Investigating the success factors of restaurants included in the Michelin Guide in Istanbul

Restaurants have been in a constant state of change and transformation to meet the needs of people since the collective eating activities have been carried out together. Structures, production styles and themes have emerged in order to respond to the demands and needs created by changing social structures. Restaurant review organizations are one of the important elements where this change can be observed. Since the emergence of the first restaurants, restaurant rating organizations have played an important role in consumers' restaurant preferences. The Michelin Guide is one of the most prestigious restaurant rating organizations in this field. The main purpose of this study is to examine the success factors of the starred restaurants operating in Istanbul and included in the Michelin Guide. The findings obtained as a result of the study were analyzed in the form of themes and codes. These themes were evaluated under nine headings: restaurant qualities, menu, food and beverage quality, innovation and product development, purchasing and supply, service quality, price, image and Michelin Guide rating. In addition, the chefs of Michelin Starred restaurants in Istanbul, in their evaluations of the Michelin Guide, emphasized that the guide is the most prestigious guide among other restaurant evaluation organizations and that the evaluation methods are the conditions that a successful restaurant should have. The findings of the study revealed that most of the chefs who contributed to the study were trained in the culinary field and that the concept of interns is very important for restaurants. As a result of the study, recommendations were presented to restaurant chefs, owners, gastronomy experts and future studies.