The restaurant industry is smiling again. First and foremost, that is because the recovery of the sector is finally in sight. After some very tough months with severe restrictions, it seems that we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. The gastronomic sector wanted to start taking steps towards this desired «normality» by making some actions, such as recovering the awards that distinguish the best restaurants and chefs of the moment, and which had not been held for more than two years. The pandemic has not only punished the sector, but also has deprived it of the much-needed recognition and promotion that come with mentions in these international competitions when the sector needed it the most.
After the forced break, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and The Best Chef Awards ceremonies, two of the most prestigious current awards in the restaurant industry, have been held over the last few days. The Danish restaurant «Noma» and the Spanish chef Dabiz Muñoz were the two big winners in these two competitions. «Noma» repeats yet another year, and that makes five in total, as the best restaurant in the world and therefore becomes, together with «El Bulli», one of only two restaurants to have won the award five times. Chef René Redzepi already led «Noma» to the top spot in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. Now, after reinventing himself at the beginning of 2018, he has returned to the top.
The «Noma» team received the award for the best restaurant in the world at the ceremony held in Antwerp.
On the other hand, Dabiz Muñoz has been chosen as the best chef in the world. The Spanish chef has pointed out on several occasions that the pandemic has been a hard blow for the sector, but that it has also served as an encouragement for him to consider new business models. «GoXO» is a good example of this. In the middle of the pandemic, Muñoz has launched this delivery service, with service in Madrid and Barcelona, so that anyone who wishes can order their dishes online to eat them at home. This is a clear upward trend that aims to bring haute cuisine closer to homes, without the arduous task that, in most cases, booking a table entails.
Chef Dabiz Muñoz reinvented himself during the pandemic and opened «GoXO», a home-delivery service.
Dabiz Muñoz has trusted García de Pou to present and make some of his exquisite «GoXO», dishes, such as the baking molds for his famous «Cheesecake de la Pedroche». The Spanish chef, in addition to his award-winning «DiverXO», the only Michelin 3-star restaurant in Madrid, also runs a couple of street food businesses. The «StreetXO», a casual dining restaurant, as he calls it, and a takeaway food truck parked in the centre of Madrid.
Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, the architects of the success of «Disfrutar» in Barcelona and «Compartir» in Cadaqués.
It is also worth noting the fifth position in the list of the 50 best in the world for the Barcelona restaurant «Disfrutar», run by chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas. The triumvirate of chefs, former chefs of «El Bulli», have been able to continue the revolutionary work started by Ferran Adrià. The chefs have another excellent restaurant, «Compartir» in Cadaqués, in the heart of the Costa Brava. The «Geranium» restaurant in Copenhagen was voted second best in the world and the «Etxebarri» steakhouse in Atxondo (Basque Country) third.
The resumption of these restaurant awards and ceremonies serves to confirm that the creative power of the global culinary scene is still intact, despite some difficult months. Therefore, gastronomy lovers, including ourselves, have more than enough reasons to celebrate. We will continue to make our contribution, bringing new solutions and products to the market that will keep setting trends in the sector.
