n TASTE
STAR SEARCH
Can a California guide boost Sacramento’s chances of nabbing a Michelin star?
BY Daniel Barnes PHOTOS: Debbie Cunningham
A
Brad Cecchi, the chef at Canon in
Sacramento, previously worked at
a Michelin-starred restaurant.
30
comstocksmag.com | April 2019
fter several weeks of rumors, two
years of lobbying from Visit Sacra-
mento and over a decade of fruitless
attempts by local chefs to capture the at-
tention of the most influential food guide
in the world, Michelin finally rolled into
town in March.
In a press event at the Golden 1 Cen-
ter in Sacramento, attended by lumi-
naries including Michelin-starred chef
Thomas Keller as well as the Michelin
Man, the announcement came that Sac-
ramento restaurants would be included
in an upcoming California version of the
guide to fine cuisine. The Paris-based
tire company has published a San Fran-
cisco Bay Area & Wine Country edition
since 2007, but despite the city’s emerg-
ing food scene, no Sacramento-area
restaurant ever made the guide.
The Michelin Guide awards one,
two or three stars to fine-dining estab-
lishments that offer impeccable quality
and flavor, technique, personality, value
and consistency. Famous for their ano-
nymity, Michelin reviewers have already
snuck through town to evaluate some
of Sacramento’s fine-dining establish-
ments. Any restaurant awarded a Mi-
chelin star becomes a worldwide food
tourist destination overnight, but just
being in the conversation brings a new
level of credibility to the Sacramento
dining scene.
“One of the things we’ve learned in
working with the folks at Michelin is that
they have hard numbers about tourism
that’s increased because of restaurants
having stars,” says Mike Testa, presi-
dent and CEO of Visit Sacramento. “Just