Chefs, restaurant managers and food aficionados around the world are waiting for the news of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants to be announced on Monday night (June 1). And many others are protesting it.
This year, top chefs, food critics and food lovers are speaking out about the World's 50 Best restaurants list on Occupy 50 Best (occupy50best.com — a nod to the Occupy Wall Street movement). On the site, protesters "urge you to stop financing and supporting this opaque, sexist and priggishly self-pleasing ranking which puts culinary nationalism before quality and allows the reputation of the chefs to supersede health issues and customer satisfaction."
Protesters say the abuse of the list is no secret and add, “The jury members, who are appointed by dubious “chairmen”, may vote anonymously, without ever having to justify their choice of restaurant, nor give proof that they ever have set foot there.”
The protesters have multiple complaints. Among them: it’s unknown how the list’s jury members are chosen; some of the list’s judges are also chefs who make it in the top 50; there’s no criteria grid given to jury members; no justification or ‘reason why’ is required for a judge’s top restaurant pick; no proof is required that judges have ever eaten in the restaurants they vote for; the list is not representative (58 per cent of the top restaurants on the list are in Western Europe; 0 in the Middle East); and, say protesters, “If we are told that there are 50 best restaurants in the world, we would, at least, like to know why.”
Protesters say these flaws result in partiality, self promotion and male chauvinism (In 2014, only one of the top 50 restaurants was led by a female chef). They add, “By pretending to shake the paradigms of haute cuisine, ‘The World’s 50 Best’ are in fact imposing their own: overemphasis on marketing, promoting chefs to mega-stardom and giving preferences to ‘innovative’ ingredients by using the clients as guinea pigs.”
Last year, Zuma Dubai and La Petite Maison Dubai made it into the top World’s Best 51 — 100 restaurants. This year, Zuma Dubai is still on the list at number 88, though La Petite Maison Dubai has been dropped entirely.
The list will be announced in a black-tie, invitation only affair in London on June 1. You can watch it live (11pm UAE time) at www.finedininglovers.com/tag/50-best-restaurants.