SAN DIEGO — California’s annual Michelin Guide ceremony can be fraught with anxiety for chefs and restaurateurs. After all, it’s the night when they discover whether their restaurants gain, maintain or, in the worst-case scenario, lose a Michelin star, one of the culinary industry’s most coveted honors. But at Wednesday night’s event in San Diego, there was nary a hint of competition.
Instead, the overwhelming feeling was one of community.
At an opening cocktail reception on the curved covered terrace at Eve, an indoor-outdoor waterfront event venue, the vibes were immaculate. Sun poured onto the covered terrace and bounced off the bay below. Attendees dressed to the nines milled around, enjoying passed bites like Thai spring rolls and glasses of sparkling wine. Some of the best-known chefs from all over California hugged and talked shop, having spent years cooking, collaborating and dining together in the rarified world that is California fine dining. Many stopped at a signature Michelin red step-and-repeat to snap a pic with the puffy, permanently jolly Michelin Man, who made the rounds for photo ops…