In February, The Michelin Guide awarded just one new star to a restaurant owned by a female chef patron. This, and the following comments made by chef Jason Atherton, generated outcry across the industry. The hope? A move towards gender parity, racial equality and raised standards across the board. Alongside recognising women in the industry, there’s a need to look at systemic issues to recognise and promote positive working cultures in hospitality. For many, it's now down to the largest restaurant awards bodies to use their influence for good. Should they take greater responsibility?

B-Corp certification is generally considered the highest accreditation of sustainable practices in the UK. Since 2020, Michelin has awarded Green Stars for sustainability in the restaurant industry. However, Michelin is not a B-Corp certified company and in the UK and Ireland, of the 34 Green Starred restaurants, only the Daylesford Organic Farm restaurant in Daylesford is both part of a B-Corp certified organisation and holder of a Green Michelin star. 

Michelin admits there is, ‘no specific formula’ for the award, adding that, ‘inspectors are simply looking for those at the top of their game when it comes to their sustainable practices...considering things such as: the provenance of the ingredients; the use of seasonal produce; the restaurant’s environmental footprint; food waste systems; general waste disposal and recycling; resource management; and the communication between the team and the guests about the restaurant’s sustainable approach.’ 

The logic seems to be: if Michelin can award a Green Star for sustainable practices, then why not create some kind of recognition for the ethical treatment of staff? In doing so, they would make a valuable contribution to the industry they so claim to love and support.

Adam Hyman, publisher of the Good Food Guide notes, ‘I think whether it’s us at the Good Food Guide, Michelin, or whoever, there needs to be some sort of system in place that actually assesses workplace culture’. He continued, ‘Michelin has so much power that if stars were removed because they knew that systematic behaviour or workplace culture wasn’t good, it would be a very powerful way to change things in the industry, for the better, almost overnight. Very few people would buy clothes from a retailer knowing there is child labour in their supply chain, but how many people would go eat at a restaurant knowing the chef was a bully, a misogynist or treated their staff badly?’

By making the choice to stay silent on the matter, is Michelin complicit in supporting the lack of change? Hyman continued, ‘a lot [of behaviour] gets swept under the carpet and it takes industry leaders to call it out. If we go back to this mindset of “that’s how we’ve all been treated”, or “that’s not my job” then the industry will never change and things will never improve’. 

Simon Numphud FIH, managing director at AA Media, revealed his plans to incorporate consideration of the ethical treatment of staff to Great British Chefs, ‘I am thrilled to have recently been appointed to the advisory board of Empowered, [which] provides industry insights and practical solutions, including a culture measurement tool we personally use. Stefan Wissenbach, their founder, has some exciting plans to launch an accreditation programme for the hospitality sector, which I hope will create a credible mark for industry to adopt in the future.’

‘The AA Rosette scheme, which celebrates 70 years next year, has always had the quality of food at the heart of its accreditation process. However, we recognise kitchen culture and staff treatment are fundamental to the long-term success of the industry. While these topics have not traditionally been within the remit of a food guide, the evolving landscape of hospitality means we must continually reassess our role and values we champion.’

Leaders like Hyman and Numphud are working towards change, recognising that the UK’s most influential restaurant awards platforms have a responsibility to promote best practice in the industry. Numphud continued, ‘through our support of the Empowered programme and accreditation, this could become a new standard for us to integrate into our guides, highlighting and celebrating businesses that are committed to creating a great culture that is benchmarked by a robust process from detailed employee feedback’.

Along with the Good Food Guide, the AA Guide has recognised its influence and power to do more, and consumers can expect that in the future, not only will a restaurant guide evaluate the calibre of the cookery, but assess the ethics of the kitchen behind closed doors. 

What might a charter include? Restaurants, and kitchens could commit, with relative ease, to a series of rudimentary processes which would help raise standards across the board in the hospitality industry. Based on feedback from a number of chefs, as well as surveys published in both Countertalk and CODE Hospitality, we think these benchmarks could include: 

• Mandatory sexual misconduct training for all staff, with robust reporting processes that include access to third-party reporting

• Zero tolerance policies around bullying, sexism, racism, drug and alcohol misuse which are well communicated throughout the team

• National and regional living wage guarantees

• Adherence to employment contracts, and the working hours stipulated therein

• Consideration of shift patterns, such as the avoidance of consecutive double shifts and unpaid overtime

• Transparent tronc, service charge and bonus schemes which are not used to subsidise pay

• Robust maternity and paternity leave which includes flexibility upon return to work and childcare support mechanisms

• Rotas and working schedules agreed at least three weeks in advance

• Information and access to relevant trade union bodies included in new starter packs
  
  

We asked the AA Restaurant Guide what an equitable and ethical kitchen looks like, and Numphud summed up the sentiment well, ‘for me, this looks like a business that has a strong set of values and standards, that are clearly communicated and understood by all, resulting in high professional standards of conduct. A human-first approach, where all staff would be treated fairly as individuals with a high level of mutual respect and care, an environment where positive and regular, open communication and interaction thrives. There would be a sense of belonging and pride underpinned by proactive and effective leadership.’ 

These themes of respect, pride, leadership and care were raised by Sally Abé, Anna Tobias and Jess Filbey in our previous article exploring sexism in the kitchen, and in working with organisations such as Countertalk, Empowered, CODE, UKHospitality and other trade bodies, restaurants can take reasonable steps to raise standards.

Moving towards demonstrable gender parity, racial equality and process-backed standards across the board which will help to address the systemic issues in the industry and promote positive working cultures in hospitality. It’s then down to awards bodies like Michelin to praise these standards when restaurants comply and swerve — or even admonish — those who don’t. 

Should awards bodies like Michelin take more action? Undoubtedly. Will they? Only time will tell. But thanks to potential initiatives like the Empowered accreditation or an industry-wide charter, green shoots are emerging. 

Both the National Restaurant Awards and Michelin were approached for comment on this feature.