Latin American success in The World's 50 Best Restaurants

To complement the work that the Michelin Guide did and continues to do for many years, the company William Reed Business Media decided to create a new classification of restaurants that was first published in the British magazine Restaurant in 2002.. This is how The World's 50 Best Restaurants (or 50 Best) was born.

Since its inception, Spain's history in the ranking has been extraordinary: elBulli, by Ferran Adrià, was number one for five years, and El Celler de Can Roca, by the brothers Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca, another two years. Both are now on the wall of the Best of the Best, a privileged place along with the other seven who have been number one in the world and who can no longer be re-elected.

In addition, other Spanish restaurants have positioned themselves among the top positions and have occupied a not inconsiderable percentage of the total number of winners.. But today I want to talk about the success of Latin America as a whole (which includes, of course, Spain).

The selection system of the 50 best restaurants in the world

The 50 Best voting system divides the world into 27 regions, and each of them consists of a jury, headed by a president who is in charge of coordinating the voting.

The juries are made up of different gastronomy experts and professionals, chefs, restaurateurs, journalists, gastronomic critics…. In total, more than 1,000 international voters, each of whom can cast up to 10 votes (with a maximum of 6 in the region of origin) and provided they have visited the restaurants in the last 18 months.

One of the great achievements of this list is that it has accommodated establishments of very diverse styles (including, for example, traditional grills), highlighting that, in almost all countries, there can be very high-level restaurants and chefs..

19 Ibero-American restaurants in 50 Best 2023

A few days ago, The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023 edition was presented at the Palacio de las Artes in Valencia, with extraordinary results for Latin America. The territory stands out with 19 restaurants among the 50 winners. Specifically, there are: 6 Spaniards, 4 Peruvians, 3 Mexicans, 2 Colombians, 1 Portuguese, 1 Brazilian, 1 Argentine and 1 Chilean.

Data that contrasts with the results of fourteen years ago, when the Ibero-American Academy of Gastronomy was founded. In 2009, only 6 Spaniards and 1 Brazilian appeared on the list (the DOM restaurant, by Alex Atala).

The great news of this edition is that, for the first time, a restaurant from South America occupies the first place. It is the Peruvian Central, where Virgilio Martínez and Pía León have managed to create an extraordinarily attractive place in every way, including the quality of the raw material..

In addition to Central, Peru places three more establishments on the list: Maido (ranked 6), Kjolle (ranked 28) and Mayta (ranked 47)..

Spain remains with six very well positioned restaurants: Disfrutar (at number 2), the Madrid restaurant Diverxo (3), Asador Etxebarri (4), Quique Dacosta (20), Elkano (22) and Mugaritz (31)..

Mexico adds three: Quintonil (9), Pujol (13) and Rosetta (49). And Colombia another two, in Bogotá: El Chato (33) and Leo (43).

Portugal places a restaurant at number 25, Belcanto, by chef José Avilez, who is undoubtedly one of the best in the world.

In Chile there is Boragó (position 29); in Brazil, A Casa do Porco (12), which somehow comes to replace DOM; and, in Argentina, Don Julio (19).

In addition, other prizes were awarded that have also fallen to Ibero-American personalities: the Icon Award 2023 has been for the Spanish Andoni Luis Aduriz (from Mugaritz, in Guipúzcoa); The World's Best Female Chef 2023 goes to Elena Reygadas (from Rosetta, in Mexico City); The World's Best Pastry Chef 2023 goes to Pía Salazar (from Nuema, Quito); and The World's Best Sommelier goes to Miguel Ángel Millán (from DiverXO, Madrid).

Evolution of Ibero-American gastronomy

When the Ibero-American Academy of Gastronomy (AIBG) was established in the Maestranza in Seville, we were convinced of the importance of joining efforts to publicize one of the best gastronomic offers in the world..

Ibero-America has become a singular and unique space, with a great raw material, the result of the food that we brought from America and of those that we. But, in addition, over time, it has been configured as a territory with high-level restaurants and with a cuisine that already equals, to a certain extent, that of Europe and Asia..

Latin America in Madrid

And something that I have wanted to reflect in my latest articles (Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Argentina… in Madrid), is that in the capital of Spain you can find samples of all this great offer, with a multitude of restaurants, shops and gastronomic boutiques that bring to the capital the cuisine and products of many Latin American countries.

And it is that Madrid is the perfect setting, not only to represent the gastronomy of Latin America, but to promote its excellence and its evolution in the coming years..