50 Best – the umbrella organisation overseeing The World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking and awards sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna – has announced major changes and launches for the year ahead, including a brand new Best of the Best list, a gender parity policy and more.

 

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A post shared by The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants (@theworlds50best) on Jan 16, 2019 at 4:44am PST

While 50 Best will continue to champion the world’s finest restaurants and bring together the largest community of chefs and global gastronomic leaders, the organisation will also implement these initiatives going forward:

• Refreshed voting eligibility that will bring a new dynamic to the results: all restaurants that have topped the ranking will then enter a dedicated list (Best of the Best), which sits parallel to the 50 Best Restaurants list, and thereafter will no longer be featured in the annual ranking.
• The Best of the Best programme will be launched in June 2019 at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, welcoming all previous number one restaurants – including Massimo Bottura’s reigning number one, Osteria Francescana.
• 50 Best will institute a gender parity policy, beginning with its global voting panel in 2019, which includes more than 500 female experts, chefs, food writers and food lovers, making up 50% of the total voting academy.
• 50 Best will also launch a new platform later in the year, mapping the world with the best dining and drinking destinations that have been nominated by the 50 Best voters.

 

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The new Best of the Best list will comprise all restaurants that have been ranked number one in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list over its 17-year history. This means that both past and present holders of the title of The World’s Best Restaurant won’t be eligible to appear in the 2019 list or beyond. The restaurant voted number one at the 2019 awards will retain that position for one full year before being elevated to the Best of the Best list.

The following restaurants have been named number one in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants since the list’s inception and will therefore not be eligible for voting in 2019 or beyond:

• El Bulli in Spain (2002, 2006-2009)
• The French Laundry in the United States of America (2003-2004)
• The Fat Duck in England (2005)
• Noma in Denmark (2010-2012, 2014)
• El Celler de Can Roca in Spain (2013, 2015)
• Osteria Francescana in Italy (2016, 2018)
• Eleven Madison Park in the United States of America (2017)

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Luke Dale-Roberts of The Test Kitchen in Cape Town, South Africa back on the red carpet at The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2018. #Worlds50Best #restaurants @thetestkitchenct #restaurant #LukeDaleRoberts #chef #CapeTown #SouthAfrica #Africa

A post shared by The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants (@theworlds50best) on Jun 22, 2018 at 1:08pm PDT

Will this see SA’s very own The Test Kitchen rise the ranks from number 50, as well as more South African establishments finding a spot on the list? Time will tell. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards 2019 will take place in Singapore in June.