The countdown is officially on for Aotearoa New Zealand’s first-ever MICHELIN Guide Ceremony

Following the MICHELIN Guide’s landmark arrival in Aotearoa last year, the official date for New Zealand’s inaugural MICHELIN Guide Ceremony has been announced, along with a link set to give audiences around the world a front-row seat to the historic reveal.

Marking MICHELIN’s first-ever expansion into Oceania, inspectors have spent recent months anonymously visiting restaurants across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown, as anticipation builds ahead of the ceremony.

With restaurants navigating ongoing economic pressure, a dramatic shift in dining habits and difficult headlines across the sector, the arrival of the MICHELIN Guide is a welcome change. An opportunity to shift focus back to the creativity, resilience and extraordinary talent shaping dining in Aotearoa, and to the manaakitanga at the heart of it all. And while anticipation will naturally centre around who, if anyone, takes home New Zealand’s first MICHELIN Star, the guide’s full selection is designed to capture excellence in a variety of forms, from restaurants “worth a special journey” to the coveted Bib Gourmand distinction, awarded to venues serving good quality food at a moderate price.

The New Zealand MICHELIN Guide Ceremony will officially take place on Tuesday, June 30 at the New Zealand International Convention Centre. To watch the awards live, tune in from 5PM below:

If, like me, you armed yourself with a glass of red and inhaled every episode of Apple TV+’s Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars, you’ll know there is a particular thrill in trying to guess what MICHELIN inspectors are looking for. The restaurant selection in New Zealand will be made according to the MICHELIN Guide’s historic methodology, with anonymous MICHELIN Guide Inspectors evaluating restaurants against five universal criteria: 

• The quality of the ingredients
• The mastery of cooking techniques
• The harmony of flavours
• The personality of the cuisine
• Consistency over time and across the menu

These experienced inspectors conduct rigorous evaluations independently and objectively, without influence from any third-party stakeholder or partner. This dedication to impartiality ensures external factors do not influence the results.

“After nearly a year of inspections, we are proud to recognise the talent and passion shaping New Zealand’s dining scene. While we apply the same standards globally, our Inspectors are trained to recognise excellence in all its forms - from refined fine dining to simple, authentic experiences. Our Inspectors have been impressed by the diversity, quality and authenticity found across the four regions, as well as the warmth and generosity that define cuisine in Aotearoa New Zealand.” - Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the MICHELIN Guide