Restaurant magazine’s acclaimed “World’s Best Restaurants Awards” have been published and the ultimate accolade has been bestowed on a new overall winner – Copenhagen’s Noma.
It breaks El Bulli’s stranglehold on the title and affirms a new dining epicentre in a country that isn’t typically associated with haute cuisine.
Run by 32-year-old Rene Redzepi (above) the award is a tremendous accolade for such a young chef, as Paul Wootton, editor of Restaurant, acknowledged: “This year’s list is an exciting one that highlights in particular the wealth of young, dynamic chefs bringing new ideas to the world of gastronomy.”
“René Redzepi’s rise to the top shows that the Academy members who vote are keen to recognise this new wave of talent rubbing alongside those with more established international fame.”
Located in an 18th century shipping warehouse, most of the dishes are served by the chefs themselves and feature obscure ingredients that are largely unknown outside the Nordic region. Specialising in cold climate cuisine, a particular triumph is radishes in edible soil.
El Bulli’s four-year stint at the top was also enough to ensure that head chef, Ferran Adria, was conferred the chef of the decade, while Heston Blumenthal‘s Fat Duck in Bray completed the top three. Furthermore, Blumenthal (below) also picked up the ‘Chef’s Chef’ title, an award voted for by his peers – and indicative of his standing within the professional community.
The best, dining hotspot in Asia was claimed by Les Creations de Narisawa in Tokyo.
