El Celler de Can Roca regains second spot in world's best restaurants
The 2018 updates to the prestigious list of the world's best restaurants were announced in Bilbao. Chef Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana took the top spot of “The World's 50 Best” ranking. El Celler de Can Roca took second place, thus celebrating 10 years in the top five of the world's best restaurants. Mauro Colagreco’s Mirazur rounded out the podium in third place this year. The winner of the first ever 50 Best BBVA Scholarship was also introduced during the ceremony. Taiwanese Jessie Liu will join the team at Andoni Luis Aduriz's Mugaritz in the upcoming weeks.
“The World's 50 Best” announced the new annual rankings of the world's best restaurants. Bilbao hosted the prestigious magazine's ceremony, which awarded Massimo Bottura and his Osteria Francescana (Modena, Italy) the number one spot on the list. The Italian recovered the top spot which he held in 2016 after sitting in the second position in last year's ranking.
Good news also for El Celler de Can Roca (Girona, Spain), which climbed a spot, placing second on the list of the world's best restaurants; an important milestone for those in Girona, who have ranked in the top three for eight consecutive years. The Roca brothers, who claimed the top spot in 2013 and 2015, have been leaders in world cuisine for more than a decade. Currently they find themselves on the final leg of their Spanish tour with BBVA, which this year took them to Madrid and Barcelona and will come to an end in Las Palmas next October.
The Roca brothers celebrate their position on 2018 list (Photo: The World's 50 Best Restaurants) - The World's 50 Best Restaurants
The Argentine Mauro Colagreco rounded out the podium with his Mirazur (Menton, France), which joined the top three for the first time. Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park (New York, USA) had to settle for fourth place, a drop from the first position, which he held in 2017.
Among this year's most notable developments was Andoni Luis Aduriz's Mugaritz (San Sebastián, Spain), which took ninth place, thus becoming the longest-running restaurant in the top 10. Spain is the country with the greatest representation of restaurants in the top 50. In total, there are seven in the top 50; three of which are in the top 10 (El Celler de Can Roca, 2; Mugaritz, 9; and Asador Etxebarri, 10).
The Roca brothers and their wives on the red carpet (Photo: The World's 50 Best Restaurants) - The World's 50 Best Restaurants
Creating opportunities for the next generation
Over the course of the ceremony, the winner of BBVA's first ever 50 Best BBVA scholarship was introduced. The Taiwanese Jessie Liu was chosen out of more than 1,000 candidates to build on her experience with internships at two of the best restaurants in the world. “It’s my first time to attend de ceremony; I hope it won’t be the last time because I want to be back in the future”, stated Lee after collecting the award that certified her as the scholarship winner.
In a matter of days, the 24- year-old will begin her the first chapter of the journey at Mugaritz, hand in hand with Andoni Luis Aduritz. Afterwards, she will travel to San Francisco to finish her training with Dominique Crenn at Atelier Crenn.
Jessie Liu recibes the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship 2018 (Photo: The World's 50 Best Restaurants) - The World's 50 Best Restaurants