Chef Kei Kobayashi made history Monday by becoming the first Japanese chef to win the maximum three Michelin stars in France.
The 42-year-old, who was born in Nagano, admitted that his perfectionism can make him a "difficult person" to work with as he picked up the award in Paris.
He opened his restaurant, Kei, in centre of the French capital, nine years ago, and already had two Michelin stars.
The Michelin guide was born when brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin, founders of the eponymous tyre company, brought out a travel guide in 1900 to encourage motorists to take to the road and so boost business.
There were fewer than 3,000 cars in France at the time.
Initially free, the red guidebook included maps, a how-to on changing tyres and lists of petrol stops, mechanics, hotels and eateries along the route.
The first run of 35,000 copies was such a success that guides for Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Spain followed.
The three-star ranking for restaurants was introduced in 1931.
In 2005, the Michelin Guide branched out of Europe with a New York guide, followed in 2007 by editions for San Francisco then Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
It moved to Asia with a Tokyo version in 2008 when 90,000 copies, in English and Japanese, flew off the shelves in 48 hours.
More than 30 million Michelin Guides have been sold, according to its website.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
