The Culinary Lists That Decide the World’s Best Restaurants

What is the Michelin Guide?

History

In 1900, the Michelin tire company created a free guide for motorists, filled with handy information such as maps, locations to find gasoline, and places to eat and sleep. In 1920, the guide was expanded and revised, selling for seven francs (approximately $21); the star system was launched in 1926. Today the guide rates more than 30,000 establishments across three continents (in the U.S. it covers New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Washington, D.C., and Florida). The Michelin Guide moved to a digital format in 2020, and all content is again available for free, so anyone can explore all the Michelin-rated restaurants across the globe.

Judges

The global teams of inspectors are comprised of former hospitality professionals of various ages and backgrounds with at least 10 years of experience. “Our inspectors aren’t critics,” says Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides. “They are skilled at assessing international gastronomic scenes and finding the best talents. Restaurants are visited several times during a year by different inspectors who remain strictly anonymous, to ensure that they experience the restaurant as any other guest would.” The methodology consists of five universal criteria: quality of products, harmony of flavors, mastery of cooking techniques, personality of the chef in the cuisine, and consistency between each visit. This is the same worldwide, ensuring that the quality of a starred restaurant in Tokyo is the same as that of a starred restaurant in New York.

Praise

Current U.S. restaurants that have been awarded three stars by Michelin include Alinea in Chicago, Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, and Le Bernardin in New York City.

What are The World’s 50 Best Restaurants?

History

The list first appeared in 2002 as a feature in Restaurant magazine. The next year, an annual awards ceremony was organized, gathering the most extraordinary group of chefs on the planet. Held in London until 2015, the event then moved to New York (2016), Melbourne (2017), the Basque Country (2018), Singapore (2019) and Flanders (2021). The eagerly awaited results are published online at theworlds50best.com.

Judges

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy contains 27 regions around the world, each headed by a chairperson who selects 40 regional people to vote. This group includes leading chefs, restaurateurs, food journalists and critics and well-traveled gourmets, who vote for establishments they have enjoyed during the previous 18 months. Anonymity is essential.

Praise

In 2019, a Best of the Best list was created for those restaurants that have repeatedly been named number one in the world, an everlasting elite that are no longer eligible for competition. The current list includes El Bulli (Spain), The French Laundry (California) and Eleven Madison Park (New York). In 2022, Copenhagen’s Geranium was named number one in the world, followed by Central in Lima, Peru, and Disfrutar in Barcelona, Spain.

What are The Best Chef Awards?

History

Created by Polish neuroscientist Joanna Slusarczyk and Italian gastronomist Cristian Gadau in 2015, The Best Chef seeks to unite the leaders of gastronomy in a common space where the old guard shares the core of their craft with the next generation, who in turn discuss new ways to evolve culture through food and ingredients. In 2017, the platform created The Best Chef Awards, an event first held in Warsaw, then Milan, Barcelona and, this year, Madrid. The awards celebrate individual chefs and are intended to inspire younger generations. According to Slusarczyk, “We are a community where chefs exchange knowledge and ideas, aiming to showcase new culinary talent.”

Judges

The list is compiled by 120 food journalists, bloggers and photographers, the 100 top chefs from the previous edition, and 100 newly invited chefs.

Praise

Dabiz Muñoz of Madrid’s DiverXO was named 2022’s Best Chef in the World for the second year in a row. In second place was René Redzepi of Copenhagen’s Noma, followed by Joan Roca of Catalonia’s El Celler de Can Roca. American chef Antonio Bachour was named Best Pastry Chef in the World, also for the second consecutive year.

What are the James Beard Awards?

History

Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards aims to celebrate and elevate the people behind America’s food culture and champion a standard of good food anchored in equity and sustainability. The awards are named for the man dubbed the “dean of American cookery” by The New York Times. Beard laid the groundwork for the American food revolution and hosted the first culinary television program in 1946.

Judges

The awards are chosen by more than 600 experts in the fields of cuisine and media.

Praise

Among the 2022 winners were Chris Bianco of Phoenix’s Pizzeria Bianco and Tratto (Outstanding Restaurateur), Mashama Bailey of Savannah’s The Grey (Outstanding Chef), and Chai Pani in Asheville (Outstanding Restaurant).