It wasn’t so long ago that we were having a gentle dig at the new Michelin Guide for still having a cover that would look right at home in a caravan circa 1975, but now the geriatric guide (it’s 108 you know!) is having the cane kicked out from under it by the likes of Marco Pierre White:

“I’ve dined in Michelin-starred places in New York and I’m confused. There are at least fifty restaurants in England as good as the two-star restaurants over there, rather than the paltry ten that currently hold that number.”

This is just part of a blistering critical attack by chefs and restaurateurs who have come to the conclusion that the old, but very established guide, is out dated and old fashioned. Waitrose Food Illustrated editor, William Sitwell, had this to add:

“They all told me the guide was championing food that people no longer wished to eat. It seems to me that too many chefs are slaving in the kitchen to please Michelin and get stars, when people are looking for less poncey and more normal food.”

TrustedPlaces gets a name-check in the article from Mr Sitwell as a ready alternative to the Michelin Guide which is something we can’t argue with

We do of course cover the Michelin starred restaurants, but because our scope is much wider and our reviews more up to date, we do like to think that we have more to offer than a guide book. And while it’s nice to have something on the backseat of the car or in your pocket (when you remember to pick it up), isn’t it simpler to just bookmark us in your phone?

Trumpet blowing aside, the most important thing that we have over guide books is that our readers are also our reviewers. You disagree with a review here then add a comment or better still write your own review. Here it’s the community that creates the service so while it’s all very well for the Michelin director to say “Let the readers be the judges — if they are buying we are happy“, but wouldn’t it be better to allow those readers a voice of their own?

Photo credit: day off by Lex in the City (CC license)