Osteria Francescana was crowned the World’s Best Restaurant at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards on Monday. Chef/owner Massimo Bottura opened the restaurant in Modena, Italy, in 1995. It won its first Michelin star in 2002 and by 2011 had risen to three Michelin stars. Voted the best restaurant in Italy for seven years running, this award marks the first time that a restaurant in Italy has claimed the No.1 spot in the annual ranking of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. In last year’s ranking, Osteria Francescana held the No. 2 place, after having sat in the No. 3 spot for the two prior years.
The list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, along with special awards, was announced at the annual celebration of global gastronomy, hosted at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. In addition to the restaurants that were recognized, individual chefs were lauded: French chef Alain Passard of Arpège received The Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award; Chef Dominique Crenn, owner of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, was named The World’s Best Female Chef 2016; Parisian chef Pierre Hermé won The World’s Best Pastry Chef Award; and Chef Joan Roca of El Celler de Can Roca in Spain, won the Chefs’ Choice Award.
Among U.S. restaurants, Eleven Madison Park earned the highest ranking on the list, claiming the No. 3 spot, and the New York City landmark restaurant also garnered The Ferrari Trento Art of Hospitality Award. In its inaugural year, this award was presented to Eleven Madison Park in recognition of the work of its world-renowned front-of-house team.
The U.S. boasts a total of six restaurants on the list including former One To Watch winner Saison (No.27) in San Francisco, which is one of four new entries to the list. New York‟s Estela (No.44) is also a newcomer, while Alinea in Chicago climbs 11 places on the list to No.15. New York’s Le Bernardin came in at No. 24 and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, located in Pocantico Hills, New York, ranked No. 48.
The Clove Club (No. 26) in London was awarded the Highest New Entry Award; Maido (No. 13) in Peru earned the Highest Climber Award; and for the second year, Relae (No. 40) in Copenhagen received the Sustainable Restaurant Award. The restaurant Den, in Tokyo, was named the One To Watch.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants brings together a community of extraordinary culinary talent to celebrate global gastronomy and features restaurants from 23 countries across six continents. The annual list provides a snapshot into the greatest gastronomic experiences across the globe. The 2017 awards ceremony will be held in Melbourne, Australia.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is compiled 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, and each member can cast seven votes. Of those seven, at least three votes must recognize restaurants outside of the academy member’s own region. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is independently adjudicated by professional services consultancy Deloitte.
