Something for the Weekend #23
Bringing in some structure. Are Saudi and Michelin perfect for each other? Instagram Channels. A bumper week for Eats, Writes & Substack Reads. So sit back & enjoy a little Something for the Weekend.
Bringing order to chaos.
Dipping into Substack was both cathartic and adventurous. It’s a more creative, personal outlet vs what I do elsewhere. It lets me write about subjects that do not neatly fit within a publisher’s purview or on EatGoSee.
It's been a petri dish: a place to experiment, to publish, to gain feedback and learn from a well-intentioned Substack community.
And what a community! I've discovered edifying voices that I may not have heard elsewhere.
That’s invaluable.
But the overlap between my various outlets has become messy, and a year largely away from writing gave me room to ask: what is this Substack for?
After much internal wrestling, I’m going to test the following structure:
SFTW
This pivots towards opinion-first, columnist-style entries with some personal updates.
Amused Bouches.
Bite-sized wrap-ups where an 800-word+ review is far-fetched.
Uninvited Opinions.
Reviews explicitly not from press trips or invitations. Whether something is gifted or not rarely influences me, but I know it matters to many of you, and my perceived integrity matters to me.
Reviews.
The space for invited, PR-linked or media-related coverage.
Mini Series.
Occasional short runs on topics I want to explore in depth.
That is the plan, until I inevitably change it again ;o)
I’m not committing to a rigid cadence. Publishing consistency is not my strong suit; I juggle a demanding job, a small child, paid commissions (which win as a priority because they pay), plus everything else that makes up an adult life.
What do you think? I throw myself to the counsel of the Substack Elders for their thoughts.
Do Saudi Arabia and Michelin deserve each other?
The last time I pressed my toes into Saudi Arabia was in 2018. Riyadh’s centre was a construction site during my visit to both Riyadh and Jeddah Tower was still a pipe dream.
Saudi Arabia’s dining scene in 2018 was nothing to write about.
Jeddah’s fine dining apotheosis was a Crowne Plaza’s sushi bar dispatching a maki roll-studded maruko-bune billowing with dry ice.
In Riyadh, two law firm partners recommended Noodle House, a culinary high ground on par with Wagamama, when I asked for good restaurants within walking distance.
A lot has changed since.
Saudi’s Vision 2030, the IMF-approved antidote to diversify fossil fuel-dependency, kickstarted a revolution under the knuckle-dragging uncompromising grip of MBS.
Women can drive and appear unveiled in public; Khalid Abdullah Finance District opened, rivalling Dubai’s DIFC; tourist visas opened; foreign investment laws loosened; NEOM was announced.
Vision 2030 would drag Saudi Arabia into the future. Build it and they will come.
And so they did.
Dubai-based and international hospitality groups flooded in to ride the wave (and grab the bag) of Saudi 2.0.
Saudi Arabia’s reputational recalibration is essential to its success, lubricated by oil money, new laws, new glass, sportswashing, hotels and new messaging, waterblasting its battered international perception.
Step forward the Michelin Guide.
Michelin needs money, and Saudi Arabia needs Michelin’s red cover. These two wounded birds don’t just deserve each other; they need each other.
The Michelin Guide now openly acknowledges the financial requirements to fuel its expansion. One does not have to labour the point to see the symmetry: a state impatient for prestige and global validation meets a Guide whose business model now depends on destinations willing to pay for the stage on which it performs.
And the symmetry is not conjecture. It is confessed.
Bloomberg reported this week that Michelin confirmed it accepts “payment from government-run tourism boards to review restaurants and hotels” during its Michelin Keys announcement last week. The New York Times reported that as much as $1.5 million is the price of Michelin bestowing itself in your town.
The veil dropped, as The Straits Times reports:
“The reality is that we need these partners because what we do is costly,” said Michelin’s chief international business development officer Julianna Twiggs, pointing to the cost borne by Michelin of inspector teams flying around the world, staying in pricey hotels and eating multiple times in top restaurants.”
Ms Twiggs goes on to proffer reassurance that money does not buy stars. Michelin does not bestow itself at tourist boards waving cheques, as a mark of Michelin’s integrity. Dubai, we are told, took seven years to come to fruition, as Michelin felt Dubai was not ready.
And now, Saudi staggers its rollout, a soft-focus unveiling of a curated microsite that looks like the composite dreamscape of a tourism board aching to depict the Kingdom as a place you should want to eat dinner.
But, honestly? The website looks beautiful.
Many terse words are written about the Michelin Guide, its integrity and relevance today. Equally, ink is spilt by the gallon about Saudi Arabia's “look here, not over here” smoke and mirrors campaign. The Michelin Guide is its latest muse.
This is not happening in a vacuum. Arab Gulf Business Insight reported in July 2025 that the Saudi government introduced 17 new standards for “fine dining” licenses, from banning drive-thrus to requiring valet parking and dress codes as part of a campaign to upgrade restaurants and lure Michelin stars.
This is Vision 2030: rebrand the state, court tourists, purchase legitimacy, rehabilitate the outsider’s gaze. The Michelin Guide’s arrival is simply the latest instrument in that programme, because food tourism means money.
Now, I'm under no illusions that the World’s 50 Best, La Liste, and others are hardly stainless in the credibility department. But Michelin’s blushing fig-leaf has slipped; its holier-than-thou pastiche is more than dented; it’s cracked.
I sympathise that its mission is costly and nothing in life is free, but I find it untenable that Michelin is resilient against the crushing boot wishes of a Pied Piper with a penchant for calling the tune. (Remember Istanbul, anyone?)
Ultimately, Saudi gets the sheen it wants; Michelin gets the underwriting it needs. The exchange is almost as elegant as it is cynical. That they deserve each other does not make either more defensible, only more exposed.
Instagram channel.
I started an Instagram Channel! I tried to do this before, but I was unable to do so. Instagram's rollout of new features is very inconsistent, and often, I see others being able to do things long before I can. It’s also called Amused Bouches as a space to share bite-sized musings and links to my writings from time to time.
I would love for you to join—click the link here!
Eats and Writes.
I published a write-up about Tramontemagno—a small hilltop bar in Montemagno is quietly reviving Piemonte’s affections for vermouth with a dash of resplendent views.
I published a call to action for us to Rediscover Moscato, a grape that not only deserves our attention, but might be exactly what people need.
Rediscovering Moscato.
University was my first known encounter with Asti Spumante where, circa 2001 inside Arena nightclub in Exeter, someone (who I’ll never remember) told me to tell the DJ it was my birthday (it was).
Great Substack Reads.
This is the biggest list yet!
Let’s start with a special shout-out to Anna Ansari whose book, Silk Roads, arrived at my house on Friday night. I am still reading about her father’s near-mystical melon powers (page 3, basically).
Hani AlMalki wrote clearly about The Price of Prestige: Why Restaurant Awards Are Broken and How to Build a Trustworthy New System.
Andy Lynes also wrote passionately about the Michelin Guide in the wake of Knife Edge, with some focus on the Saudi Arabia guide (please also read this more holistic piece).
Marshall Manson met with the great Andy Hayler over lunch at The Ritz, natch.
Sanjay Varman reminds us that Tandoor Tina has still got it.
Giulia Scarpaleggia melted the place where my heart would be when talking about her daughter, Livia.
Normal London Bloke left me in stitches with his piece about the 2025 Frieze Sculptures.
Justin Myers unpacks Madonna’s return to form with Human Nature.
Jimi Famurewa hath risen with a bumper Selection Box.
The Usuals.
You can find out more about me here, together with my Substack page.
Flick through my Dubai Restaurant Guide here.
Find weekend inspo in one of Dubai’s best breakfast spots.
Visit the best spots in Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Dubai Hills, two Dubai dining IYKYK hotspots IMO.
Some of the world’s Greatest Dining Spaces.
Find me on Substack, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky or Facebook.
Liam is a restaurant critic, food and travel writer based in the Middle East. He owns EatGoSee and contributes to other publications.
Amused Bouches FTW! Love the name.
Legend! Thanks for the mention. Curious about the Saudi's Michelin bid. Maybe I live under a rock but don't they absolutely need the booze margin for anything to be viable there?