DUBAI, Nov 11 — The knives are out with The Best Chef Awards.
An annual award, in its eighth edition, it celebrates chefs who bring us the best food experience around the world. It also serves to inspire the younger crop of chefs.
Polish neuroscientist Joanna Slusarczyk and Italian gastronomist Cristian Gadau started these awards back in 2015.
Unlike the Michelin awards that honour the restaurants with their star ratings, The Best Chef Awards recognises the chefs who are the driving force of the restaurant.
For the Michelin awards, restaurants are deemed worthy by anonymous inspectors who work for Michelin.
The Best Chef Awards tabulates votes cast by chefs and professionals from different sectors that include food journalists and gastronomy experts.
This year, the awards ceremony was hosted in Dubai, where the three-day event was attended by 3,000 chefs and culinary professionals.
Activities included panel discussions, a Food Meets Science conference and various culinary experiences.
It honoured 553 chefs from all over the world, voted in by 568 chefs and professionals.
This edition also saw an expansion of the rankings, which used to only rank the top three chefs, selected for their visionary contributions that redefine modern gastronomy.
For 2024, Rasmus Munk from Copenhagen’s Alchemist was ranked first, followed by Albert Adrià from Spain’s Enigma in the number two spot and Eric Vilgaard from Copenhagen’s Jordnær in the third place.
The remaining 550 chefs were ranked in three knife tiers, where three knives signified “the best” for those who have achieved the highest tier of culinary mastery, two knives for “world class” representing world class expertise, and one knife is distinguished as “excellent”, recognising their notable contributions.
The categories are differentiated by the points awarded, with the highest being 80 per cent or more of the maximum points.
Our very own Darren Teoh from Dewakan in Kuala Lumpur earned the two knives “world class” distinction. Teoh is the culinary persona behind the two Michelin-starred restaurant that showcases the rich bounty of local ingredients.
Kim Hock Su picked up the one knife “excellent” for his work at one Michelin-starred Au Jardin in Penang. Kim reimagines European cuisine to incorporate produce from local artisans and farmers.
In addition, there were 12 special awards that celebrated chefs in specific areas, including two awards that honoured the host, Dubai. These areas covered the likes of evolution, pastry, terroir, science, dining experience and food art.
For more details on The Best Chef Awards, visit their website.
