Brad Cecchi, left, pictured at the 2018 Tower Bridge Dinner, is the chef at Canon, one of three Sacramento restaurants to receive a Bib Gourmand from Michelin in 2019.
Three Sacramento restaurants – Canon, Frank Fat’s and Mother – earned Michelin Bib Gourmands Michelin announced Tuesday in advance of an event next week where it will be announced whether any Sacramento restaurants receive the coveted Michelin Star.
“It’s a great honor for the community and a testament to the work of our talented chefs and the level of Sacramento’s restaurant scene.” said Mike Testa, president and CEO of Visit Sacramento. “It signals to potential visitors that Sacramento’s restaurants are worth traveling for.”
A Bib Gourmand designation is a high honor. Michelin stars are largely associated with fine dining, but the Bib Gourmand ensures that restaurants in all price ranges can be recognized for their quality.
“Since 1997, ‘good quality, good value restaurants’ have been pointed out using the Bib Gourmand award,” according to the Michelin Guide website. “The price limit for ‘Bib’ consideration varies from country to country, depending on the cost of living. It’s not just about the price though – the cooking has to be good quality too.”
Chef Brad Cecchi of Canon in East Sacramento greeted the news Tuesday with excitement.
“The recognition from Michelin is pretty awesome,” he said. “We’re very excited to see the recognition this brings to Canon and to Sacramento.”
He added that receiving a Bib Gourmand comes as a result of doing great work day-in and day-out, and the prospect of progressing to a star rating in the future is just added incentive to strive for continued quality.
Michelin inspectors judge restaurants on five criteria: quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavour and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef in his cuisine, value for money and consistency between visits.
Michelin will release its California statewide guide next month, and Tuesday’s announcement signals some of the top restaurants to be included from the Sacramento region.
“Our inspectors were very impressed by the diversity of cuisine and culinary trends that they have seen across the Bib Gourmand selection in California, and it’s great to see that many of these restaurants take advantage of the fantastic local produce available throughout the state,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides.
