50 Best turns its focus to the future with 50 Next

The organisation behind the World’s 50 Best Restaurants has announced the launch of a new annual list to reveal the young people shaping the future of gastronomy around the world

Unlike the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the list, to be announced in February 2021, will focus on the people rather than the restaurants as it seeks to identify the most promising young people at every level of the food community around the world, from winemakers and farmers to chefs and activists.

The World’s 50 Best has partnered with the Basque Culinary Center to create 50 Next, which will sit alongside the long established 50 Best Restaurants and 50 Best Bars celebrations. Though the list will primarily be comprised of people aged under 35 there will also be room for those over 35 who have recently embarked on a new path within the world of gastronomy.

“After many years celebrating top restaurants and bars, we are excited to expand our family to include the younger generation and the people responsible for making our gastronomic future brighter,” says William Drew, director of content for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. “Now more than ever, we feel the need and responsibility to invest in our future and to nurture, support and provide a platform for the next generation. With the support of the Biscay region and the Basque Culinary Center, we are delighted to be able to connect leaders within the 50 Best community with those who are shaping the future.”

Those who make the list will benefit from the experience of the global 50 Best network as some of those who have previously topped the list of the world’s best restaurants will lend  their experience and expertise to help encourage rising talent.

“Basque Culinary Center sees gastronomy as an integrating phenomenon in which professionals from several disciplines take part,” says Joxe Mari Aizega, director of Basque Culinary Center. “We support young talent, an essential ingredient in the gastronomy sector. As academic partner of 50 Next, we highlight the importance and draw awareness to said talent. 50 Next will be a global event for rising leaders that will serve as an impulse and inspiration to the sector as a whole”.

The inaugural list of the 50 Next will be published virtually on 22 February and will be followed by a live event at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao later in the year when travel restrictions ease.

Applications and nominations for 50 Next are open until 12 November 2020. For information on how to apply or nominate, visit www.theworlds50best.com/50next 

Tina Nielsen

 

Photo: The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

More Relevant

View More