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Copenhagen home to three of world’s best restaurants

Three of the world’s 50 best restaurants can be found in the Danish capital.

Published: 14 June 2016 08:46 CEST
Copenhagen home to three of world's best restaurants
Ralæ and chef Christian Puglisi were ranked 40th and won the Sustainable Restaurant Award. Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Scanpix
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list was revealed at a ceremony in New York City on Monday evening and little Denmark was well-represented.
 
Three Copenhagen restaurants made the list, with Noma leading the way. Rene Redzepi’s restaurant was ranked fifth, a fall of two spots from last year’s ranking. Noma has topped the list three times. 
 
“The Scandi gastronomy movement that has taken hold across the world started at a renovated warehouse in Copenhagen in 2003 when René Redzepi took it upon himself to revive and update Nordic food using contemporary cooking methods,” the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy wrote. “Noma has since gone on to change the way dining rooms operate and put foraging for ingredients firmly in the spotlight.
 
Denmark’s first-ever three-star Michelin restaurant Geranium came in at number 28 on the list. That marked a huge jump from last year’s 51st place ranking for head chef Rasmus Koefoed and company. 
 
The academy points out that “Kofoed is the only chef to have ever won bronze, silver and gold at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or cooking competition in France.”
 
Michelin-starred Copenhagen restaurant Relæ came in at number 40 and was named the winner of the Sustainable Restaurant Award for the second time.
 
“Chef Christian Puglisi and front-of-house head Kim Rossen set up Relæ in 2010 after meeting at Noma,” the academy wrote. “The influence of René Redzepi's restaurant is clear, but Puglisi is not constrained by New Nordic principles, using ingredients from Italy and further afield.
 
The title of best in the world was given to Osteria Francescana from Modena, Italy, which leapfrogged last year’s victor El Celler de Can Roca from Catalonia, Spain into top spot. 
 
The only other Nordic restaurant to make the top 50 was Fäviken Magasinet in Järpen, Sweden. 
 
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants List is compiled by a group of nearly one thousand leading figures in the international restaurant industry.

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RESTAURANTS

Michelin unveils Covid-era France picks despite criticism

The Michelin Guide reveals Monday its annual pick of France's top restaurants despite criticism over its decision to hold the awards while establishments remain closed in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Published: 17 January 2021 15:32 CET
Michelin unveils Covid-era France picks despite criticism
Auberge du Pont de Collonges. Photo: AFP

Three-star chefs can rest easy, however, after Michelin said none will be demoted as the health crisis rages.

The industry bible's boss Gwendal Poullennec defended inspections that led to 57 new stars overall, even though restaurants remain shuttered after lockdowns imposed last spring and again since October.

“It's an important decision to support the industry, despite the current situation and perhaps even because of the situation,” Poullennec told AFP.

“All the establishments that have kept their star this year or won one are restaurants that fully deserve it,” he said.

READ MORE: Michelin calls off its 2021 France ceremony, but insists there will still be a guide

Michelin has drawn fire for bestowing its verdicts as chefs rack up losses while adapting their menus for takeaway or deliveries — and food fans have little chance of booking tables anytime soon, with or without face masks.

The rival Best 50 list, based in Britain, cancelled its 2020 ranking last year, while France's La Liste said this month that instead of rankings it would honour innovative chefs who have persevered amid the pandemic.

Michelin called off the lavish gala ceremony that was to be held in Cognac, southwest France – the first time outside Paris – and instead will announce the 2021 winners in a YouTube broadcast from the Eiffel Tower.

'Consistent quality'

But Poullennec said all three-star restaurants will keep their stars – France including Monaco counts 29 – while the handful of demotions will affect only restaurants that have closed or changed their dining concept.

He insisted that inspectors worked double duty and even cancelled their sacrosanct summer holidays to eat and drink as much as possible when restaurants were allowed to open under strict virus restrictions between France's lockdowns.

Michelin also brought in inspectors from elsewhere in Europe and even Asia to back up the French team.

“This selection has been made with the same serious attention, and inspectors were able to judge as many meals as the previous year,” he said.

“Despite the difficulties, chefs have risen to the occasion and maintained consistent quality, at times even succeeding in making further progress,” he added.

Poullennec, who took over the guide in 2018, has overseen several choices that have raised eyebrows among chefs and foodies alike.

Last year Michelin shocked industry insiders by downgrading the Auberge du Pont de Collonges — the oldest three-starred restaurant in the world — after the death of its legendary chef Paul Bocuse.

And in January 2019, Marc Veyrat became the first chef to sue the famous red guidebook after it withdrew the third star for his French Alps restaurant La Maison des Bois just a year after it was awarded.

Veyrat, who lost his case, has said he never wants to see a Michelin inspector in any of his restaurants ever again.

 

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