A lot is already possible in the Czech Republic. How else to explain that the French company Michelin, which rates restaurants all over the world, got in touch and started demanding money from the state for continuing to rate businesses in the country. If the state didn’t shell out around ten million crowns a year, then local businesses would no longer appear in the guide.
Does it still make sense?
On the one hand, that would be unpleasant, but we would probably survive. After all, only a few people use this guide in the Czech Republic, and its contribution from the point of view of tourism is, to say the least, debatable. Today, there are dozens of different sites on the Internet where you can find reviews from professionals and ordinary guests, so why follow just one Michelin, even if it has a great tradition?
However, it is questionable whether such a guide still makes sense if it does not support itself from the interest of those who care for it, and has to beg for contributions from the states themselves, or from restaurants. They were the ones in the Czech Republic who were the first to say that it was necessary to pay this money, because otherwise it would mean difficulties for many businesses.
An open letter appeared in which these well-known restaurateurs, led by Zdenek Pohlreich, described how important it is for domestic restaurants to appear in Michelin. It is probably not surprising that it is precisely these restaurants that appeared in the guide and benefited from this situation. Little is known that although the guide in the Czech Republic awarded a star to only two restaurants, it actually mentions many more businesses.
It is said that without Michelin, gastronomic tourism would disappear from the Czech Republic. But that is a big question. The restaurants in the guide often just take advantage of favorable restaurants and, after they are listed, easily increase their prices to double or triple. By the way, this leads to the fact that locals no longer eat here.
Foto: Shutterstock
People are tightening their belts
Although economists warned against supporting Michelin, because practically any private company could claim money from the state in this way, the state quite inexplicably decided to pay 51 million crowns for five years of covering the domestic gastronomic scene.
For example, according to economist Lukáš Kovanda, it is completely unfortunate. By the way, this is a very bad signal at a time when the state has to save and people are constantly being told how to tighten their belts. In this case, however, taxpayers’ money is being spent on complete uselessness, which will not bring anything to the common man and will only satisfy the requirements of a few restaurants.
A much better solution would be if the restaurants set up a foundation, within which they collected a sufficient amount among themselves and then sent it to Michelin. Of course, it would then be possible to ask how independent this guide is, but if it has these claims, it must be taken into account in its evaluations.
Foto: Shutterstock
2023-09-03 16:00:00
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