Imagine that you come home from your third breakless 10 hour shift in a row, manage to sleep for about 6 hours, get up to do it again, but upon arriving at work the boss calls a general meeting.
“It’s no secret, folks: we’re in business to make money. The Michelin Guide has now been allowed in Quebec for the first time ever, and I want this place to be on it. The high standards we had before need to be higher if we’re to make the Michelin Guide. For that to be possible, each and every one of you have to truly WANT to work 12–14 hour days, to clean the bottom of the fryer, to cut the tape with scissors, fold rags into perfect squares, to stain nothing, to spill nothing, and to know that it can always be better, faster, and cleaner, without expecting praise for it. This means we will be prioritizing the people who show this drive, those who don’t show it will be getting less hours, and that is guaranteed. If we get those stars, your career will soar!”
“OUI CHEF!” Everyone shouts in perfect unison. Or at least almost everyone.
The Michelin Guide has been kept out of Quebec for numerous reasons. One reason is because Quebec restauration has prided itself on maintaining a “culture décontractée” in contrast with the coldness and snobbery which habitually accompany Michelin stars. Often forgotten, however, is the labour side of the equation: the Michelin Guide enforces a race to the bottom between the employees of all fine dining establishments whose bosses seek to attract the prestigious award. Coworkers compete for the right to pay rent while generating tens of thousands of dollars in revenue every hour. The bosses then justify it by reminding their wage slaves that if they keep their heads down, one day they too might get wage slaves of their very own that they can ruin for the sake of “art” (ahem, profit).
Truly amazing food is a cultural experience every human being should be capable of enjoying, but capitalism reserves it only for the most privileged, and at the cost of some of the most exploitative conditions that can exist. The Michelin Guide is nothing but the bourgeoisie publicly celebrating its own crimes.
