Michelin Coup Signals New Era of German Cuisine

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/michelin-stars-signal-new-era-of-german-cuisine-a-867191.html

Contemplate German food. It's a sea of brown and white characterized by meat and potatoes, sausage and bread, and cabbage that's been fermented until all the color has drained away. German cooking is often described with the rustic adjectives herzhaft and deftig, or "hearty" and "hefty." It's thought of as comfort food, not fine dining.
But in the last few years, at least as far as the haute cuisine kingmakers at the Michelin Guide are concerned, Germany has bucked this stereotype to become an anointed powerhouse of European gourmet cuisine. With the 2013 "Michelin Guide," unveiled at a ceremony last week in Berlin, the number of two-star restaurants in Germany has doubled in the last two years, from 18 to 36.