It is turning out to be a magical year for Mauro Colagreco. Mirazur, his restaurant in Menton was named the number 1 restaurant at the World Restaurants Awards in Singapore.
The top spot may not have come as a big surprise. The Italo-Argentinian chef of restaurant Mirazur in Menton, France has been a rising star for the past years and the only question everyone was asking was whether Noma would make it straight to number 1 or not given El Celler de Can Roca, Eleven Madison and the previous number 1 Osteria Francescana where no longer eligible for the award (see my comments here).
Finally, the decision landed on Mauro Colagreco’s restaurant which crowns a spectacular period for the always smiling chef who also received a third Michelin star a few months ago.
By giving the award to Mauro Colagreco, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants has also made a statement as Mirazur becomes the first ever French restaurant to top the list. In the top 10 there is also Alain Passard’s L’Arpege in 8th position. There are 5 French restaurants in the top 50.
Mauro and his wife Julia thanked their team for helping Mirazur reach the summit. “We did it thanks to the love and work of our teams and the loyalty of our customers, suppliers and all people who helped to write the history of our dear Mirazur.”
The top five positions were a triumph for Copenhagen in Denmark with Noma and Geranium placing second and fifth respectively.
Rene Redzepi welcomed the number two position and congratulated his colleagues from Geranium for being voted five. “But the biggest congratulations goes out to a great friend of mine, and one of the best cooks I know, Mauro Collagreco and whole team at Mirazur!”
As the vegetable season starts at Noma, Rene Redzepi, whose restaurant was eligible because it reopened in a different location (see post here on my thoughts) decided to not go to Singapore for the awards despite the possibility of a very top placing.
In third place was Asador Etxebarri, a restaurant in Atxondo which has slowly but surely risen to the very top of the attention of food lovers world wide for a unique approach to cooking with fire.
In fourth place is Gaggan in Bangkok, Thailand followed by Geranium in Copenhagen in fifth place.
The top 10 positions are dominated by Spain, France, Denmark and Peru with no entries surprisingly from Italy and Japan. Italy’s performance was particularly disappointing with lower positions for the two entries in the list Piazza Duomo in Alba and Le Calandre in Rubano.
The highest climber this year was Eneko Atxa’s Azuzrmendi which placed in 14th position.
Spain took 7 places in the top 50 list and one can also note the rise of Disfrutar which placed 9th in the list.
Belgian restaurant Hof Van Cleve returned to the top 50 position in 43rd.
The diversity issue has not been solved despite a voting panel made up of 50 per cent male and 50 per cent female for the first ever time. In the top 50, there were only two new female chefs on the list, Leo’s Leonor Espinosa in Colombia and Atelier Crenn. That’s 5 out of 50.
1. Mirazur – Menton, France
2. Noma – Copenhagen, Denmark (Highest New Entry)
3. Asador Etxebarri – Atxondo, Spain
4. Gaggan – Bangkok, Thailand
5. Geranium – Copenhagen, Denmark
6. Central – Lima, Peru (Best Restaurant in South America)
7. Mugaritz – San Sebastián, Spain
8. L’Arpège – Paris, France
9. Disfrutar – Barcelona, Spain
10. Maido – Lima, Peru
11. Den – Tokyo, Japan
12. Pujol – Mexico City, Mexico (Best Restaurant in North America)
13. The White Rabbit – Moscow, Russia
14. Azurmendi – Larrabetzu, Spain (Highest Climber)
15. Septime – Paris, France
16. Plaza Athenée – Paris, France
17. Steirereck – Vienna, Austria
18. Odette – Singapore
19. Twins Garden – Moscow, Russia
20. Tickets – Barcelona, Spain
21. Frantzen – Stockholm, Sweden
22. Narisawa – Tokyo, Japan
23. Cosme – New York, New York
24. Quintonil – Mexico City, Mexico
25. Pavillon Ledoyen – Paris, France
26. Boragó – Santiago, Chile
27. The Clove Club – London, United Kingdom
28. Blue Hill at Stone Barns – Hudson Valley, New York
29. Piazza Duomo – Alba, Italy
30. Elkano – Geteria, Spain
31. Le Calandre – Rubano, Italy
32. Nerua – Bilbao, Spain
33. Lyle’s – London, United Kingdom
34. Don Julio – Buenos Aires, Argentina
35. Atelier Crenn – San Francisco, California (New entry)
36. Le Bernardin – New York, New York
37. Alinea – Chicago, Illinois
38. Hiša Franko – Kobarid, Slovenia
39. A Casa do Porco – São Paulo, Brazil (New entry)
40. Tim Raue – Berlin, Germany
41. The Chairman – Honk Kong
42. Belcanto – Lisbon, Portugal
43. Hof Van Cleve – Kruishoutem, Belgium
44. The Test Kitchen – Cape Town, South Africa (Best Restaurant in Africa)
45. Sühring – Bangkok, Thailand
46. De Librije – Zwolle, The Netherlands
47. Benu – San Francisco, California (New entry)
48. Ultraviolet – Shanghai, China
49. Leo – Bogotá, Colombia (New entry)
50. Schloss Schauenstein – Fürstenau, Switzerland
Art of Hospitality Award: Den in Tokyo, Japan
Chef’s Choice Award: Alain Passard of L’Arpege in Paris, France
World’s Best Female Chef: Daniela Soto-Innes of Cosme in New York, New York
World’s Best Pastry Chef: Jessica Préalpato of Plaza Athenée in Paris, France
Icon Award: José Andrés of ThinkFoodGroup in Washington D.C.
One to Watch: Lido 84 in Gardone Riviera, Italy
BBVA Scholarship Winner: Andersen Lee
Sustainable Restaurant Award: Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, Switzerland
You can find the list from 51 to 120 here.
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