Glamour, intrigue, controversy and the planet’s most talented culinary chefs gathered last night at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Hotel to attend the 18th iteration of ‘The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ sponsored by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. The annual event, which launched back in 2002, aims at highlighting the diversity of the world’s culinary arts. The winners are elected based on a panel of more than 1,000 culinary experts combined with a structured and audited voting procedure.
Unlike previous years, this year’s new rule changes constituted a welcome change for restaurants that have never made it to the top spot. On the other hand, those that have (7 thus far), could no longer qualify, leaving room for just about everyone else.
The rule change, industry experts speculate, is a diversity initiative. Furthermore, an equally noteworthy rule states that restaurants, which relocated their physical location are also disqualified from the top spot. On a different note, this rule, some believe is intended to dispel years of criticism surrounding the award as being biased toward white European male chefs.
To the surprise of many, Mauro Colagreco’s Mirazur, a two-Michelin star restaurant located at the French Riviera and bordering Italy set an unprecedented win for being the award’s first-best French eatery. It is most renowned for its salted beetroot with caviar cream. (See picture below)
Other notable changes saw the organizers removing previous winners from this year’s list, a decision presumed to further promote a bigger ‘turnover’. The 2019 winners saw five female-run restaurant chefs with the honorary title of ‘World’s Best Female Chef’ going to North-Irish Chef Clare Smyth. Enrique Olvera’s Pujol in Mexico City won the top ranking of all nominated North American restaurants and Leo became the award’s first Colombian restaurant to make the list.
Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector.
Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC).
She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book.
She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter.
Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler.
It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.
