The World Restaurant Awards 2019​

Photo courtesy of The World Restaurant Awards

​​​​​​Created by IMG*, in partnership with Joe Warwick (editor, writer, and co-founder of the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants”), and Andrea Petrini (editor, writer and creator of the gastronomic road show Gelinaz), the first edition of The World Restaurant Awards will take place in Paris on February 18, 2019.
It has been designed to be a new kind of restaurant awards with the aim of celebrating and bringing to light the diversity of the international restaurant scene, from classic legendary establishments to new culinary destinations, fine dining restaurants to humble and affordable establishments, restaurants from the capitals of the world to remote destinations, … The nominees all have one common denominator: being special in their own way.
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What makes the World Restaurant Awards different?
 
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A gender balanced judging panel made of 100 individuals coming from 37 countries
This panel includes famous chefs, such as Massimo Bottura, Hélène Darroze, Dan Barber, Elena Arzak, Daniel Humm, and Clare Smyth to name a few, as well as restaurant experts, journalists and food writers all recognized for their influential role and their knowledge of the culinary world.
After selecting a long list of 300 restaurants mid-December 2018 they announced the shortlist of nominees a few days ago. There are 73 in total, representing 22 countries.


17 categories conceived to highlight the variety of the world’s culinary scene
These categories are divided into two groups:
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11 “Big Plates” categories, championing excellence, integrity and diversity:

• Arrival of the Year ;
• Atmosphere of the Year ;
• Collaboration of the Year ;
• Enduring Classic ;
• Ethical Thinking ;
• Event of the Year ;
• Forward Drinking ;
• House Special ;
• No Reservations Required ;
• Off-Map Destination ;
• Original Thinking​

Blue Hill at Stone Barns, NY - Photo: Ingrid Hofstra

The “Arrival of the Year” category honors restaurants that have opened between October 1 2017 and September 30 2018, while the “Enduring Classic” includes restaurants that have been successful for over 50 years like Paul Bocuse’s L’Auberge du Pont de Collonge in France, or Peter Luger in New York. The “Ethical Thinking” category celebrates restaurants which try to make an impact socially or environmentally, like Blue Hill at Stone Barns in NY, Food for Soul in Italy, Silo in the UK and Saint Peter in Australia. The “House Special” category celebrates restaurants which have become legends thanks to their signature dishes, like Gazela in Portugal, famous for its Hot Dog or Trishna in Mumbai, well known for its garlic crab. “The Original Thinking” category honours restaurants that put creativity at the center of their cuisine. Nominees for this category include Enigma and Mugaritz in Spain, and Noma in Denmark.

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Food for Soul, Italy - Photo: Angelo Dal Bo

Paul Bocuse, Lyon, France - Photo: @nathalie_cuisineinspired

6 “Small Plates” categories recognizing both current and traditional cultural nuances of today’s culinary world, with tongue in cheek:

• Instagram Account of the Year ;
• Long-Form Journalism ;
• Red Wine-Serving Restaurant ;
• Tattoo-Free Chef ;
• Trolley of the Year ;
• Tweezer-Free Kitchen

These categories honor restaurants, as well as chefs (Instagram Account of the Year, Tattoo-Free Chef) and food journalists who have made an impact with their words (Long-Form Journalism).

The World Restaurant Awards 2019 also supports the Perennial Farming Initiative, a non-profit organization “dedicated to combating climate change by mobilizing support for regenerative agriculture in the food world”.

~Nathalie,  January 28 2019

Noma, Copenhagen - Photo: Jason Loucas

Saint Peter, Sydney - Photo: Nikki To

​The World Restaurant Awards 2019 will take place in Paris on February 18, 2019
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​For the full list of the nominees visit : https://restaurantawards.world/

*: IMG is a leading company in sports, fashion, events and media, operating in more than 30 countries.

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