By the summer of 2018, I had understood that, as far as the restaurant industry goes, the old guard had been in charge for far too long. The way that we view and rate restaurants hasn’t changed in over a century, since the early 1900’s, when Michelin launched its then innovative guide books to finding great places to eat while on the road. But now, whether it’s Michelin or Google, The World’s 50 Best or even Happy Cow, we’re still only superficially assessing eateries based on their food, and just rewarding existing acclaim with more of it.  

The restaurant world has continued on in this way, with mostly superficial ideals at its core, because we’ve all participated in accepting this as the way that it is. When eaters “like” anything simply because it’s made by a famous chef in a creative way and in an expensive restaurant, and third parties like Michelin award them for this formula, the cycle continues, with lack of sense or direction except for more of the same.  

But as we’ve seen in the past year, the only constant is change. We cannot move forward as before, forever. Globalisation, if not contained, will have consequences. Systems need to be inclusive, or combust. The environment and existing democracies must be stewarded at all costs. And in similar suit, the restaurant world must reconsider what it holds to be true and important, for we’ve now seen what happens when the glitter goes away.

What I came up with in 2018 was that what makes a meal truly great is not superficial qualities at all, but rather the combination of five elements in particular: Cuisine, yes, but also Experience, Story, Sustainability, and Diversity. We need to be treated well when we’re hosted. We need to connect to what we’re eating, and the craftsmanship surrounding it.  We feel better when we know that we’re participating in a healthy system, and it’s more interesting to celebrate someone unique at the helm of a great eatery, or a server with a special path to share.