First MICHELIN Guide selection in Canada shines spotlight on 74 Toronto restaurants
TORONTO, Sept. 13, 2022 /CNW/ - The MICHELIN Guide today announced that 74 restaurants made the inaugural Toronto selection, including 1 Two-Star restaurant, 12 One-Star restaurants, 17 Bib Gourmand restaurants, and 44 recommended restaurants. The full list of restaurants included can be found in the MICHELIN Guide Toronto.
Toronto was announced as the first Canadian MICHELIN Guide destination in May and the sixth in North America. The country's inaugural selection brings global attention to Toronto's diverse culinary scene. With 53 per cent of all Torontonians born outside of this country, the city is renowned for its multicultural neighbourhoods and global influences. The selection includes 27 cuisine types.
The selection comes at a key time in recovery for the visitor economy. The pandemic resulted in an economic loss of $12.5 billion through unrealized visitor spending in Toronto in 2020 and 2021. The food service industry is the largest employer among tourism businesses in Canada, accounting for over half of tourism jobs, and Canada's agriculture regions provide the foundation that feeds Toronto's culinary community. From wine regions to quality local produce and farm-raised animals, Ontario farmers grow more than 200 different agricultural products on 49,600 farms across the province.
The MICHELIN Guide selection follows Michelin's historical methodology, based on five universal criteria, to ensure each destination's selection equity: 1) quality products; 2) the harmony of flavours; 3) the mastery of cooking techniques; 4) the personality of the chef in the cuisine; 5) consistency between each visit (each restaurant is inspected several times a year).
Recognized globally for excellence and quality, the MICHELIN Guide offers a selection of world-class restaurants.
- The famous One, Two and Three Stars identify establishments serving exceptional cuisine rich in flavour and infused with the personality of a talented chef.
- The Bib Gourmand is a designation given to select restaurants that offer good quality food for good value – often known as personal favourites among the MICHELIN Guide's anonymous inspectors when dining on their own time.
- The MICHELIN Green Star honours restaurants at the forefront of practices committed to a more sustainable gastronomy.
- Recommended restaurants and special awards are also highlighted by MICHELIN Guide inspectors.
The MICHELIN Guide is constantly observing the evolution of culinary destinations around the world, and the discovery process began in Toronto four years ago. Michelin works with Destination Marketing Organizations, or tourism boards, to promote the travel industry in the respective locations; however, the MICHELIN Guide selections process remains completely independent. While selections remain independently determined by Michelin inspectors, Michelin is working with Destination Toronto on marketing and promotional activities. Destination Toronto partnered with Destination Ontario and Destination Canada to support the marketing and promotional activities that made bringing the guide to Toronto possible.
The Toronto restaurant selections will join the MICHELIN Guide selection of hotels, which features the most unique and exciting places to stay in Toronto and throughout the world. Every hotel in the Guide is chosen for its extraordinary style, service, and personality — with options for all budgets — and each hotel can be booked directly through the MICHELIN Guide website and app. The selection for Toronto currently features the city's most spectacular hotels, including sustainability pioneers like 1 Hotel Toronto, standouts from the "Plus" collection like the Soho Hotel, and design-forward boutiques like The Drake.
Visit the MICHELIN Guide website, or download the free app for iOS and Android, to discover every restaurant in the selection and book an unforgettable hotel.
Quotes:
"As a city, we are proud to offer a very diverse and unique culinary scene. That has been made possible from all of the people who come from all over the world to call this city home. Now, with this new Michelin Guide in Toronto – the first in Canada – we are able to showcase our city's remarkable food scene. With 74 restaurants selected for MICHELIN Guide Toronto, we hope more of the world will discover the city's culinary excellence and will consider a visit to our great city. Thank you to everyone for working together to make this possible."
- John Tory, Mayor of Toronto
"With the release of the first Canadian MICHELIN Guide, Toronto's restaurants have an exciting opportunity to showcase homegrown, made-in-Ontario cuisines – from every culture at any price. Our government knows how important a strong tourism sector is for our economy and for workers in our communities. This guide will encourage culinary tourism and while visiting our province's capital, I encourage Ontarians to claim up to 20 per cent of travel accommodation expenses through our Ontario Staycation Tax Credit."
- Neil Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport
"This recognition is a landmark achievement that ushers in a new era of restaurant dining in Canada. Toronto is the first Canadian city to join the MICHELIN fold, ranking it among the world's top culinary destinations. Through this strategic partnership, our government is supporting tourism and economic development by attracting new culinary talent and visitors to Canada. Congratulations to the establishments announced today, and we look forward to the addition of more in the future."
- Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance.
"Congratulations to the 74 restaurants selected for MICHELIN Guide Toronto. The first Canadian selection brings well deserved international recognition to Toronto's talented culinary community, highlighting the depth and diversity of the city's food scene. From neighbourhood gems to fine dining establishments, the guide provides a new platform to talk about the scope and scale of Toronto's food scene with visitors from around the world, delivering a positive impact to the entire culinary ecosystem."
- Scott Beck, CEO & President of Destination Toronto
Toronto's visitor economy is a vital economic engine for the city, generating more than $10 billion in economic activity and supporting 70,000 jobs in 2019. Destination Toronto's mandate is to reflect the breadth and diversity of Toronto's people, places and culture to inspire residents and visitors to meet, visit and explore our city. Operating in partnership with the City of Toronto, the Greater Toronto Hotel Association and the Ontario Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, Destination Toronto markets and promotes the city to locals and visitors, attracts and supports major meetings and events, and supports local businesses to maximize the opportunities of visitor spending. For more information, please visit DestinationToronto.com.
Destination Ontario is an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport with a vision to position Ontario as a preferred global destination. Destination Ontario's marketing activities and programs aim to generate increased visitation by Ontario, Canadian and international tourists, enhance tourism expenditures in Ontario, and contribute to provincial economic prosperity through impactful marketing and results oriented investment partnerships. For more information, please visit DestinationOntario.com.
At Destination Canada, we believe that tourism enhances the wealth and wellbeing of Canadians and enriches the lives of visitors. Our mission is to influence supply and build demand for the benefit of locals, communities and visitors through leading research, alignment with public and private sectors, and marketing Canada nationally and abroad. Knowing that diversity is our greatest asset, we promote Canada as a premier four-season leisure and business tourism destination around the country and world in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, our Business Events team leverage in-depth global market analysis to target international clusters aligned with Canada's priority economic sectors. Destination Canada is a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada. For more information, please visit destinationcanada.com.
SOURCE Destination Toronto
Media contact: Kathy Motton, Destination Toronto - Senior Communications Manager, [email protected], 416-721-9203
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