Opinionated About Dining this evening announced the list of the top 100+ European Restaurants for 2017. Alain Passard, French chef of L'Arpege in Paris topped the list followed by Andreas Caminada of Andrea Caminada in Furstenau, Switzerland and Faviken of Magnus Nilsson. Surprisingly, the list does not include any European restaurants from the Top 100+ Classical & Heritage Restaurants which was released earlier this year. In fourth place was Eneko Atxa's Azurmendi while De Librije, Jonnie Boer's restaurant in Zwolle, the Netherlands placed 5th. The OAD list claims to be the only restaurant ranking system that determines the experience level of the people contributing reviews to the site. Each reviewer is assigned a weight that reflects the number of restaurants he/she has visited and those restaurants' rank on the OAD list. "While this system affords anyone who would like to participate the opportunity to do so, the final rankings reflect the opinions of reviewers who … [Read more...]

Bilbao, in the Basque region of Spain, will host the 2018 World's 50 Best restaurants award. The World's 50 Best Restaurants announced it will be working in partnership with the Government of Biscay to bring its event to a region of Spain that is known for its outstanding food. The 2018 will mark a return to Europe after the successful editions in Australia earlier this year and in New York in 2016. The move to Spain forms part of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ global tour, which it kicked off in 2016 following 13 years of the awards being held in the UK. The announcement was made at a Basque brunch hosted at Eneko at One Aldwych in London, attended by award-winning chefs including Elena Arzak, Brett Graham, Isaac McHale and Eneko Atxa. Charles Reed, Group Managing Director of William Reed Business Media, the company that owns The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, was joined at the event by the President of the Government of Biscay, Unai Rementeria Maiz. William Drew, Group … [Read more...]

After the success of Atelier Frites Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Belgium, Sergio Herman has set his eyes on opening in London according to Big Hospitality. The website which covers the UK market said that they understood that Sergio Herman had instructed property agents to look for places in central London with the aim being to open the first Frites Atelier in London by the end of the year or the beginning of next year. Earlier this year, Sergio Herman opened the first Frites Atelier Amsterdam, a french fries chain in the Belgian city of Antwerp on Friday, the first outside the Netherlands. Later this year another Frites Atelier will open their fifth shop. This time it will be in Amsterdam after the successful opening of the shops in The Hague, Utrecht and Arnhem. The mission of Atelier Frites  is to turn the humble potato and this common fast food into something good. Herman has been researching potatoes to find the best varieties that he will use for the chain and the … [Read more...]

Noma Mexico has just opened its doors. The pop-up restaurant which took one year of planning has come into fruition. Rene Redzepi, chef of the Copenhagen world renowned restaurant that closed its doors at the end of 2016 to reinvent itself later this year in a new format said on his Instagram feed that "the restaurant is looking amazing". The staff have transformed a plot of jungle into an outdoor restaurant. They have built a 32 metre long kitchen and settled 145 staff members, including spouses and children. Redzepi said: "Thank you Mexico for having us and making us feel so incredibly welcome." The restaurant, in Tulum, Mexico will run for seven weeks and is open until May 27 during which time they will be open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday. The outdoor open-air restaurant is nestled between the jungle and the Caribbean Sea in Tulum. Exposed to the climate, it will be hot, steaming and unpredictable. It will be wild like the Mexican landscape as we share our … [Read more...]

Eleven Madison Park in New York, the restaurant of chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara has been named the best restaurant in the 2017 list announced today by The World's 50 Best Restaurants. This year’s winners were revealed at an awards ceremony at the historic Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. Last year's number one Osteria Francescana of chef Massimo Bottura placed second while El Celler de Can Roca of the Roca brothers placed third. This year's list features nine new restaurants, six making their debut and three returning to the list as re-entries. France, Spain and the United States each could six restaurants on the 2017 list. The highest climber in the list is Blue Hill at Stone Barns which rose 37 places and is now in 11th place. Mauro Colagreco's Mirazur rose to fourth place continuing the Italo-Argentinian's chefs rise while Central, Virgilio Martinez's restaurant in Lima, Peru finished in fifth place. Martinez was recipient of the chef's choice award. Now … [Read more...]

More than 21,000 people have signed an urgent new Care2 petition to save Ron Finley’s urban farm in South Central L.A.  The petition, launched by two natural food giants - Actress Nell Newman, founder of Newman's Own, and John Foraker, President of Annie’s Homegrown - started the petition to save Finley’s “gangsta garden” after learning that Finley only has seven days to save the small strip of city land in front of his residence from foreclosure.  The petition calls on Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, and Strategic Acquisitions Inc, the company behind the foreclosure, to take action to save Finley’s organic farm, located in South Central L.A.’s food desert. “What Ron has done is incredible, really,” Foraker said. “His vision for a healthier world has not only provided nourishment, it has bolstered a community. I hope the support of my Care2 petition will convince the property owner that Ron’s project is valuable and ought to stay.” After the previous owner of Finley’s property … [Read more...]

The seventh edition of Dispensa, a biannual independent bookazine created in 2013 by Martina Liverani has just been published. The main theme of this edition is childhood. As adults we all like to think of our childhood and also of the dreams, the sincerity and honesty of children. Martina Liverani writes about a nine year old girl who is taken to dinner at Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana and reports  about the experience. She tried the fois gras ice-lolly, a famous dish of Bottura. She was then served with Tortellini in a creamy Parmigiano Reggiano sauce. "Had you ever had tortellini like these?" she was asked. "I can taste the Parmesan and the tortellini, but the meat not so much. The sauce is the nicest. I'd eat it every day, they are the nicest toretellini I've ever tasted in my whole life." There are articles about the Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle and chefs have been asked to reveal their dreams from the past. The ones who answered Dispensa are Antonio Marras, … [Read more...]

This year’s 51-100 list of The World’s Best Restaurants welcomes 11 new entries after the number of overall votes was significantly expanded. The diversity of the list is enhanced by the wider reach of the voting Academy in 2017. The list released today includes restaurants from 24 countries with the USA leading with nine restaurants. Spain and France count four entries each. The highest new entry is Disfrutar (No. 55) in Barcelona which this year also won the One to Watch award. The 2017 list includes debuts from Mexico (Sud 777, 75), USA (Atelier Crenn, 83), Russia (Selfie, 88), South Korea (Mingles, 89), Denmark (Kadeau, 94), Japan (Sushi Saito, 97 and Florilège, 99) and Brazil (Olympe, 100). Hiša Franko in Kobarid, Slovenia, is also among the first-time entries. Fronted by Ana Roš, named The World’s Best Female Chef 2017, Hiša Franko placed 69th. New York’s Momofuku Ko makes the most significant climb, rising 39 places. Among the nine USA restaurants in the 51-100 list, … [Read more...]