Spatial distribution of sustainable gastronomy criteria in Michelin green star restaurants

This research aims to determine the sustainable gastronomy criteria applied by Michelin Green Star restaurants and to investigate the spatial distribution of these criteria worldwide. For this purpose, content analysis was conducted on the texts of chefs/managers/owners of Michelin Green Star restaurants in the Michelin Guide regarding sustainable gastronomy practices using the MAXQDA program. According to the Michelin Guide, there are 541 Michelin Green Star restaurants in 41 countries. In addition, the restaurants with the most Michelin-Green Stars in the world are in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain (July 3, 2024). According to the results of the research, the Michelin Guide takes many different criteria into consideration when awarding green stars to restaurants. On the other hand, it was determined that the sustainable gastronomy criteria that the Michelin Green Star restaurants analyzed in the research attach the most importance to are "Awareness of Product Origins" and "Waste and Resource Management in Restaurants", while the least important sustainable gastronomy criterion is “Staff’s Ability to Draw Customers' Attention to the Sustainable Approach". Based on the study findings, recommendations were made to practitioners and researchers.