| S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants |
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London, April 26th 2010 - From tonight, food lovers across the globe will stand in awe: after four consecutive years at the top of this coveted list, in 2010 Ferran Adria’s El Bulli has taken second place in a ceremony often talked about as the ‘Oscars’ of the global dining scene. A Nordic restaurant comes to the fore. Noma - run by 32 year-old head chef Rene Redzepi, last year’s ‘Chefs’ Choice’ awardee and 3rd in The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2009 List - has topped the worldwide poll of over 800 international chefs, critics, restaurateurs, food writers, journalists, food experts and well-travelled gourmands - the voting panel, collectively called the ‘World's 50 Best Restaurants Academy’- in the world-known awards organised by Restaurant Magazine and title-sponsored by S.Pellegrino, the leading natural mineral water in the world of fine dining together with its perfect complement, Acqua Panna. Situated on Copenhagen’s dockside in a stylishly converted 18th century shipping warehouse (where most dishes are served by the chefs themselves), Noma leads the trend in ‘cold climate cuisine’. Famous for taking truly seasonal and local ingredients, many of which are unheard of outside of the Nordic region, the restaurant has quickly established itself as a place of pilgrimage. Ferran Adria’s achievement of remaining at the top on 5 occasions in the last decade is an outstanding accomplishment that did not go unnoticed, a success recognized tonight by Restaurant Magazine which presented Ferran with the first-ever, brand new ‘Chef of the Decade’ award. Paul Wootton, editor of Restaurant Magazine, said: “This year’s list is an exciting one that highlights in particular the wealth of young, dynamic chefs bringing new ideas to the world of gastronomy. René Redzepi’s rise to the top shows that the Academy members who vote are keen to recognise this new wave of talent rubbing alongside those with more established international fame. Whether Ferran Adrià’s considerable achievements at the top of the list are ever matched in future is another matter entirely, however... We are very much looking forward to the next 10 years with the list continuing to inspire debate all over the world.” Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck at Bray completes the top three restaurants, confirming the British chef’s reputation as one of the most exciting and admired chefs in the world. As an additional triumph, Heston also takes this year’s ‘Chefs’ Choice’ award after being nominated by his peers as the ‘Chefs’ chef’ – praise indeed. Chef Massimo Bottura’s Italian restaurant, Osteria Francescana, rises an extra 7 places to the sixth place, joining the top 10 and ranking the highest placed Italian restaurant in 2010. Finally, one of the most prestigious awards is the annually awarded Lifetime Achievement award, which this year goes to the Austrian chef Eckart Witzigmann who has built a long and illustrious career in Germany over many years. The first German speaking chef to hold three Michelin stars, his contribution to the culinary world has been recognised by Restaurant Magazine and the Academy’s panel. The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards were held at the Guildhall in London on Monday 26th April 2010. Humanitarian organisation Action Against Hunger has once again been chosen as the official charity of the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
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