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 Osteria Francescana has been pushed to the second Spot while the last year’s runner-up El Celler De Can Roca (2015, 2013) Girona, Spain is number 3 in the coveted list. The Danish Restaurant Noma that held the top spot for 4 years (2010-12) and 2014 is not in the list since it was closed last year. Chef René Redzepi is expected to make it back in the Top Ten list when he re-opens later this year. Similarly the rock star of the previous decade, elBulli in Girona, the first-ever winner when the Awards were announced in 2002 and then consecutively for 4 years (2006-09), is therefore not mentioned.
During the 15 years since the Awards were instituted in 2002, only 7 restaurants have found their names at the top. Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry (2004, 2003) in Yountville, Napa Valley and The Fat Duck, Bray, England (2005) are the other two. Heston Blumenthal, who owns The Fat Duck which was closed down in 2016 for repairs, has been conferred the Lifetime Achievement award. His Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London finds the 36th spot in the list.
Keller’s The French Laundry is at the 68th spot, bouncing back from 85th slot last year. It is still 10 spots ahead of the 78th position of India’s Best Restaurant Indian Accent in New Delhi, which moves up from the 87th position last year. His New York restaurant Per Se is at # 87.
Eleven Madison Park (EMP) has been ascending steadily since it was placed at the 50th position in 2010. The New York City restaurant had jumped to the no.24 spot in 2011, steadily rising to no.10 in 2012, no.5 in 2013, and no.4 in 2014. However in 2015, it slid back to 5th position. It was placed 3rd last year, behind Osteria Francescana, Modena and El Celler De Can Roca. It is the first U.S. restaurant to ascend to the top of the list since 2004, when The French Laundry in Napa Valley occupied the coveted spot. A dinner paired with wine can set you back by $1,000 at this restaurant.
The awards are independently adjudicated by the global consulting firm Deloitte. The roughly 1,500-person voting panel consists of food writers, chefs and restaurateurs, and well-traveled gastronomy experts. It included the well-known Indian author, writer and food critic from India, Rashmi Udaysingh, who kept her fingers constantly on her phone - instagramming from the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne last night.
The annual rankings are often criticised because of the organisers’ penchant for favouring tasting menus and the lack of female chef-run restaurants. Critics also feel that the organisers have a casual attitude toward judges accepting free meals and even free flights and hospitality from aggressive tourist boards. There is also not an adequate search to find out the best restaurants in the biggest countries-especially China and India where the culinary heritage and dynamism and the big population is not given adequate attention, according to Eatery.com.
No Asian, Australian, African, or South American restaurants have ever won the title of World’s Best Restaurant-the list appears to be biased towards Europe. There’s not a single African restaurant on the top 50 list this year despite the excellent reputation enjoyed by the South African gourmet food industry, the The Test Kitchen in Cape Town occupying the 63rd place, notwithstanding.
For the complete lists, see below.
World’s Top 50 World’s Top 51-100
Subhash Arora |