Pencil March 2017 in your diary, food lovers. A flood of 150 or so of the world’s best chefs are coming to play here in Australia.
Next year, the world’s eyes will be on us when Melbourne plays host to Restaurant magazine’s awards. First held in 2002, this award ranks the planet’s restaurants by surveying a caucus of almost 1000 members that includes chefs, journalists and well-travelled eaters. Although the awards took time to gain traction, they are now regarded as one of the food world’s most important events and have even surpassed traditional food voices such as the Michelin guide.
The news of Melbourne’s selection was announced earlier this week in New York where, for the first time in the awards’ 14-year history, the ceremony revealing the World’s 50 Best was held outside of the London. Just as chefs and restaurateurs in the Big Apple embraced the opportunity to welcome their peers to New York, Australian chefs and restaurateurs are looking forward to returning this hospitality.
The winners assemble after the list was revealed. Source: World's 50 Best Restaurants
“I think the main thing we’re going to be able to do is get a lot of people to Australia involved in the 50 Best awards,” says Peter Gilmore, chef at Quay in Sydney. A former multiple-times winner of the awards Best Restaurant in Australasia title, Quay placed at number 98 in the restaurant’s count down this year (as well as the official 50 Best, the awards also publish a count through to 100).
“Australia is a long way from the rest of the world so to have all these chefs and journalists in town for a week or two is going to be fantastic.”
Although Melbourne has been named as the award’s host city, the event is expected to bring high-powered international chefs and food media figures to other capitals and regional areas around the country. In addition to showing overseas guests a good time, the program will also include events the public will be able to attend.
Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan tells SBS in addition to “an amazing event in Melbourne”, the awards will be a chance to take visiting chefs and the media that travel with them to other parts of the country. And although not all of the chefs on the list will be able to make it, “between the awards’ top 100 chefs, and other chefs, we’re probably looking at 150 top-flight chefs coming to Melbourne".
“We’re still putting the final touches to the plans, but either side of a week of actual 50 Best events, we’ll do a week going to other parts of the country.
“The reaction when we announced the news in New York was great, there was instantaneous applause and cheering. There’s a lot of interest from international chefs coming to Australia. At the brunch the following day Massimo Bottura said he was really looking forward to coming.”
Bottura’s restaurant in Modena, Italy, topped this year’s list after two years in the number two spot. For Australia, Ben Shewry’s Attica in Melbourne led the way at 33. In the extended 51-100 list, Brae in Victoria came in at 65 and Sydney’s Quay at 98. The Ledbury in London, under the guidance of Aussie expat Brett Graham, was listed at 14, while René Redzepi, who transported his restaurant to Sydney for a pop-up this year, was at number 5.
While dates for the awards are still to be announced – rumours suggest that chef-spotters should pencil March into their dairies – it’s safe to say that the New York event is going to be a tough act to follow.
Melbourne's Ben Shewry at the awards night: another great result for Australia. Source: World's 50 Best Restaurants
Other than the soaring, high-ceilinged grandeur of the Cipriani ballroom as a ceremony venue, there’s also the issue of competing with the New York after party: if anyone has ideas on how to trump a three-Michelin-star venue (Eleven Madison Park) clearing away all its tables and inviting a well-known DJ (Questlove of The Roots and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon fame) to play records, please let the good folk at Tourism Australia know.
In the meantime, eaters with travel plans in their immediate future might want to consult this and start trying their luck at bookings.
