50 Best, the organization behind the annual list of the 50 best restaurants in the world, announced today that it made its debut on a new list focusing exclusively on North America, including the United States, Canada and certain parts of the Caribbean.
This new list, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, marks the first time that the organization focuses only on North American restaurants. This decision is logical: specific restaurant lists exist for Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, and in 2022, 50 Best broke the best bars in North America in its own list, completing the existing list of the best bars in the world. The organization specifies that Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic will remain under the list of the list of the 50 best restaurants in Latin America, which has existed since 2013.
As 50 best explains it in the press release, 300 experts from the catering industry – who make up the 50 best restaurants in North America – will vote on the list. Restaurants do not have to pay for entry or meeting any specific criteria to consider. This voting organization is divided into sub-regions, each with its own chair, to ensure that the entire continent is properly represented.
Created by William Reed Media, the top 50 world lists were created in 2002, and as most, the organization has made measures towards diversification in recent years, with changes to the composition of its voting organization and increased attention to continents other than Europe. But still, it generally includes high -end tasting restaurants centered on the destination, such as Défrutar in Barcelona, which took first place last year. A change of rule in 2019 decreed that a restaurant would be withdrawn from the list after reaching place n ° 1, forcing turnover at the top – but this rule is not in place on current regional lists, which means that repeated winners (and many familiar names in the top 10, year after year) seems likely.
When writing these lines, the highest North American restaurant on the best world list is Atomix in New York, at number six. The only other North American restaurant in the 2024 top 50 is a unique thread in Healdsburg, California; COSME (NYC), Bernardin (NYC) and SMHY (Chicago) appeared in the “rear half” of the list. No Canadian or Caribbean restaurant is in the top 50 2024.
The way the first North American list will decompose remains to be seen: the first selection will be announced during a live award ceremony at the end of this year, although the date and location have not yet been announced.
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