The World's 50 Best Restaurants this week celebrated 15 years at the forefront of the culinary world by hosting a unique day of gastronomic discussion and celebration, presented by Miele, in Barcelona, Spain. The event brought together world-renowned chefs Ferran Adrià, René Redzepi, Joan Roca, Massimo Bottura and Daniel Humm, each of whom has had a restaurant at No.1 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants over the last decade and a half.
A special gastronomic feast was curated by Ferran Adrià, whose restaurant El Bulli was the first ever No.1 in 2002, at the Bravo24 restaurant in the W Barcelona hotel. Chefs, media and VIPs from all over the world gathered to celebrate the growth and influence of The World's 50 Best Restaurants over its 15-year history, with guests including Gastón Acurio from Peru, Richard Ekkebus from Hong Kong, Mauro Colagreco from France, Vladimir Mukhin from Russia and many more.
The afternoon of gastronomy was a true fiesta with a host of Barcelona-based and former El Bulli chefs creating Adrià's contemporary take on global tapas. The final piece was a remarkable 2m-high cake that was created to mark the unique occasion.
William Drew, Group Editor of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, said: "It is fitting that our 15th Anniversary celebration, presented by Miele, brought together a community of great chefs and restaurateurs – led by five of the most influential chefs of the modern era – not only to mark our collective journey but to look firmly to the future. The World's 50 Best Restaurants lists, awards and overall brand have come a long way in the last 15 years, and we look forward to continuing that development. We certainly have plenty more to offer!"
In 2002, The World's 50 Best Restaurants was born as a simple feature idea in a small specialist magazine. It morphed into an awards ceremony in 2003 and grew up to become a giant of the gastronomic world. Over the last 15 years it has evolved from the original list that was created with the help of around 70 people to a sophisticated process with more than 1,000 voters spread across the world and generating a worldwide media storm around the announcement of the list.
The World's 50 Best Restaurants has been on a sensational journey and as it celebrates the 'superchefs' who have helped shape the global culinary landscape over the last 15 years, it is clear that the future of food, restaurants and gastronomy is in great hands.
This historic gathering in Barcelona celebrated both the past and the present and raised a glass to the future, with each of the world-beating chefs outlining his personal vision for the future of gastronomy at the special edition of #50BestTalks, hosted at Barcelona's Antigua Fábrica Estrella Damm.