yet according to research recently published in the Strategic Management Journal, an improbable source of culinary intelligence, restaurants might be better off remaining starless.
本月被列入《纽约米其林指南》(new York Michelin Guide)的12家新餐厅将为它们的成功干杯，它们提供的美食从“高级法国”到“生态时尚”不等。在这位由轮胎制造商转型为餐厅评论家的人的手册中出现，是获得米其林星级的第一步，米其林星级是美食界最令人垂涎的奖项。然而，《战略管理杂志》(Strategic Management Journal)最近发表的一项研究表明，餐厅保持不上明星可能会更好。《战略管理杂志》是一份令人难以置信的烹饪情报来源。
Daniel Sands of University College London’s school of management tracked the fortunes of restaurants that opened in New York in 2000-14 and received a starred review in the New York Times. He found that, of this promising group, establishments which went on to get a Michelin star were more likely to close down in the years that followed than those which did not. The relationship remained even when factors such as location, price and type of cuisine were taken into account. All told, 40% of restaurants awarded Michelin stars in 2005-14 had closed by the end of 2019.
伦敦大学学院(University College London)管理学院的丹尼尔•桑兹(Daniel Sands)追踪了2000年至2014年在纽约开业的餐厅的命运，并在《纽约时报》上获得了星级评论。他发现，在这个有前途的群体中，获得米其林星级的餐馆比没有获得米其林星级的餐馆更有可能在接下来的几年里倒闭。即使考虑到地理位置、价格和菜肴类型等因素，这种关系仍然存在。总而言之，2005年至2014年获得米其林星级的餐厅中，有40%已于2019年底关闭。
A Michelin star boosts publicity: the study found that Google search intensity rose by over a third for newly starred restaurants. But that fame comes at a price. First, Mr Sands argues, the restaurants’ customers change. Being in the limelight raises diners’ expectations and brings in tourists from farther away. Meeting guests’ greater demands piles on new costs. Second, the award puts a star-shaped target on the restaurants’ back. Businesses they deal with, such as ingredient suppliers and landlords, use the opportunity to charge more. Chefs, too, want their salaries to reflect the accolade and are more likely to be poached by competitors.
米其林星级可以提高知名度:研究发现，对新星级餐厅的谷歌搜索强度增加了三分之一以上。但这名声是有代价的。首先，桑兹先生认为，餐馆的顾客发生了变化。成为人们关注的焦点提高了食客的期望，也带来了来自更远地方的游客。满足客人更大的需求会增加新的成本。其次，该奖项给这些餐厅带来了一个星形目标。与他们打交道的企业，如原料供应商和房东，利用这个机会收取更高的费用。厨师们也希望自己的工资能反映这份荣誉，更有可能被竞争对手挖走。
Food is not the only industry where awards are a mixed blessing. Several studies have shown that companies run by award-winning bosses underachieve relative both to their previous performance and to non- garlanded rivals. Like Michelin-starred chefs, superstar CEOs demand fatter pay packets and are more easily distracted, spending more time writing books and joining boards. In publishing, too, awards bring peril. Prizewinning books are reviewed more harshly than before their success, and worse than runners-up.
食品行业并不是唯一一个获奖喜忧参半的行业。几项研究表明，获奖老板经营的公司，无论是与以前的表现相比，还是与没有获奖的竞争对手相比，都表现不佳。就像米其林星级厨师一样，超级明星ceo要求更高的薪酬，也更容易分心，花更多时间写书和加入董事会。在出版业，奖项也会带来危险。获奖的书比成功之前受到更严厉的评论，比亚军更糟糕。
For restaurateurs who are in it for the glory, Michelin’s top award will probably remain too enticing not to pursue. But for those who simply want to stay in business, it may be safer to not quite cut the mustard.
对于那些追求荣誉的餐厅老板来说，米其林的最高奖项可能仍然太过诱人，让他们不去追求。但对于那些只是想继续做生意的人来说，不完全切断芥末可能更安全。
