Resto Awards
Freemasons Hall, Covent Garden, London, was sporting an unusual banner recently, “The World’s 50 BestRestaurants 2009” it proudly announced, attracting crowds of photographers eager to get a picture of Heston, Ferran, Raymond and Co., arriving to collect awards for outstanding creativity, food and service.
Now in its 8th year Restaurant Magazine’s 50 Best has become the “Oscars” of the restaurant awards. Sponsored by San Pellegrino, Acqua Panna, Nespresso, Electrolux, AllianceRestaurant Insurance, Laurent Perrier and supporting Action Against Hunger, committed to saving the lives of malnourished children. When the stiffie arrives on the doormat you know you’ve arrived, you’re part of international restaurant royalty.
“We’re electing the best places to eat on the planet and year after year our pool of voters expands”, explains Paul Wooton, the magazine’s editor. “To arrive at this years’ results a total of 4,030 votes have been cast by our 806 Academy members – all well-travelled restaurant commentators, chefs or restaurant owners, the world’s most polished palates bring us a precious barometer of culinary trends”, explains Wooton. “We insist on a regular turnover of voters to ensure fresh opinion and avoid bias, it might not be a perfect system but we think it’s as near as damn it”, says Wooton.
The common thread is outstanding food and service, to compile the list the world is divided into 26 regions each with a regional “chair” presiding over a panel of judges who together form, “The Nespresso Worlds’ 50 Best Academy. Each panel member is allowed 5 votes, of which a maximum of three may be for restaurants within their own region. Nobody is allowed to vote for their own restaurant!
In addition to the San Pellegrino Awards 50 Best, other gongs include the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Chef’s Choice, the Breakthrough Award and Acqua Panna Best Continental Awards. This years’ Lifetime Achievement goes to Joel Robuchon. “Does this mean I ‘ave to stop ‘ere, zat my lifetime is over? I hope not”, he said in broken English. “I still have so many ideas”, he promised the cheering crowd, pumped up by host Mark Durden-Smith.
Freemason’s Hall throbs to hard-rock music, tension builds up, there’s a lot of testosterone in the magnificent space as Durden-Smith counts down from 50 to 1. Marcus Wareing takes the Breakthrough Award and people are twittering about Gordon Ramsay, once number 2 on the list, not featuring. Alain Ducasse’s PlazaAthenee has also disappeared. His Louis XV,Monte Carlo comes in at No. 43Thomas Kellers’ The French Laundry has been overtaken by his very own super-slick Per-Se, making Keller the only chef to have two restaurants in the Top 50. Highlights include Singapore, finally breaking into the list, with Iggy’s and Austria making its’ debut with Steinereck, located in Vienna with 35,000 bottles in their wine cellar. London canteens St. John, Hakkasan and Nobu also made it into the top 50.
“When we told people we were going to create cutting edge cuisine, using local products, on an island off Copenhagen, everybody laughed, they called us seal fuckers”, grins Chef’s Choice and No. 3 Rene Redzepi of Noma. “Now who has the last laugh?”
That special moment finally arrives and the winner is: Ferran Adria of El Bulli, voted No. 1 four years on the trot. An emotional Ferran collected his award, “they asked me to be brief”, he croaked on the podium, but I will not be, I want to tell you many things, about my team who are fantastic and about our philosophy, eating is more than eating, it’s a psychological exercise as well!” That means Heston is No. 2, “his restaurant is a jewel in the UK’s culinary crown, he’s rapidly turning into our national treasure, said Durden-Smith. Heston, on his feet, looking bronzed and relaxed after his annus horribilus, cheered Ferran, gave him a salute, “maybe next year”, he grinned.
“Expect to see more accessibility and less formality from the temples of gastronomy in future”, says Joel Robuchon. “Consumers want quality, not pomp and formality”, he comments. Asked about the current economic crisis, he says not even the greatest chefs are immune from its’ effects. But, while conceding that we’re living in troubled times, he’s excited by the challenges now presenting themselves. “These situations encourage new ideas and changes, you have to reassess everything. Those that really focus will come out on top, the best will succeed, tomorrow’s world will be a better more exciting one”, he predicts.
Margaret Kemp
“We’re electing the best places to eat on the planet and year after year our pool of voters expands”, explains Paul Wooton, the magazine’s editor. “To arrive at this years’ results a total of 4,030 votes have been cast by our 806 Academy members – all well-travelled restaurant commentators, chefs or restaurant owners, the world’s most polished palates bring us a precious barometer of culinary trends”, explains Wooton. “We insist on a regular turnover of voters to ensure fresh opinion and avoid bias, it might not be a perfect system but we think it’s as near as damn it”, says Wooton.
The common thread is outstanding food and service, to compile the list the world is divided into 26 regions each with a regional “chair” presiding over a panel of judges who together form, “The Nespresso Worlds’ 50 Best Academy. Each panel member is allowed 5 votes, of which a maximum of three may be for restaurants within their own region. Nobody is allowed to vote for their own restaurant!
In addition to the San Pellegrino Awards 50 Best, other gongs include the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Chef’s Choice, the Breakthrough Award and Acqua Panna Best Continental Awards. This years’ Lifetime Achievement goes to Joel Robuchon. “Does this mean I ‘ave to stop ‘ere, zat my lifetime is over? I hope not”, he said in broken English. “I still have so many ideas”, he promised the cheering crowd, pumped up by host Mark Durden-Smith.
Freemason’s Hall throbs to hard-rock music, tension builds up, there’s a lot of testosterone in the magnificent space as Durden-Smith counts down from 50 to 1. Marcus Wareing takes the Breakthrough Award and people are twittering about Gordon Ramsay, once number 2 on the list, not featuring. Alain Ducasse’s PlazaAthenee has also disappeared. His Louis XV,Monte Carlo comes in at No. 43Thomas Kellers’ The French Laundry has been overtaken by his very own super-slick Per-Se, making Keller the only chef to have two restaurants in the Top 50. Highlights include Singapore, finally breaking into the list, with Iggy’s and Austria making its’ debut with Steinereck, located in Vienna with 35,000 bottles in their wine cellar. London canteens St. John, Hakkasan and Nobu also made it into the top 50.
“When we told people we were going to create cutting edge cuisine, using local products, on an island off Copenhagen, everybody laughed, they called us seal fuckers”, grins Chef’s Choice and No. 3 Rene Redzepi of Noma. “Now who has the last laugh?”
That special moment finally arrives and the winner is: Ferran Adria of El Bulli, voted No. 1 four years on the trot. An emotional Ferran collected his award, “they asked me to be brief”, he croaked on the podium, but I will not be, I want to tell you many things, about my team who are fantastic and about our philosophy, eating is more than eating, it’s a psychological exercise as well!” That means Heston is No. 2, “his restaurant is a jewel in the UK’s culinary crown, he’s rapidly turning into our national treasure, said Durden-Smith. Heston, on his feet, looking bronzed and relaxed after his annus horribilus, cheered Ferran, gave him a salute, “maybe next year”, he grinned.
“Expect to see more accessibility and less formality from the temples of gastronomy in future”, says Joel Robuchon. “Consumers want quality, not pomp and formality”, he comments. Asked about the current economic crisis, he says not even the greatest chefs are immune from its’ effects. But, while conceding that we’re living in troubled times, he’s excited by the challenges now presenting themselves. “These situations encourage new ideas and changes, you have to reassess everything. Those that really focus will come out on top, the best will succeed, tomorrow’s world will be a better more exciting one”, he predicts.
Margaret Kemp
Mai 2009
