“Post-corona food and beverage industry standard deviation”The 20th anniversary of the milestone

``The World's 50 Best Restaurants'' is a restaurant competition called the ``Academy Awards of Food.'' Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the exciting event has made a triumphant return to London, where the secretariat's headquarters are located. The event was originally scheduled to be held in Moscow, but we applaud the decision of the secretariat to change the venue in light of the global situation. As the afterglow of the event continues to fade, I would like to look back on the event and give you my general thoughts.

Going off topic from the beginning, on my flight home, I watched the movie ``The Devil Wears Prada'' for the first time in a while. This time, the award ceremony for the ``World's Best 50'' was hosted by actor Stanley Tutti, who played an important role in the movie. I feel that the emotion that the ``World's Best 50'' gives us is similar to this, as we watch masterpieces that reveal the hidden side of the fashion world. This is because the list of only 50 restaurants selected from all over the world embodies all the desires and expectations for the times held by food industry professionals and foodies around the world.

The ``World's 50 Best Restaurants'' is a list of the latest and greatest restaurants, determined by votes from 1080 voters around the world. Voters are not allowed to reveal that they have a vote, and are made up of food journalists, foodies who travel the world, and professional chefs, with a XNUMX-XNUMX split of men and women. The fact that all volunteers participate without exception is very different from the Michelin Guide (Michelin employees serve as judges who award stars).

The introduction is long, but let's move on to the current story. Last year, when it was held in Antwerp for the first time in two years, the world was in the midst of a long-term battle against an epidemic, and this year it coincided with the emergency situation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I was worried about how these things would affect the results this time, but the impact was more than I could have imagined.

“Japan fan” boaters
For the past two years, I couldn't even visit Japan.

As a result of soaring oil prices, fewer flights, travel restrictions and restrictions on going out, boaters have lost all opportunities to visit restaurants freely. The rule is to ``vote from restaurants you've been to within the past year and a half,'' but restrictions were placed on restaurant visits for this purpose.

The impact has been particularly large in China and Japan, where strict government regulations have sharply reduced the number of visitors. In China, only one restaurant, ``The Chairman'' in Hong Kong, made it into the ranking, and all the popular stores in the mainland disappeared. Four Japanese restaurants made it into the ranking, with Osaka's "La Cime" taking the honor of being the first to enter, but even so, 1 Japanese restaurants made the list in the "Asia's 4 Best Restaurants" held in March. Tokyo's ``Den'', which took the ``World's Best 3'' by storm and took the coveted 50st place, remained in 11th place overall. As a Japanese person, I feel a little sad.

But this is the reality. To be clear, this competition is not a competition to see which restaurants are better or worse, but rather to evaluate ``how well-informed a restaurant is in terms of food trends, and how much it communicates to the world through food''. The wonders of Japanese restaurants are now known to people all over the world, and they are no longer simply worried about rankings. However, even as I was engulfed in the excitement of the venue, somewhere in my mind a question arose and still lingers: ``Hasn't Japan been left behind in the past few years?'' This is not a question of quality, but rather that the situation surrounding food in Japan has become too conservative compared to that of other countries.

What made me think this way, for example, was the large number of overseas stores that were newly included in the ranking. In fact, 12 were new entries and 2 were re-entries. On the other hand, it is proof that food-conscious people bravely opened a new restaurant even under these circumstances. At a time when it was difficult to travel overseas, people may have turned their attention to nearby countries and new restaurants.

In addition, Copenhagen's ``Geranium'', which won first place, seems to be a steady increase in rank from last year's second place, but it has recently stopped using meat in its dishes. I think that one of the unique characteristics of the ``World's Best 1'' is that there is a remarkable attitude towards achieving ``World's Best 50.'' It's not that meat dishes are bad, but that their challenge must have been to suggest new food possibilities. Chef Rasmus Kofod of Geranium has a forward-thinking style when it comes to his work environment, and I heard that after this event, the restaurant will be closed for a month and everyone will go on vacation. did.

In America, where hate crimes have been a problem, Atomics, an innovative Korean restaurant run by young Korean couple Jun-sik and Elia in New York, won the Best Hospitality Award. Berlin's Nobelhart & Schmutzig, which promotes itself as a "restaurant that passionately gives back to the local community" with an emphasis on producers, has moved up 28 places from last year to 17th place, winning the Highest Climber Award. Chef Leonor Espinoza of Leo, popular for her unique interpretation of Colombian cuisine and her unpretentious personality, won the coveted ``Women Chef of the World Award,'' but she may be named ``Female Chef'' in the near future. I suddenly thought that there might be a new form of award.

Chefs who can't settle into a fixed position
I want to praise that courage.

Let's go back to Japan. Even though the number of overseas customers stopped and the government announced repeated restrictions on activities, the chefs gritted their teeth and lived each day, believing that the day would come when the restaurant would reopen. The same is probably true for unranked restaurants and casual eateries of different genres. However, I believe that the four chefs on this list had an even more ``attitude to not be afraid of change.''

For example, Zaisuke Hasegawa, who heads Den, is a mood maker who continues to cheerfully create dishes, both when he appears in the media and when he isn't.He is now a driving force in Japan, but he also collaborates with companies and invites studios from all over the world. He is also a man who is busier than his business hours, including training for apprentice chefs (cooking apprentices). Chef Hiroyasu Kawate of Tokyo's Florilege, which jumped from 39th place last year to 30th place, is also known for taking the lead in initiatives to combat food waste, and plainly announced that he would be relocating his restaurant in 2023. did. He says the restaurant will be designed in a ``table dot style'' (a large dining table with many people gathered around it), which is also unusual for a starred fine dining restaurant. Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa, who heads the 45th place NARISAWA in Tokyo, has the impression that he is now more active overseas than in Japan.

This time, we asked Chef Yusuke Takada of Osaka's La Cime, who achieved the feat of being the only new entry from Japan, what he thinks of the ``World's 50 Best Restaurants'' list.

"To be clear, it's a restaurant, so it's natural for the food to be delicious.Also, in Japan, where food has become so diversified, it's nonsense to judge value based on taste alone.For me, it's nonsense to judge food based on taste alone. I'm proud to have been recognized for my attitude of not being satisfied with the status quo and taking on challenges without fear of change.I'm happy now, but tomorrow will come soon. I even think I can quit being a chef if I run out.”

Lastly, we asked Takanori Nakamura, who serves as the chairman of the Japan Council for the World's 50 Best Restaurants, to reflect on this time.

``I have mixed feelings and regrets, but on the other hand, I am also happy.Everyone is proud that Japanese food is wonderful, but attempts to make it known to the world are difficult for both the eaters and the cooks.'' Moreover, I think that the national system is lacking in this.Some people may think that this award is fashionable because it reflects food trends, but in the overseas restaurant industry, there is a need for the next generation of food. A huge amount of time, budget, effort, and ingenuity are being spent on how to create this.It has been talked about recently that Japan's economy has been stagnant for 30 years, and this is due to the fact that we have blindly continued to affirm Japan's unique style. That's one of the reasons. Our homework for next year is to take a step forward."

This year's festival is over. Epidemics and wars will end someday. Shouldn't we, as eaters, also be able to think about what Japanese restaurants can communicate to the world to improve the potential of food?