What Michelin means for South Australia
Michelin Guide is making its Australian debut in South Australia. Here’s what that means.
Love them or loathe them, restaurant guides have been in the zeitgeist of food media for the longest time.
Good Food, Gourmet Traveller, delicious.100 – how a restaurant fares in ink can be equal parts pleasure and pain for a chef, all the while serving as a food lover’s compass.
Whether or not a restaurant review is as consequential today as it was 10 years ago, with the advent of digital and social media, is tangential when it comes to news of Michelin Guide making its Australian debut in South Australia.
After years of discussion, both formal and informal, the most coveted restaurant guide in the world will now operate Down Under, quite literally putting South Australia’s dining scene on the world stage.
How much the South Australian Tourism Commission paid for the honour is undisclosed. In its most recent bid to include the country, Michelin had reportedly previously asked for $17.33 million over five years from Tourism Australia.
How that translates to dollars spent in the state is to be seen, but the investment is an assuring vote of confidence in the state’s dining scene.
Speaking with SALIFE, Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guide, said South Australia’s inclusion ahead of its eastern counterparts was based on merit – not financial incentives alone.
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“Wait to the release and maybe you will really understand why,” he said. “Inspectors were impressed by the diversity, the level of cooking – it can be quite informal but still sophisticated and elevated.
“It’s very authentic [and] quite intuitive, with a connection and relationship with producers, but also cooking techniques like open fire. From a purely gastronomic perspective, there is a lot to say, a lot of personality, a lot of talents to be recognised, and there is no doubt that the reason we are staring in South Australia [is] that the destinations need to be put on the world culinary map.”
Poullennec is tight-lipped on how many restaurants will be included in the Michelin Guide South Australia; there are no predetermined targets. Mystery diners – or “inspectors” – are still on the ground. Such inspectors are full-time employees of Michelin, expected to eat around 300 meals out per year, reporting along the way.
“They are not just food lovers or gourmet critics, they are full-time professionals, with a background in industry, training with Michelin, working as a team, with unified processes and criteria,” Poullennec said.
“We call them inspectors because they’re always out to scout, to discover, to make sure they leave no stone unturned.”
South Australia currently has no formal annual restaurant guide or ranking system, since News Corp’s The Advertiser Food Guide and Awards ceased during the pandemic.
New South Wales and Victoria have the Nine Publishing-owned Good Food Guide and “Hats” rating system. National food magazine, Gourmet Traveller, included just 10 restaurants in its 2025 Top 100 Australian Restaurants list, compared with 26 in both Victoria and New South Wales.
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South Australia’s restaurateurs, chefs, diners and food writers have been shouting from the Adelaide Hill-tops for years that the state’s dining scene deserves wider recognition.
The late Jock Zonfrillo was big on this, building high profile relationships in an effort to draw eyes on his Adelaide restaurant Orana in 2013 – widely considered a cutting-edge dining experience until its closure in 2020.
Now, there’s the ambitious US-born chef Justin James, who elevated Restaurant Botanic to top spot in both the delicious. and Gourmet Traveller lists in 2022. He revealed to me at the time that he had his eyes on the 50 World’s Best list – another highly regarded ranking system, though one that has come under scrutiny in more recent years over its selection process.
James has now opened the doors to his first solo project, Restaurant Aptos – a roaming, multi-level dining experience, showcasing Australian native ingredients. The timing is ideal.
While the most exceptional restaurants are awarded “stars” – one, two or three – inclusion in the Guide doesn’t guarantee the gold stamp. Restaurants can be simply recommended, or receive a Bib Gourmand – a title given to venues considered to offer great value.
Local industry feedback has been mostly positive to Michelin’s arrival, while some question the value of the investment. Questions have also been raised, off the record, about the relevance of traditional reviewing systems, and whether they perpetuate toxic kitchen environments.
The proof will be in the pudding.
What can’t be argued, is that South Australia’s inclusion in the Guide has already drawn more eyes on the state. Soon, international travellers who plan their trips according to where they want to eat, will have even greater reason to visit this great state.
It’s reason to celebrate all the players who make South Australia’s dining scene vibrant – not just the star chefs and restaurateurs who often get the spotlight, but also the ones that fly under the radar; the producers, the artisans, the front of house stars and the unsung heroes out back – all of them.
The inaugural restaurant section of the Michelin Guide South Australia 2027 will be revealed at an event in October this year.
“The selection is still ongoing,” Poullennec said. “There are restaurants located a bit everywhere, obviously some in the wine areas.
“The Michelin Guide will contribute to a desire for people to explore.”
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