I am one half of a couple that approaches the Michelin Guide with caution. We use the guides – plural – when we travel around the world to find the best places to eat but there are times when what we find is fancy rather than good. Typically this happens across the whole country (Italy is a good example) and we end up ignoring advice Michelin has collected.

This approach to eating and seeking out places to do so makes me highly interested in the new release of the Japan Michelin Guide. Stars were handed out to local haunts offering newspaper wrapped fish and other delicious things not served up across a white table cloth.

Outrage always rings when Michelin Guides are launched but as they have pushed a globalization strategy across the world the cries are much louder. Accusations that restaurants are selected to engage a country (Michelin is in the business of selling tires after all) rather than for setting taste standards are shouted from the French most loudly who aim to hold their cultural identity as the worldwide taste maker. Or at least try to.

This is a globalization strategy at best. A cultural disaster at worse. And a branding issue if people are confused about who you are. If you are white table cloth and penguin dressed waiters in one market while suggesting wrapped fish in another buyers will be confused.

Taste is the ultimate cultural preference. Its not shared. You most certainly will find French chefs who classify the Japanese as “needing to acquire taste by working with the French.” You will find people from every corner of this planet who expect things to taste one way and disavow them when they taste another. Its ok to eat horse in Italy (yuck my brain is saying) but don’t try that in the US (the place my brain formed most of its opinions).

For you as the global manager — what should you do when approaching new cultures? First spend time reading up on what to expect. What can we expect when we arrive at a new location? What is good? A Michelin guide is the ultimate handbook for The Global Manager. It shows clearly what the people of that nation – specifically the people hired to rate restaurants – think is good. It tells a story about the cultural standards that have been put forward and accepted by the group.

Now you know what is good…its time to figure out if you share their vision. Everyone gets a little YUCK feeling about something when it lands on a plate. Understand what your YUCK is. And do your VERY BEST to avoid it. Try out things while at home and if possible a few days before that big customer meeting. It will flatter your host to NO END if you understand what is what on a foreign menu. I am talking major brownie points, no pun intended.

Finally, make a game plan. This means having at least 3 things you know you will enjoy and will not make you sick if you have food allergies. This will relieve your stress and will make you shine with confidence when ordering. You will show your counterparts that you get it. And they will appreciate it.

One chef quoted in this article said “I know I am old school but I have limits” when describing his horror that one Japanese restaurant selected was near a subway stop entrance. This of course makes me giggle being from NYC and having many favorit haunts that are right next door to well, a subway if your lucky in my mind. Guess he is glad not to live here.