THE WORLD’S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS LAUNCHES 50 BEST FOR RECOVERY PROGRAMME

Media Release

THE WORLD’S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS LAUNCHES 50 BEST FOR RECOVERY PROGRAMME

50 Best pivots to focus on a fund-raising drive in partnership with founding donor

S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, delivering recovery-focused digital content and a major virtual

summit in September.

The organisation behind The World’s 50 Best Restaurants is replacing its annual ranking,

awards and related events with a three-pronged campaign, entitled 50 Best for Recovery –

supporting restaurants worldwide in partnership with S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. The aim

is to provide tangible financial relief where possible, as well as create and collate helpful

resources for restaurant businesses as they emerge from the pandemic and seek actionable

advice and support.

Today it announces the 50 Best Recovery Fund, with the generous backing of founding

donor S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. The fund will be utilised to support a range of non-profit

organisations working in different parts of the globe to aid the survival and eventual revival

of the restaurant sector. Funds will be raised through donations from 50 Best’s partners as

well as a range of accessible initiatives through which diners will be able to give back to their

beloved restaurant industry.

50 Best also launches a 50 Best Recovery Hub online at theworlds50best.com/recovery –

gathering and generating content that will offer advice, information and inspiration for the

sector, as well as for food-lovers looking to play their part in sustaining and rebuilding our

industry. At the same time, 50 Best will continue to recognise the passion, skill and

determination of restaurants, chefs and their teams as they push towards reopening and

revitalisation.

50 Best will host a virtual Recovery Summit over several days in September, with a clear

focus on exploring how the restaurant world can thrive once again. Comprising a range of

events including masterclasses, talks, case studies, interviews and discussion forums, the

Summit will gather the global gastronomic community together online to share learnings,

promote best practices and explore visions of a post-pandemic world for restaurants and

diners.

After consulting with the restaurant community and analysing feedback, 50 Best has

concluded that these three pillars support the areas where restaurants require assistance

most. 50 Best for Recovery will provide essential fiscal stimulus, a source of reliable and

regularly updated information and create a focal point where the community can share its

experiences and look to the future.

William Drew, Director of Content for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, says: “With 50 Best

for Recovery, we aim to utilise our network, our relationships and our global reach to

provide tangible help to as many restaurant businesses as possible across the world. We

stand alongside our partners in supporting the gastronomic community as a whole and

fervently hope we can assist in promoting and accelerating the rebirth of restaurants of all

types after this unprecedented period of suffering. We truly believe we can and must all

work in unison to give back to the restaurant sector and ultimately help shape a fresh and

positive future.”

Over the coming weeks, 50 Best will launch a series of fund-raising initiatives to encourage

further contributions to the Recovery Fund, from corporate donors and consumers alike.

This will include a 50 Best ‘Bid for Recovery’ Auction in June, offering food lovers the

opportunity to bid for out-of-this-world gastronomic experiences from the restaurants and

chefs featured on the most recent list.

It will also publish an e-cookbook entitled Home Comforts: simple lockdown recipes from the

world’s best chefs and bartenders, which will be downloadable in return for a small

donation, as well as a #50BestRateMyPlate social media contest open to foodies across the

globe. Home cooks will be challenged to prepare dishes inspired by the cookbook, with the

best offerings judged by the relevant chefs and posted on 50 Best’s social feed. Further

details of how to participate in all these fund-raising programmes will be released prior to

each individual initiative.

The 50 Best team continues to offer its heartfelt support to all those businesses and

individuals suffering from the effects of the global pandemic. The organisation is hugely

grateful to all those in the hospitality world who are dedicating their time and skill to help

others, as well as to its partners.

50 Best would like to thank founding donor S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna for its support.

Stefano Marini, CEO Sanpellegrino Group, says: “Over the last 120 years, the Sanpellegrino

Group has always been close to the gastronomy industry family. In such a challenging time

we want to be even closer, to help it restart stronger than ever.”

The launch of 50 Best for Recovery follows the announcement in March that the proposed

event programme for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020 – which was due to take place

in Antwerp, Flanders in June – has been postponed until 2021. Furthermore, the annual list

of the world’s finest dining destinations will not be released this year in any format. Instead,

those restaurants voted onto the 2020 ranking-designate will be fully recognised in 2021,

circumstances permitting. The promotion and celebration of leading restaurants will be

more vital than ever in rebuilding confidence and excitement about eating out among the

dining public and will therefore continue to be a focus for 50 Best.

All details of the campaign will be available on the 50 Best for Recovery webpage and

Recovery Hub as they are announced, as well as via Instagram @TheWorlds50Best and

Facebook @50BestRestaurants.

Eight New Names in World's Top 50 Restaurants.

press release

El Celler de Can Roca celebrates a return to the top of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

Viva Espana

 Girona’s celebrated Roca brothers see their restaurant return to the No.1 spot

 White Rabbit in Moscow is named Highest New Entry, sponsored by LesConcierges

 Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, Spain, is Highest Climber, sponsored by Lavazza

 Sydney’s Sepia is chosen as One To Watch, sponsored by Silestone by Cosentino

 Albert Adrià of Tickets in Barcelona is The World’s Best Pastry Chef, sponsored by Cacao Barry®

 Daniel Humm wins Chefs’ Choice Award, sponsored by Gaggenau

 Relae takes the Sustainable Restaurant Award, sponsored by Pago Los Balancines

 Eight new restaurants gain a place in the 50 Best list

Last night, Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca regained its title as The S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurant. Previously the No.1 in 2013, the Roca brothers’ restaurant has continued to gain global recognition for its gastronomic prowess. The results were announced at the annual celebration of global gastronomy in London: The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants brings together a unique community of extraordinary culinary talent to celebrate global gastronomy. Featuring restaurants from 21 countries around the world across six continents, the list provides an annual barometer of the greatest gastronomic experiences across the globe.

El Celler de Can Roca was opened in 1986 by brothers Joan and Josep alongside their parents’ simple restaurant in Girona. In 2007, younger brother Jordi completed the trio that has since created a gastronomic phenomenon. Head chef Joan, sommelier Josep and 2014’s World Best Pastry Chef, Jordi Roca, have created a culinary experience which explores traditional Catalan ingredients combined with an extraordinary variety of cooking methods that stimulates diners’ senses, emotions and memories – whether via an evocative smell, an explosion of flavour or a visual trick. The food is matched with an ambitious array of wines and finished with a selection of Jordi’s magical masterpieces.

With seven restaurants in the 50 Best list, Spain has more than one reason to celebrate with Mugaritz remaining at No.6 and Tickets in Barcelona making its first appearance in the list at No.42. Albert Adrià of Tickets – and formerly pastry chef of El Bulli - is also recognised for his extraordinary talent as the 2015 World’s Best Pastry Chef, sponsored by Cacao Barry.

Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana has moved up to No.2 after two years occupying third place. Bottura’s ambitious creations are perfectly

executed and altogether enchanting, successfully balancing the demands of both heritage and modernity. Osteria Francescana is one of three Italian restaurants recognised on the list alongside Le Calandre in Rubano and Piazzo Duomo in Alba.

France boasts five restaurants in the 50 Best with Mirazur remaining at No.11 for the second year running, followed by L’Arpege in Paris which has climbed 13 places in 2015. 2013’s Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award winner Alain Ducasse celebrates a re-entry into the list at No.47 with the recently re-opened Au Plaza Athénée. 2015 also sees France’s Hélène Darroze take home the Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef Award and Daniel Boulud awarded The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award for his culinary successes around the globe.

With six restaurants on the list overall and one new entry, the USA also has many reasons to be proud of its elite restaurants. Eleven Madison Park in New York remains in the top five and claims the Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in North America title. Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns outside New York makes its first appearance on the list at No.49.

South America boasts nine restaurants from across the region on the list. Central in Lima rises 13 places to No.4 and is crowned the Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in South America. Chile, Peru and Mexico all have new entries including Boragó, Maido, Quintonil and Biko respectively.

With seven restaurants recognised in the world list, Asia features twice in the top 10 for the first time. Gaggan in Bangkok rises seven places in the world ranking to No.10 with Narisawa, from Tokyo, moving up to No.8. China also celebrates a new entry at No.24 in the form of Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet.

William Drew, Group Editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said: “It has been a hugely exciting year with such a variety of culinary talents celebrated here tonight. As the appetite for reaching new gastronomic heights continues to grow we feel privileged to play a part in this journey of discovery and are proud to bring together this unique community of extraordinary talent within the industry.”

How The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is compiled

The list is created from the votes of The Diners Club® World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of almost 1,000 international leaders in the restaurant community. The Academy comprises 27 separate regions around the world, each of which has 36 members, including a chairperson, and each member casts seven votes. Of those seven, at least three votes must recognise restaurants outside of the academy member’s own region.

The panel in each region is made up of food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded ‘gastronomes’. Members list their choices in order of preference, based on their best restaurant experiences of the previous 18 months. There is no pre-determined check-list of criteria, which helps to make the list as varied and open as possible.

This year, for the first time, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants is working with professional services consultancy Deloitte as its official independent adjudication partner. The adjudication by Deloitte will ensure that the integrity and authenticity of the voting process and the resulting list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015 are protected.