The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, a list famous for its historic exclusion of top female chefs; for its bias toward expensive, European-leaning tasting menu venues; and for not requiring judges to pay for their meals, has named its 2018 winner. Much to the surprise of no one, the victor is a European male chef who’s already won the prize. Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana, the avant-garde Italian tasting temple that made an appearance on Aziz Ansari’s Master of None, has returned to the top of the rankings.
The three-Michelin-starred venue, famous for quirky preparations like “Autumn in New York” and “Oops, I Dropped the Lemon Tart,” first reached the No. 1 spot two years ago but was unseated by New York’s Eleven Madison Park.
El Celler de Can Roca in Catalonia took the No. 2 spot, while Mirazur in Southern France moved up to No. 3. Eleven Madison Park, which was closed for renovations for four months in 2017, dropped to No. 4.
One of the most prominent developments isn’t who rose to the top of the rankings again, but rather who was left out again: Atelier Crenn. Chef Dominique Crenn was named the list’s “Best Female Chef” in 2016, an odd and offensive award not just for its mere existence, but because Crenn didn’t even appear in the top 100 that year. She debuted on the long list at No. 83 in 2017, but this year she dropped off the list entirely.
Crenn herself has blasted 50 Best for gender inequality, criticized the female chef award as “stupid,” and accused the organization of treating women like “sport.” The two-Michelin-starred chef was not at the ceremony, but rather attended a charity event in Rochester, New York, raising money for women’s health and pediatric services.
Before the awards, Crenn posted the following quote from entertainment attorney Nina Shaw on Instagram: “I don’t need you to include me from what you excluded me from. We are not diversity we are normal. I want you to normalize your side til it looks like our side and recognize we should have been there all along.”
Clare Smyth, who was awarded Best Female Chef this year for her solo debut at Core in London, was also left off the list.
“For the last 10 years of my career I’ve been asked, ‘What is like to be a female chef?’ to which I reply, ‘I’m not sure what you mean, because I’ve never been a male chef,’” Smyth said in a speech that touched on gender equality and improving the work environment in kitchens. She said she was honored to receive the award, but also acknowledged the debate over whether it should exist in the first place.
The number of female chefs (or co-chefs) on the list increased from last year’s three to five: Central by Pia León and Virgilio Martínez, Arzak by Elena and Juan Mari Arzak, Hiša Franko by Ana Ros, Cosme by Daniela Soto-Innes and Enrique Olvera, and Nahm by Pim Techamuanvivit (it should be noted that Techamuanvivit assumed the top chef job this spring, likely after the voting had already ended).
“It’s all about girl power tonight,” said Mark Durden-Smith, one of the announcers. It was an unfortunate comment not just because of his use of the word “girls,” but because only two of the restaurants on the list, Nahm and Hiša Franko, are run without male co-chefs.
Another awkward moment came before the readout of the list. After an announcer presented Jessie Liu, an aspiring chef from Taiwan, with a 50 Best scholarship, he suggested she might become an accountant one day; he walked back those comments quickly.
This is the first year the list has been published since the onset of the #MeToo movement, which has involved accusations of sexual harassment against some of the highest-profile U.S. chefs and restaurateurs. The World’s 50 Best organization has been largely silent on this issue.
Noma 2.0 was left off the list as it didn’t open in time for voting.
The 2018 World’s 50 Best Restaurant List
This post will be updated throughout the afternoon and evening as the list is unveiled.
1. Osteria Francescana (Modena, Italy)
Chef: Massimo Bottura
Last year’s rank: 2
Average cost: €250-€270
2. El Celler de Can Roca (Girona, Spain)
Chef: Joan Roca
Last year’s rank: 3
Average cost: €165-€195 (USD $184-$218)* 2015 pricing.
3. Mirazur (Menton, France)
Chef: Mauro Colagreco
Last year’s rank: 4
Average cost: €110-€210
4. Eleven Madison Park (New York City)
Chef: Daniel Humm
Last year’s rank: 1
Average cost: $315 (service-included)
5. Gaggan (Bangkok, Thailand)
Chef: Gaggan Anand
Last year’s rank: 7
Average cost: THB 6,500
6. Central (Lima, Peru)
7. Maido (Lima, Peru)
8. L’Arpege (Paris, France)
9. Mugaritz (Errenteria, Spain)
10. Asador Etxebarri (Axpe, Spain)
11. Quintonil (Mexico City, Mexico)
12. Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Pocantico Hills, New York, USA)
13. Pujol (Mexico City, Mexico)
14. Steirereck (Vienna, Austria)
15. White Rabbit (Moscow, Russia)
16. Piazza Duomo (Alba, Italy)
17. Den (Tokyo, Japan)
18. Disfrutar (Barcelona, Spain)
19. Geranium (Copenhagen, Denmark)
20. Attica (Melbourne, Australia)
21. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée (Paris, France)
22. Narisawa (Tokyo, Japan)
23. Le Calandre (Rubano, Italy)
24. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet (Shanghai, China)
25. Cosme (New York City, USA)
26. Le Bernardin (New York City, USA)
27. Boragó (Santiago, Chile)
28. Odette (Singapore)
29. Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen (Paris, France)
30. D.O.M. (São Paulo, Brazil)
31. Arzak (San Sebastian, Spain)
32. Tickets (Barcelona, Spain)
33. The Clove Club (London, UK)
34. Alinea (Chicago, USA)
35. Maaemo (Oslo, Norway)
36. Reale (Castel Di Sangro, Italy)
37. Restaurant Tim Raue (Berlin, Germany)
38. Lyle’s (London, UK)
39. Astrid y Gastón (Lima, Peru)
40. Septime (Paris, France)
41. Nihonryori RyuGin (Tokyo, Japan)
42. The Ledbury (London, UK)
43. Azurmendi (Larrabetzu, Spain)
44. Mikla (Istanbul, Turkey)
45. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (London, UK)
46. Saison (San Francisco, USA)
47. Schloss Schauenstein (Fürstenau, Switzerland)
48. Hiša Franko (Kobarid, Slovenia)
49. Nahm (Bangkok, Thailand)
50. The Test Kitchen (Cape Town, South Africa)
Best Female Chef: Clare Smyth (Core by Clare Smyth, London)
Chef’s Choice Award: Dan Barber (Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, New York)
Best Pastry Chef: Cédric Grolet
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gastón Acurio
Art of Hospitality Award: Geranium (Copenhagen, Denmark)
One to Watch: Single Thread (Healdsburg, California)
BBVA Scholarship Winner: Jessie Liu (Taipei)
Sustainable Restaurant Award: Azurmendi (Larrabetzu, Spain)
Highest New Entry: Disfrutar (Barcelona, Spain)
Highest Climber Award: Den (Tokyo, Japan)
(CNN) — If there's ever a bad night to eat out -- not including that time you ordered those mussels -- it's the one when all the planet's top chefs skip work to find out if their restaurants have finally been named the world's best.
This year, culinary masterminds from five continents gathered in the Spanish port city of Bilbao for an award ceremony to name the 50 best fine dining joints for 2018 and, most importantly, crown a champion.
For 2018, the top prize went to Italy's Osteria Francescana and head chef Massimo Bottura , whose dazzling and sometimes surreal reworkings of classic Italian recipes saw him return to the top spot he first held in 2016.
There were few other surprises in the top three of the World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards, with last year's third placers and 2015 winner El Celler de Can Roca , taking second place and France's Mirazur , fourth last year, take third.
Eleven Madison Park -- the 2018 winner which spent part of the year closed for renovations -- was bumped down to fourth.
"We built this together," Bottura told the packed auditorium of the Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, where many of his contemporaries were gathered. "I'm not going to disappoint you, I'm going to show the world that chefs in 2018 are much more than the sum of their recipes if we stay together. "
'Human workplaces'
l e v a r t
While European eateries continued to dominate the awards, known as the Oscars of the fine dining world, all five continents were represented, with Bangkok's Gaggan at five on the list and Lima's Central at six.
Also notable was the continuing domination of men at the top of the gastronomic game. The World's 50 Best Restaurants' prize for female chef of the year is often criticized for its shortcomings in addressing this.
This year's recipient, Clare Smyth of London's Core restaurant, took the opportunity to raise the issue while also speaking to wider concerns of welfare among overworked kitchen employees.
"I'm constantly being asked why we have a lack of female chefs, why we don't see more women represented at the top level ... and why don't we have more diversity," she said. "I don't have the answers."
She said the industry needed to create better working environments and make restaurants an equal and "more human workplace for both men and women."
"We must draw a line under this and make sure we clear a path for the next generation. I for one can't wait until we achieve equality and the debate moves on."
Other significant prizes included the Lifetime Achievement Award, which went to Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio of Astrid y Gastón . France's Cédric Grolet won Best Pastry Chef and Spain's Azurmendi took a prize for sustainability.
According to organizers, the results were compiled from an "independent" voting panel of 1,000 judges that were subject to adjudication.
The prize ceremony began with tributes to culinary legends who have passed in the preceding year. Among them Gualtiero Marchesi, the first Italian chef ever to receive three Michelin stars, and French "pope of gastronomes" Paul Bocuse.
Anthony Bourdain, the CNN presenter, writer and chef who often railed against the kind of fine dining establishments celebrated by the awards, was also remembered.
"His honesty, his determination and his stubborn truth telling changed our industry for the better," said William Drew, group editor of the World's 50 Best Restaurants.
The world's 50 best restaurants
4. Eleven Madison Park (New York City) *best restaurant in North America*
5. Gaggan (Bangkok) *best restaurant in Asia*
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Massimo Bottura’s restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy was named the world’s best restaurant yesterday evening at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards.
Bottura’s three-Michelin-starred establishment was followed in second place by El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, and by Mirazu in Menton, France in third place.
Bottura, looking slightly dazed, talked from the platform while his wife and close collaborator Lara Gilmore looked on from the front row: “It’s such an amazing feeling, to be in the middle of such a group of people, that I share incredible projects [with] that just five years ago wouldn’t be possible," he said.
