It provided information to motorists such as maps, tyre repair and replacement instructions, car mechanics listings, hotels, and petrol stations throughout France.

In 1904, the brothers published a guide for Belgium,[3] and then for Algeria and Tunisia (1907); the Alps and the Rhine (northern Italy, Switzerland, Bavaria, and the Netherlands) (1908); Germany, Spain, and Portugal (1910); the British Isles (1911); and "The Countries of the Sun" (Les Pays du Soleil) (Northern Africa, Southern Italy and Corsica) (1911).

[3] In the early post-war years, the lingering effects of wartime shortages led Michelin to impose an upper limit of two stars; by 1950 the French edition listed 38 establishments judged to meet this standard.

[3] In 2008, the German restaurateur Juliane Caspar was appointed the first woman and first non-French national editor-in-chief of the French edition of the guide.

[19][20] In late 2022, the guide expanded to Vietnam, Malaysia, Estonia, and the United Arab Emirates in return for undisclosed payments.

[21][22] In February 2023, the Israeli Tourism Ministry announced a bid to bring the Michelin guide to their country in return for a payment of €1.5 million.

These summaries are written in the language of the country for which the guide is published (though the Spain and Portugal volume is in Spanish only) but the symbols are the same throughout all editions.

"[34] In France, when the guide is published each year, it sparks a media frenzy which has been compared to that for annual Academy Awards for films.

[33] Media and others debate likely winners, speculation is rife, and TV and newspapers discuss which restaurant might lose and which might gain a Michelin star.

[40] Since 1997,[41] the guide has also highlighted restaurants offering "exceptionally good food at moderate prices", a feature now called "Bib Gourmand".

For example, in Canada a Bib Gourmand restaurant must be able to offer a two-course meal and either dessert or a glass of wine for less than $60 CAD per person.

[133] Rémy described the French Michelin inspector's life as lonely, underpaid drudgery, driving around France for weeks on end, dining alone, under intense pressure to file detailed reports to strict deadlines.

In response to Rémy's statement that certain three-star chefs were sacrosanct, Michelin said, "There would be little sense in saying a restaurant was worth three stars if it weren't true, if for no other reason than that the customer would write and tell us.

The UK The Guardian commented in 1997 that "some people maintain the guide's principal purpose is as a tool of Gallic cultural imperialism".

Kurutz also said the guide appeared to favour restaurants that "emphasized formality and presentation" rather than a "casual approach to fine dining".

[138][139] The Wall Street Journal reported in 2010 that some Japanese chefs were surprised at receiving a star and were reluctant to accept one because the publicity caused an unmanageable jump in bookings, affecting their ability to serve their traditional customers without compromising on lowering the quality of their dishes.

[140] Some restaurateurs have asked Michelin to revoke a star, because they felt that it created undesirable customer expectations[141] or pressure to spend more on service and decor.

It is widely believed that chef Bernard Loiseau committed suicide in 2003 after hearing the rumor that his three-star restaurant, La Côte d'Or, would be demoted to two stars.

[150] In 2017, the Bouche à Oreille café in Bourges, France, was accidentally given a star when it was confused with a restaurant of the same name in Boutervilliers, near Paris.

[151][152] In the 21st century, some American chefs, restaurant owners, and officials interviewed by The New York Times criticized the guide for creating a type of sameness, rewarding expensive fine dining attributes, luxury ingredients, expensive tableware, matching uniforms, many-course menus, small bites, and meticulously arranged plating.

At the three-star restaurant Noma, chef-owner René Redzepi yielded to public pressure in 2022 and began paying interns.

[153] The power imbalance between chef-owners and staff has also resulted in workers at some fine-dining restaurants producing intricate dishes complaining of very long hours, difficulty affording food, physical and sexual abuse, refusal of permission to treat injuries at a hospital, and destruction of workers' personal property.

[154] Most chefs interviewed by The New York Times said the increase in business and job applicants that comes with the publicity around a Michelin star makes it worth seeking.