The British magazine Restaurant Magazine together with San Pellegrino has been publishing a rating for the sixth consecutive year, dictating trends in catering establishments. The culinary delights of chefs from around the world are evaluated by a jury consisting of 560 restaurateurs, chefs, and restaurant critics.
The results of the next 'culinary year' were announced at the end of April at the London Science Museum, and the host side did not let itself down: one of the London restaurants received a silver medal. This honor went to the Berkshire restaurant Fat Duck, where the famous chef Heston Blumenthal works. As for the leader of the rating, for the second year in a row it is the El Bulli restaurant, located in the town of Roses on the Spanish Costa Brava coast, two hours north of Barcelona. Visitors to this establishment can taste pistachio cake from chef Ferran Adrià and Parmesan in the form of spaghetti.
Ferran Adrià is Blumenthal's mentor, and although the student has not yet managed to surpass his teacher, Blumenthal, who prepares snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, still has everything ahead. The Fat Duck chef believes: 'It's not scary to yield first place to Ferran, but to stand next to him on the list is amazing and honorable.'
France did not tarnish its reputation as the gastronomic heart of the world. French restaurants dominate the list, even more than last year: 12 against 10. From the USA, eight restaurants made it into the rating. In the UK, there are seven establishments that the jury deemed worthy of gourmets' attention. Fourth place was shared by Italy and Spain - four restaurants from each country.
Restaurant chefs fight not only for personal glory but also for the gastronomic reputation of their country. Ferran Adrià told British The Times: 'I am delighted and very happy for the El Bulli restaurant and for Spanish cuisine. This once again confirms that Spanish cuisine is on the rise.' Blumenthal echoes him: 'I think this award is a sign of how far the UK has come.' Both outstanding chefs are alien to traditional culinary forms; they prefer to call themselves kitchen adventurers. Adrià says that most of all he loves to surprise and delight his clients.
Restaurant Magazine editor Joe Warwick noted that the recognition of these culinary pirates' merits testifies to a new trend in the world of culinary fashion - 'to experiment, not to pander to traditional tastes.' He also lamented that among the 50 best dining establishments there is not a single Eastern restaurant, even though the jury included representatives from East Asia, each of whom had the right to nominate two restaurants from their homeland.
• No one will argue that the best dishes are made in a well-equipped kitchen. Therefore, custom kitchens will interest both the most demanding chefs and simply lovers of culinary experiments.