Thetrainline.com has launched an infographic showing where all the Michelin starred restaurants that serve lunch are up and down the country. Yes it is shiny and yes it is colourful, but what purpose does it serve and will those travelling by train put it to good use?
A preamble conveniently provided with the infographic reads: "For passionate foodies, Michelin star food is right up there with the finer things in life."
"The Guardian describes the Michelin guide as 'the Bible of Gastronomy.' But these elite dining experiences might not be as far out your reach as you may think."
The infographic brings together a lot of information in a way that is easily digested (no pun intended) and also clear for the purposes of comparison. Regions are colour co-ordinated on the map with the restaurants in that area and the first things to notice is that there is quite a lot of red - on the list of restaurants, not on the map that is.
Yes, that small red smudge on the map is London and thetrainline.com's plan to get people to travel to a variety of Michelin starred restaurants by train may come a cropper here. A large number of them are in the capital and more startlingly there are absolutely none in Northern Ireland. This may present an interesting niche in the market, but the chances are that most of those who use the useful resource will try out a restaurant in London or travel to the one nearest to them.
What is for sure is that despite only covering Michelin star restaurants the infographic could be a useful resource. The relative lengths of the coloured bands show the prices in comparison to each other and the star rating enables at a glance to see those which are at the very high end. And it does prove that an affordable lunch can be obtained at a Michelin star restaurant after all.
