Michelin ready to expand coverage, set to launch publication for California

Restaurant rating guide Michelin said on Tuesday it will launch a publication for California in early June, expanding its current coverage for eateries in San Francisco and the surrounding wine-producing regions of Napa and Sonoma. The new Michelin guide will incorporate its anonymous raters' grading for restaurants in Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange County, Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Barbara, it said.

"With access to many of the world's best farms, food producers and vineyards, California cuisine is respected worldwide not only for the quality of its ingredients but also due to the creativity displayed by its chefs,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director for the Michelin Guides, in a statement. In the 2019 edition of its San Francisco area guide, Michelin awarded eight restaurants with three stars, its highest ranking. They included Atelier Crenn, owned by Dominique Crenn who became the first U.S.-based female chef to receive the distinction.

Michelin's three-star rating, coveted by chefs and restaurateurs, is rare. Just over 100 establishments around the world have that status. 

(With inputs from agencies.)