A fresh view born from food journalism
Gault&Millau grew out of restaurant writing by journalists Henri Gault and Christian Millau in the 1960s. Their publishing venture took shape in 1969, with the first French restaurant guide appearing in 1972. Instead of treating grand surroundings as the primary signal of merit, they foregrounded flavour, presentation, imagination and emerging culinary talent.
The publication evolved into an international gastronomic reference. Its first Türkiye edition appeared in 2023. Gault&Millau is independent of the MICHELIN Guide and follows its own assessment and award system. See the organisation's history.
How do scores and toques work?
Gault&Millau assesses restaurants on a scale of 20 and expresses ratings through the toque, a chef's hat symbol. In the international scale, 10–10.5 points denote an original selected table; 11–12.5 earn one toque; 13–14.5 two; 15–16.5 three; 17–18.5 four; and 19–19.5 five toques.
Türkiye's 2026 ceremony announced one- to four-toque categories. The exact categories and special awards should be checked for each national edition. Points and toques describe the same Gault&Millau assessment, but cannot be converted numerically into MICHELIN Stars. See the official scoring guide. For the separate Star system, read MICHELIN vs Gault&Millau.
Does Gault&Millau recognise people as well as restaurants?
Yes. Alongside restaurant scores, the Türkiye 2026 edition recognised sommeliers, sustainability work, service and chefs through separate special awards. A personal award must not be mistaken for the restaurant's toque classification.
The Türkiye 2026 ceremony took place at Çırağan Palace Kempinski on 8 December 2025 and introduced a 'HÔTEL Sélectionné' category. It underlined the connection between restaurant quality and wider hospitality. The local organiser's announcement records the categories.
How should restaurants communicate an award?
Publish the selection year, actual ceremony date, score and toque level separately. Saying that the 2026 edition was announced in December 2025 prevents a common timeline error. Where a sommelier or sustainability award is involved, name its recipient and category precisely.
Operators can then review their website and booking information to reflect the announcement. Rezervem Manager supports reservation and table operations; it does not take part in Gault&Millau's evaluation or award decisions.
