The High Court yesterday rejected a request from a Japanese restaurant in Taipei that would ban the Michelin guide from secretly sending food critics and reviewing or recommending the food served there.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the restaurant Isosei (磯勢), was the second case in which the judicial system sided with the French publisher. In 2022, the Taipei District Court and the High Court ruled against Wokhei (鍋氣), a Cantonese restaurant in Taipei, which also petitioned the courts to bar the Michelin guide from sending food critics to eat and review the food.
Isosei argued that the lawsuit was filed to protect the restaurant’s reputation as well as freedom of doing business.
Photo: Yang Kuo-wen, Taipei Times
“Our philosophy in managing the restaurant is to give our chefs complete freedom to create dishes, rather than being restricted by so-called authoritative evaluation methods and criteria,” the restaurant said. “We do not agree that restaurants should be evaluated by dispatching ‘mystery shoppers’ and using only one set of criteria.”
Michelin argued that it has built its credibility in the global gastronomic community through strict and truthful evaluations, adding that it cannot possibly maintain the integrity of the evaluations by not dispatching food critics or revealing their identities ahead of time. Food critics dine at restaurants anonymously because they want to personally taste the food and experience the service, and they have the freedom to comment on the food they eat, it said.
Isosei appealed to the High Court after the Taipei District Court ruled in favor of Michelin. During the second trial the restaurant added its head chef as a new plaintiff, who petitioned to have the freedom to not serve food critics sent by Michelin.
The court upheld the district court’s decision, saying that the content published by the Michelin guide is open to criticism. The ways the guide evaluates food around the globe and recommends restaurants make it a reference book for consumers, it said, adding that the guide serves both the commercial and public interest.
“Isosei provides services to unspecified people in an open market. A contract between the restaurant and its consumers becomes binding as soon as consumers order its food and agree to pay the price at which it is offered. Identities of the consumers are not important details of the contract, nor are they obligated to reveal their identities and dining purposes,” the court said.
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