The best job in the world? What it’s like to be a Michelin inspector

by · Australian Financial Review

Jill DupleixFood writer
Sep 25, 2026 – 5.00am

Solo diners have done very well in Adelaide since it was announced that there will be a Michelin Guide to South Australia. Anyone who turns up for a booking for one has been quietly scrutinised by staff. Is it an inspector paying a visit, or just a local punter out for a meal?

“Do you think he’s one?” I asked the sommelier at Alanna Sapwell’s Esmay in Adelaide recently, pointing to a bespectacled gentleman sitting on his own at the bar ordering a multitude of dishes. “We’re keeping an eye out, just in case,” she confided.

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Jill DupleixFood writerJill Dupleix is AFR Magazine's culinary editor.

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