\u201cWith this campaign we\u2019re proving that our cuisine is worthy of a star, or a billion, while showcasing New Zealand\u2019s dark skies and winter experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fifteen months later, when a famed restaurant guide from France confirmed it was coming here, de Monchy coyly suggested that Castle Hill dinner had \u201cpiqued Michelin\u2019s interest\u201d.<\/p>\n
Newly released documents show the $1.5m outdoor dinner was an explicit play for Michelin Guide attention and part of a targeted campaign that had its genesis at least as far back as 2023 \u2013 but the ultimate outcome may have surprised even its instigators.<\/p>\n
The p\u0101ua pie that might have helped launch a Michelin star campaign. <\/p>\n
Since last November\u2019s announcement that Tourism New Zealand would spend $6.3m on three years\u2019 worth of Michelin Guide coverage for Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown, the Herald has made multiple Official Information Act requests and approached more than a dozen industry insiders for their take on the investment.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve spoken to a chef who is opening a new restaurant in Ponsonby specifically because he wants a star on home territory and heard, anecdotally, that front of house staff want to move from Australia for the chance to work in Michelin-rated dining rooms.<\/p>\n
On the flipside, one well-travelled critic doubts any New Zealand restaurant is currently delivering to the coveted three-star standard. Bubbling under the surface are concerns about the lack of support for local restaurant awards that cover areas Michelin is not contracted to visit (including the major wine regions of Marlborough and Hawke\u2019s Bay).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, documents show New Zealand\u2019s eventual financial commitment to Michelin will be $700,000 higher than an initial top estimate provided to the Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, and a much-touted prediction the guide would attract \u201cup to 36,000 more international visitors\u201d can be revealed as a \u201cstretch\u201d target (against a more modest 18,000 visitors).<\/p>\n
How, exactly, did New Zealand get the Michelin Guide? Will it change our restaurant industry? And is a scoring system created in 1900 by a French tyre company really worth $6.3m?<\/p>\n
December, 2023. That outdoor dinner at Castle Hill is still eight months away, and it\u2019s almost two years before the formal Michelin announcement. Tourism New Zealand staff are working on a quarterly campaign pitch to capitalise on the number one topic of interest from visitor markets \u2013 food and culinary travel.<\/p>\n
The big idea?<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealand calls on Michelin Guide to make Aotearoa its next culinary destination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Possible plans include inviting an inspector to New Zealand, offering a well-known chef as an on-the-ground inspector \u201cto help get the job done\u201d or, given the guide\u2019s tyre company origins, developing the ultimate foodie road trip.<\/p>\n
Filming of a documentary-style video is scheduled for February, 2024. In an internal email, a staffer notes: \u201cShould Michelin actually respond; think about responsive angles and how we might engage in social commentary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) actually want the Michelin Guide to set up in New Zealand? Or was it just looking for a reaction to post to Instagram?<\/p>\n
An \u2018earned\u2019 campaign<\/p>\n
That summer, there was a rat infestation at a Dunedin supermarket, the new coalition Government scrapped a major transport infrastructure plan to get Wellington moving and, in Auckland, a public relations company was having its own big Michelin idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore we begin … two crucial points,\u201d says the pitch from Special PR to Tourism New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis should not be an \u2018invitation\u2019 to Michelin to experience New Zealand cuisine. That is not going to succeed, which sets us up for perception of immediate failure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The headline ask is identified as \u201ca PR launch idea\/execution based on the overarching concept of \u2018Michelin star\u2019.\u201d The core of the brief is \u201ca global earned campaign that associates ourselves with or uses the Michelin Guide to elevate perceptions of New Zealand\u2019s food on the world stage\u201d.<\/p>\n
In PR speak, an \u201cearned\u201d campaign is the Holy Grail \u2013 organic, third-party coverage that builds high credibility and trust because it does not look like paid advertising.<\/p>\n
This campaign, argued Special PR, needed to contain intelligent and recognisably Kiwi humour; it should feel premium and high-quality \u201cnot just like [sic] rehash of another idea or like we\u2019re seeking approval\u201d.<\/p>\n
Special PR actually presented six ideas, but only details of the first (the one Tourism New Zealand went with), have been released to the Herald. In essence: \u201cWhat if we delivered a high-impact activation that proved we didn\u2019t need a Michelin star \u2013 because we had enough of our own?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pou-o-Kai, a pop-up restaurant with a menu devised by chef Ben Bayly, held at Castle Hill in 2024 as part of the “stargrazing” campaign that Tourism New Zealand says piqued the interest of the Michelin Guide.<\/p>\n
The rest is history, headlines, Instagram posts and YouTube videos. A month after chef Ben Bayly and team cooked crayfish and p\u0101ua for 50 puffer-jacket clad international guests, Tourism New Zealand claimed the outdoor dinner \u2013 officially titled Pou-o-Kai \u2013 had achieved $32m worth of global coverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis activation has put our starry skies and New Zealand cuisine high up on the radar of potential visitors and this is coverage we cannot buy,\u201d said de Monchy.<\/p>\n
Local media duly reported the dark skies and winter tourism angles but, in hindsight, the Michelin ask was in plain sight. <\/p>\n
The tables at Pou-o-Kai were arranged to echo the guide\u2019s famous logo; a hero video literally begins with the phrase \u201cthree Michelin stars\u201d. A week after the event, Special PR emailed Tourism New Zealand and suggested upping the ante \u2013 a direct email to Michelin, aimed at prompting a response that would make a \u201cgreat story and a natural newsworthy update\u201d. <\/p>\n
Sample wording: \u201cWe\u2019re contacting you all the way from Aotearoa New Zealand. Yes, it\u2019s far away \u2013 heck, we even got left off the Olympics map (!), but we also seem to have been left off your Michelin Guide. Wai (tears). And let\u2019s be honest, the Michelin Guide is the benchmark for world leading cuisine!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018The stars were aligned\u2019<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s unclear whether TNZ went into this whole exercise seeking collateral for a press release or an actual Michelin Guide, at least one organisation has made no secret of its three-star ambitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been one of our priorities for around 10 years,\u201d confirmed Marisa Bidois in her final week as chief executive of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand (a member-owned organisation representing 26% of the country\u2019s cafes and restaurants).<\/p>\n
\u201cMichelin is powerful because it is a globally recognised shorthand,\u201d Bidois says. \u201cIt reduces the work required to convince someone that New Zealand is a serious food destination.\u201d<\/p>\n
She recalls discussions about bringing Michelin to New Zealand back in 2016. In 2020, as the industry grappled with the impact of Covid, it was mentioned as part of a \u201cfuture of hospitality roadmap\u201d. And then, in 2024, the first Hospitality Summit was held at Parliament Buildings, in what Bidois refers to as a \u201cformal flag\u201d.<\/p>\n
That summit (involving the Restaurant Association, Hospitality New Zealand and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) covered everything from immigration policy to liquor laws to the need to boost tourism, and resulted in a list of 60 possible solutions to industry problems.<\/p>\n
Fourth from the end of the solutions list: \u201cInvest in bringing the Michelin guide to New Zealand, potentially entering negotiations with the Australian Government to share the costs of initiating market entry. Responsible parties: Tourism New Zealand, with support from the Restaurant Association.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the former, surveys show more than 80% of \u201cactive considerers\u201d (travellers with the means and desire to visit in the next three years) would consider New Zealand more if Michelin was available here.<\/p>\n
The current Government is actively chasing a return to pre-Covid visitor numbers by the end of this year. Recent figures show it\u2019s at 90% of that target, with overseas visitor arrivals hitting 3.51 million in the year to December 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stars were aligned,\u201d said Bidois. \u201cI don\u2019t know that there would have been anything else that would have potentially ticked all the boxes for investment at that point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n
A modified version of Special PR\u2019s \u201cdid you notice us yet\u201d email was sent to Michelin. The response was swift and polite. If Tourism New Zealand wanted Michelin, then Michelin wanted to talk directly, \u201cavoiding intermediaries\u201d.<\/p>\n
Late September, 2024: an internal email from Tourism New Zealand\u2019s marketing director shares the good news: \u201cThe ultimate action off the back of Stargrazing has happened. Michelin are wanting to start conversations with us to bring the Michelin Guide to New Zealand. Game changer for Food & Wine and destination New Zealand. We are [sic] off course pursuing this ASAP.\u201d<\/p>\n
In confidence. Commercially sensitive. Non-Disclosure Agreements. Discussions are dubbed \u201cProject M\u201d and \u201cProject Toru\u201d and, over the next 12 months, Tourism New Zealand prepares a business case in consultation with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, achieves sign-off from Louise Upston, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, and begins briefing in other organisations including Hospitality NZ, the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, Tataki Auckland Unlimited, Air New Zealand and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.<\/p>\n
On November 6, it is official. Michelin\u2019s global footprint is expanding into Oceania and, on June 4, we\u2019ll find out whether any of our restaurants are worthy of a star.<\/p>\n
Chef Nick Honeyman and his wife Sina, who co-own Auckland’s Paris Butter, have earned a Michelin star two years running for their restaurant in France, Le Petit Leon.<\/p>\n
That day, the Herald phoned chef Nick Honeyman. The co-owner of Auckland\u2019s Paris Butter had just finished service at Le Petit Leon, his restaurant in France where he has held one Michelin star for the past two years. Honeyman described the news as \u201can absolute gift\u201d for the restaurant industry.<\/p>\n
He also said, \u201cIn New Zealand, I chased accolades. In France, it was the first time I said \u2018let\u2019s make a restaurant and let\u2019s make it a really good one and make ourselves happy with it\u2019. And then it came. It was kind of a lesson for me \u2013 I think if you\u2019re going to just chase stars, it\u2019s a very lonely life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dissenting voices<\/p>\n
Tourism New Zealand\u2019s three-year partnership with the Michelin Guide commits $2.5m (or just under 2% of its total planned annual spend) in the current financial year, including $1.9m drawn from the International Visitor Levy. A further $3.8m from that levy will be spent over the next two financial years.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s more money than initially anticipated. An early briefing to the Tourism and Hospitality Minister indicated that while Michelin had to confirm costs, they were typically $880,000-$1.8m per year, across a three- to five-year period. The New Zealand fee was \u201clikely to be in the lower range given our size and the relative ease of travel to assess restaurants.\u201d<\/p>\n