Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana reclaims the No.1 spot in The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2018

BILBAO, Spain, June 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

• Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, is revealed as The World's Best Restaurant, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna
• The 2018 list includes restaurants from 23 countries worldwide and features nine new restaurants: six making their debut and three returning to the list as re-entries
• Den in Tokyo, Japan, wins the Highest Climber Award, sponsored by Lavazza, rising 28 places to the No.17 spot
• Disfrutar in Barcelona, Spain, is announced as the Highest New Entry, sponsored by Aspire Lifestyles, debuting on the list at No.18
• Dan Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, USA, is voted by his peers as the winner of the Chefs' Choice Award, sponsored by Estrella Damm
• Geranium in Copenhagen, Denmark, wins The Ferrari Trento Art of Hospitality Award
• Azurmendi takes home the Sustainable Restaurant Award, sponsored by Dekton® by Cosentino
• French chef Cédric Grolet wins The World's Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Sosa
• Pre-announced special award winners accepting their accolades include:
• London-based chef Clare Smyth, winner of the elit® Vodka World's Best Female Chef Award 2018
• Gastón Acurio from Peru, honoured with The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award 2018
• Californian restaurant SingleThread, winner of the Miele One To Watch Award 2018
• Taiwanese chef Jessie Liu, collecting the inaugural 50 Best BBVA Scholarship

Global stars of the restaurant world gathered this evening (19 June 2018) for The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2018 awards, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, held at Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, Spain. The awards, which saw 23 countries across six continents honoured with a place on the list, culminated with the announcement of a new No.1, with chef patron Massimo Bottura taking to the stage to collect the award for his Modena restaurant, Osteria Francescana.

Osteria Francescana, which previously held the No.1 position in 2016, was joined in the top three by El Celler de Can Roca (No.2), in Girona, Spain, and Mirazur (No.3), in Menton, France. The top spot for Osteria Francescana is testament to Bottura's continued commitment to driving forward the restaurant's unique character. The discreet Modena restaurant serves Bottura's contemporary cuisine, which challenges and reinvents Italian culinary tradition while making use of the finest produce from the Emilia-Romagna region.

William Drew, Group Editor of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, said: "We applaud all those involved in this list of inspiring restaurants, which is constantly redrawing and reflecting the global gastronomic map. We are also thrilled to see Osteria Francescana return to the top spot in The World's 50 Best Restaurants ranking this year."

Spain boasts seven restaurants on the list, including three in the top 10: El Celler de Can Roca (No.2); Mugaritz (No.9) and Asador Etxebarri (No.10). The USA follows closely with six restaurants on the list, including last year's winner Eleven Madison Park in New York (No.4).

France has five restaurants on the list, with two in the top 10: Mirazur in Menton (No.3) and Arpège (No.8) in Paris, and the UK and Italy are represented by four restaurants each. Peru, with three restaurants in the list, includes two in the top seven alone: Central (No.6) and Maido (No.7), both in Lima.

Having received the Miele One To Watch Award in 2017, Disfrutar in Barcelona continues its rise by winning the 2018 Highest New Entry Award, sponsored by Aspire Lifestyles, debuting at No.18. Meanwhile Den, in Tokyo, Japan, picks up the 2018 Highest Climber Award, sponsored by Lavazza, having jumped from No.45 to No.17 in just one year.

Odette in Singapore is another notable new entry at No.28, having opened less than three years ago. Hiša Franko, Slovenia's first restaurant on the list, debuts at No.48, representing another triumph for Ana Roš, the 2017 winner of The World's Best Female Chef Award.

Mikla in Istanbul (No.44) represents Turkey's first restaurant on the list since 2002, and Maaemo in Oslo (No.35) brings Norway back onto the list for the first time since 2003. Lyle's in London is also a newcomer, debuting at No.38. Nihonryori RyuGin, from Tokyo, Japan (No.41), Schloss Schauenstein from Fürstenau, Switzerland (No.47) and The Test Kitchen from Cape Town, South Africa (No.50) have all re-entered the list.

Dan Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, USA (No.12), wins the Chefs' Choice Award, sponsored by Estrella Damm. The Chefs' Choice Award is bestowed on an individual believed by their peers to have made the most significant contribution to the industry over the last year and is a testament to Barber's innovative work and commitment to the debate around food ethics.

The Ferrari Trento Art of Hospitality Award goes to Geranium from Copenhagen, Denmark (No.19). Co-founder Søren Ledet, an award-winning chef, made the transition from the kitchen to the restaurant floor when founding Geranium and as the sommelier and front of house manager has propelled the restaurant to the highest standards of hospitality.

Azurmendi from Larrabetzu in the Biscay region of Spain (No.43) wins the Sustainable Restaurant Award, sponsored by Dekton® by Cosentino. Led by head chef Eneko Atxa, Azurmendi previously won this award in 2014 and this year's achievement recognises the restaurant's continual improvements in sustainable practices. These include planting 800 trees around the restaurant and developing a project with local families and bars to turn their organic waste into compost for the region's farmers.

French sensation Cédric Grolet receives The World's Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Sosa. Head pastry chef at Le Meurice, Paris, part of The Dorchester Collection, Grolet has this year spearheaded Le Meurice's Pastry Boutique and continues to create waves by integrating gastronomy and art with his unique pâtisserie and trompe l'oeil fruit creations.

The voting process
The World's 50 Best Restaurants list is independently adjudicated by professional services consultancy Deloitte. This adjudication ensures that the integrity and authenticity of the voting process and the resulting list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2018 is protected. The list is voted for by more than 1,000 international restaurant industry experts and well-travelled gourmets who make up The World's 50 Best Restaurants Academy. The Academy comprises 26 separate regions around the world, each of which has 40 members, including a chairperson. None of the event's sponsors has any influence over the voting process.

The World's 50 Best Restaurants channels

• Twitter: @TheWorlds50Best #Worlds50Best
• Facebook: @50BestRestaurants
• Instagram: @TheWorlds50Best
• YouTube: Worlds50Best
• Website: theworlds50best.com

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Notes to editors

William Reed Business Media
Organised by William Reed Business Media, The World's 50 Best Restaurants list has been published since 2002. William Reed Business Media is solely responsible for organising the awards, collating the votes and producing the list.

About the host partner: Biscay
Biscay, including its Bay, is the largest province of the Basque Country. While it is rooted in tradition, its capital Bilbao has an aura of modernity that astounds those who discover it. Visitors are welcomed to a land where gastronomy has always been the ultimate social experience and food forms the very basis of social fabric: from the daily pilgrimage of groups of friends and families from tavern to tavern to taste the hundreds of different kinds of 'pintxos,' to the rituals of the local gastronomic societies also known as 'txokos'. Biscay is now witnessing the birth of a new generation of Basque cuisine, and food-loving visitors will feel they are finally 'coming home.'

About the main sponsor: S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna
S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna are the main sponsors of The World's 50 Best Restaurants. S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna are the leading natural mineral waters in the fine dining world. Together they interpret Italian style worldwide as a synthesis of excellence, pleasure and well-being.

Other partners

• Miele – Premium Partner, Official Kitchen Appliance Partner and Presenting Partner of #50BestTalks; sponsor of the Miele One To Watch Award
• elit® Vodka – Official Premium Vodka Partner; sponsor of the elit® Vodka World's Best Female Chef Award
• BBVA – Official Bank Partner; sponsor of the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship
• Diners Club International® – Official Credit Card Partner; sponsor of The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award
• Ferrari Trento – Official Sparkling Wine Partner; sponsor of the Ferrari Trento Art of Hospitality Award
• Lavazza – Official Exclusive Coffee Partner; sponsor of Highest Climber Award
• The Dalmore – Official Scotch Whisky Partner
• Grana Padano – Official Cheese Partner
• Estrella Damm – Official Beer Partner; sponsor of Chefs' Choice Award
• Sosa – Official Ingredients for Chefs Partner; sponsor of The World's Best Pastry Chef Award
• Beronia – Official Wine Partner
• Dekton® by Cosentino – Official Worktop Partner; sponsor of the Sustainable Restaurant Award
• Aspire Lifestyles – Official Concierge Partner; sponsor of Highest New Entry Award
• Cinco Jotas – Official Ibérico Ham Partner
• Gin Mare – Official Premium Gin Partner
• OpenTable – Official Booking Platform Partner
• Seafood from Norway – Official Seafood Partner
• Seedlip – Official Premium Non-Alcoholic Spirit Partner
• Calia – Official Specialty Grocer Partner
• Jaén Selección – Official Olive Oil Partner

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• Sustainable Restaurant Association – Sustainability Audit Partner
• Farm Africa – Official Charity Partner
• Deloitte – Official Independent Adjudication Partner

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SOURCE The World's 50 Best Restaurants