Michelin Mindful Voices has no equivalent for this profile — oriri does.

Michelin Mindful Voices vs oriri for Culinary Professionals

In 2026, Michelin is in the process of retiring the Green Star and has launched Mindful Voices — an editorial platform that tells stories about sustainability in gastronomy, hospitality, and wine (read Michelin’s announcement). The profiles are written by Michelin's editors about people they select. oriri starts from a different question: what if everyone who makes gastronomy happen already has a voice worth amplifying — not just the chef on the cover, but the kitchen team behind them, the small producer who supplies them, the shop that carries their values on a shelf? Mindful voices are everywhere in food — not only in selected kitchens. oriri gives a platform to producers, kitchen teams, culinary professionals, shops, and foodies whose voices carry the same weight. This comparison is here to help you understand those differences clearly and decide which model best fits your values, needs, and way of working. When Mindful Voices profiles a restaurant's sustainable commitments, it names the head chef. The kitchen porter, the line cook, the sommelier, the front-of-house team — they are invisible. On oriri, “culinary professionals” means everyone working in and around food in a professional capacity.

Comparison details

What is Michelin Mindful Voices?

Michelin Mindful Voices is an editorial platform launched in 2026 to replace the Green Star. Rather than awarding a distinction, it publishes profiles of individuals selected by Michelin's in-house editorial team — chefs, hoteliers, and wine producers described as “rewriting the rules.” The content is written by Michelin's editors and distributed through their app, website, magazine, and live events. To appear on Mindful Voices, you must be noticed by an inspector and then selected for editorial profiling. There is no application, but there is selection.

The invisible team

Mindful Voices profiles individual “Voices” — in gastronomy, that typically means the head chef. Critics have noted that this approach makes invisible the people who actually execute sustainable practice every day: kitchen porters managing waste separation and composting, line cooks applying portion control and reducing trim waste, front-of-house staff communicating sourcing policies and handling single-use plastic elimination. A restaurant's ethical commitments are a team discipline, not a solo achievement. oriri does not single out one person. Everyone who works in and around food — in the kitchen, front of house, or behind the scenes — has a place on oriri.

Who is it for?

Mindful Voices profiles selected individuals connected to Michelin-rated establishments. If you work in a kitchen — as a line cook, kitchen porter, pastry chef, or front-of-house professional — Mindful Voices will not profile you, and neither will most guides. oriri creates space for everyone who makes gastronomy happen professionally: kitchen and front-of-house teams, educators, consultants, sommeliers, food writers, chefs working outside traditional restaurant settings. If your work is rooted in food, you have a place on oriri.

Access and selection

To be featured on Mindful Voices, you must be found by a Michelin inspector during an evaluation visit and then selected for profiling by the editorial team. There is no path to apply or to build your presence independently. On oriri, access is open. You join, build your profile, and your visibility grows through the quality of your work and the relationships you build in the community. No inspector needs to notice you for your story to be heard.

Cost

Michelin Mindful Voices is a free editorial platform — but you cannot choose to be on it. oriri is free to join and free to build your presence. During our launch phase, oriri is entirely free. If paid features are added later, they will be optional and designed to remain accessible. As a steward-owned initiative, value is reinvested through the oriri foundation rather than serving shareholder returns.

Independence and governance

Michelin is part of the Michelin group, a publicly listed multinational with an expanding portfolio across luxury verticals (Michelin Keys for hotels, Michelin Grapes for wine). oriri is fully independent and steward-owned. We are rooted in Belgium with a wider European ambition and answer to the mission — not to shareholders. Value is reinvested through the oriri foundation to support the food ecosystem.

What each platform is built for

Mindful Voices is an editorial format — profiles written by Michelin’s editors, distributed through Michelin’s app, website, magazine, and live events. oriri does not start from editorial curation. We start from a practical question: how do we make it easier for people who care about food to find each other, support each other, and tell their stories? That includes the producers who have never been in a guide, the kitchen team whose names never appear on a menu, the shop carrying exceptional products with no PR budget, and the foodie who wants to eat well without having to know the right people.

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