29-04-2014
Massimo Bottura with wife Lara in London on Monday April 28th on the occasion of the 2014 edition of the World's 50 Best Restaurants sponsored by S.Pellegrino&Acqua Panna. The chef from Modena came third in the world, for the second year in a row
The World's 50Best flag
Massimo Bottura, third place, and wife Lara
Massimo Bottura
Spanish selfie: left to right, journalist Lara Rivas, Quique Dacosta, Joan Roca and Andoni Luis Aduriz
Massimo and Lara Bottura
Jordi, Joan and Josep Roca, moved back to the second place with their Celler de Can Roca in Girona
Gaston Acurio, Astryd y Gaston, Lima (Peru), 18°
Enrico Crippa
Fergus Henderson of St. John, received the 2014 lifetime achievement award
Inaki Aizpitarte of Chateaubriand in Paris (27th) and Davide Scabin of Combal.zero (51st)
Elena and Juan Mari Arzak, restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, eighth
Yoshihiro Narisawa, Narisawa in Tokyo, 20°
All is set for the celebrations in London’s Guildehall
Raffaele Alajmo maitre at Le Calandre (46th) and Pascal Barbot of Astrance in Paris (38th)
Enrico Crippa, 39th with his Piazza Duomo sits next to Giuseppe Palmieri and Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana
The first place is announced
Renè Redzepi and his team celebrate the fourth first position (2010-2011-2012-2014)
René Redzepi. On his right, Noma’s pastry chef Rosio Sanchez
Redzepi, V for victory
What is left of the 12th edition, the day after the 50 Best ? First of all, one has to wonder how come René Redzepi’s Noma has once again come first in the world, even though I understand that making sense out of things is always harder than criticising randomly. Moreover, one has the feeling of having watched the same film for the hundredth time. Of course there have been some news, starting from the change at the top, with the Danish chef returning in first position at the expense of the Roca brothers’ Celler de Can Roca, and then Spain, moving slowly backwards, or the growth of Daniel Humm who is now close to the podium, in fourth position. It is the format, however, that after some time has lost its vigour.
Brazilian Helena Rizzo, of Manì, awarded best female chef in 2014
The same happened yesterday at the 50 Best. There are restaurateurs and chefs who know perfectly well they will never get to the top ten, let’s not mention the podium, but are already happy to be there, ready to hang the plaque at the entrance of their restaurant: you can sense it and it makes you sad. These are the stars coming from other parts of the world, outside Europe and the United States, coming from South America and Asia, places to which the organisers are so sensitive they have recently created a continental version of the 50 Best. In the top 10, Alex Atala with Dom, 7th, is the exception. The podium is totally European (Noma-Celler-Francescana), then there are two restaurants from the US (Eleven Madison 4th and Alinea 9th), two Spanish ones (Mugaritz 6th and Arzak 8th) and two English ones (5th Dinner and 10th Ledbury). After all, one can widen the number of finalists in the world football championships as much as he wants, but then the winners are always from Europe or South America.
The embrace shared by Bottura and the Roca brothers (photo by Luciana Bianchi)
For the Danish chef a quote by the great Serbian coach Vujadin Boskov, who passed away on April 27th, applies: “Champions see highways where others see a path”. It is Redzepi’s vision that is winning. The Spanish chefs, no matter how truly talented and great they are, only represent the long wave of Adrià’s revolution. The news now comes from Northern Europe, their lichens. Spaniards have made the French grandeur retire, freeing new forces that others can use in their own way.
Left, Eneko Atxa, his Azurmendi, the best sustainable restaurant in 2014. Third from the left, Quique Dacosta, a Valencian veteran at number 41 and fourth there’s Peruvian Virgilio Martinez, the author of the highest leap, to the 15th place (+35)
The events you cannot miss and all the news of topical interest from the food planet
by
born in Milan in March 1955, at Il Giornale for 31 years dividing himself between sports and food, since 2004 he's the creator and curator of Identità Golose. blog www.paolomarchi.it instagram instagram.com/oloapmarchi