A French restaurant has claimed the top spot in the annual World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards for the first time in the event’s 18-year history.
Three-Michelin-starred Mirazur, run by Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco in the French Riviera town of Menton, was crowned the winner at a ceremony in Singapore on Tuesday, The Independent reports.
The BBC reports that Mirazur was praised by the panel of expert judges for dishes “including salt-crusted beetroot from its own garden with caviar cream”, while the Independent includes reference to “eggs from the chicken coop with smoked eel and hazelnuts and a brioche of potatoes with melting egg and white truffle”.
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Last year the restaurant placed third in the rankings, and its climb to first place saw it replace Italy’s Osteria Francescana in top spot.
Colagreco said he felt like he “was in the sky” after hearing the news, which “showed the world when you have a dream all is possible”.
This year’s judging panel pushed for more diversity, “both from an outside perspective and from inside the previously male-dominated European awards”, says the Independent.
The result is a top 50 list that features restaurants from 26 countries, with Italy, Japan, China, Thailand and Russia each getting two restaurants on the list, while Leo became the first Colombian restaurant awarded a spot.
But this shift also saw the UK suffer a sharp decline in representation, with only two restaurants making the cut - The Clove Club in 27th and Lyle’s in 33rd. Both restaurants are in the London district of Shoreditch and are run by two chefs who used to work together.
Adam Coghlan, the editor of Eater London, told The Guardian: “For me, it doesn’t say much about how good London restaurants are.”
Described by some experts as the restaurant world’s answer to the Academy Awards, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is one of the most prestigious rankings in the gastronomy industry. The BBC says that the awards “now rival the famous Michelin stars, although some experts question the methodology”.
Here is the top ten:
- Mirazur - Menton, France
- Noma - Copenhagen, Denmark
- Asador Etxebarri - Axpe, Spain
- Gaggan - Bangkok, Thailand
- Geranium - Copenhagen, Denmark
- Central - Lima, Peru
- Mugaritz - San Sebastian, Spain
- Arpege - Paris, France
- Disfrutar - Barcelona, Spain
- Maido - Lima, Peru
