Amsterdam will host the 5th THE BEST CHEF AWARDS powered by PERLAGE on September 13, 14 and 15th 2021.
The three-day long culinary celebration will include FOOD MEETS SCIENCE, AREA TALKS and a few new activities, ending with the grand AWARDS GALA, as they continue to honor the many talented chefs that create the best food experiences around the world.
This year the announcement of the new 100 candidates from 35 different countries who will compete for the title of THE BEST CHEF together with the chefs of the TOP100 2020 will be full of suspense. Starting from February 25th and for 100 days, THE BEST CHEF will announce one candidate per day (in random order) through its social channels.
The seventh batch of nominees has been announced. Here they are.
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JUAN AMADOR
Spanish temperament with German precision in Vienna.
Born in 1968 in Waiblingen, the Swabian of Spanish descent has become known for his avant-garde take on European cuisine, a style of cooking which has made him one of the best chefs in the world.
Purism and modern spirit define Restaurant Amador. The dishes Juan creates for his guests are fresh interpretations of his classical roots and show the cooking tradition of Spain, the native country of his parents.
Juan uses aromas and taste to create a world of flavour, combining Spanish temperament with German precision. His uncompromising commitment can be seen, tasted and felt in each of his creations.
Juan Amador, Germany
Restaurant Amador, Vienna, Austria, www.restaurant-amador.com
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MINGOO KANG
Mingling contrasting elements into harmony.
“While our restaurant has been inspired by and respected traditional Korean cuisine as the foundation for our cooking, in our latest menu we have strove to explore new techniques and sensibilities. Our goal at Mingles is to show you a new way of Korean cuisine.”
Mingoo Kang, Korea
Mingles, Seoul, Korea, www.restaurant-mingles.com
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JORDI VILÀ
Jordi Vilà’s tyle of cooking digs deep into the past, present and future of Catalan gastronomy. Exploring the entire range of our culinary landscape, from the center to the margins, it is both grounded in tradition and open to embracing the most radical contemporary ideas.
When thinking about Alkimia’s cooking, Vilà always place value on the moment, that fleeting instant in which the secret of each dish is revealed.
Cooking is an odyssey, a journey that can only be made in one way: cooking.
“We like cuisine that looks to the future but knows where it belongs. We like simplicity and to magnify the voice of the products that speak for themselves. We believe that good cuisine needs to be handcrafted and with a good hand. We trust in small producers that, like us, do things handcrafted. We like our restaurant to be small because it is the best way to offer you the best experience.”
Jordi Vilà, Spain
Alkimia, Barcelona, Spain, www.alkimia.cat
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ELENA REYGADAS
Modern Mexican Cuisine.
Elena Reygadas, hailing from Mexico City, began her training at the prestigious French Culinary Institute in New York. This was the only the beginning of her gastronomic career as she was soon heading across the pond to work alongside top chefs in leading London kitchens, including Locanda Locatelli with chef Giorgio Locatelli. This development led her towards her deep penchant for classic Italian cuisine.
She stayed in London for 5 years before returning to her native soil to launch Rosetta, a beautiful and elegant restaurant in the city’s upscale Roma district. It wasn’t long before the restaurant became acclaimed as one of the finest dining establishments in the whole of Mexico’s capital.
Elena Reygadas, Mexico
ROSETTA, Mexico City, Mexico, www.rosetta.com.mx
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SIDNEY SCHUTTE
Contemporary & Progressive in Amsterdam.
Sidney Schutte, who was born in the city of Middelburg in south-west Holland in 1976, discovered his passion for food and the culinary arts as a teen when he took up a summer job in a restaurant. When he was 17 years old, Sidney moved to southern Holland’s Zuid-Limburg province to follow his ambition of becoming a professional chef.
Praised for his use of bold flavours and local products in both innovative vegetarian and impressive omnivorous dishes, Sidney creates unique plates that possess an exquisite aesthetic appeal, along with a superior display of textures and perfectly-balanced tasting notes.
Spectrum is a dynamic restaurant with a proud Dutch heritage.
Sidney Schutte, The Netherlands
Restaurant Spectrum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, www.restaurantspectrum.com
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BENJAMIN NAST
Santiago: Nosotros
“We are interested in getting out of the traditional schemes of haute cuisine.The main thing is to make food rich, simple, but provocative at the same time. We believe in tradition and in contradiction, we like to work the product from its roots. Everything is done with love and dedication. We are crazy about the kitchen and in a constant search for freedom.”
“We are DE PATIO.”
Benjamin Nast, Chile
De Patio, Santiago, Chile, www.depatiorestaurante.cl
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MAKSUT ASKAR
Your taste perception defines your borders.
“We believe that those who do not take care and preserve their traditions can not have a future. To guarantee the future of our economy, we’re very pleased to be able to provide you with the opportunity to share your feelings with our customers. This is what we are doing in a very humble manner. We learned to taste from our traditions and through our traditions. If our traditions are disappearing one by one due to today’s conditions, we believe our future will also disappear if we do not do anything.”
“Within this frame, we have to define our traditions to suit today’s conditions and convey them to future generations in the correct language. Your taste perception defines your borders. You can not go any further. Even if you go further the things that you create become something totally different. It is not your tradition.”
Maksut Aşkar, Turkey
Neolokal, Istanbul, Turkey, www.neolokal.com
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SØREN SELIN
At AOC, owners Christian Aarø and Søren Selin seek to emphasise what is wonderful in the local nature, as well as stimulating as many of our senses as possible: Taste, vision, color and smell are at the centre of the dining experience. Søren culinary philosophy is positioned from a modern style, using fresh Nordic produce sourced from both Earth and Sea – a concept of pure savour.
Søren Selin, Denmark
Restaurant AOC – aarø & co., Copenhagen, Denmark, www.restaurantaoc.dk
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PATRICK KRISS
“Alo, which opened in July of 2015, is a contemporary French restaurant located atop a heritage building in downtown Toronto. Our cuisine is internationally inspired and celebrates the finest in seasonal ingredients paired with a genuine sense of welcome. We are refiners: we take time-honoured comforts and seek to do them better than we did last time, evolving to make them ever more delightful.”
Patrick Kriss, Canada
Alo Restaurant, Toronto, Canada, www.alorestaurant.com
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IVAN RALSTON
Modern Brazilian.
Tuju is a ‘paulistana’ contemporary cuisine restaurant whose name describes the gastronomic concept on which it is based. Tuju is the name of a native bird from the Atlantic forest and the inspiration behind Chef Ivan Ralston’s passion for responsible sourcing and his seasonal, farmers market and vegetarian tasting menus.
To cook them he draws from the in-house organic gardens where he grows more than 200 species of unconventional edible plants. Many of them are used inventively to create delicate flavours that surprise the taste buds.
The menu changes often, but dishes such as red snapper with hearts of palm, turmeric and algae, or the wagyu short rib with manioc and Brazil nuts showcase the evolution of Brazilian gastronomy. Chef Ivan Ralston and his team aim to create dishes that honor the cosmopolitan nature of São Paulo. They show influences from Japanese, Italian, Spanish and Jewish cultures as well as influences from the north, northeast and south of Brazil.
Ivan Ralston, Brazil
Restaurante Tuju, São Paulo, Brazil, www.facebook.com/tujurestaurante
On June 6th, THE BEST CHEF begins the voting process, where all the chefs included on last years’ list (plus an anonymous group of independent professionals) and the new 100 candidates will be invited to vote for their peers to name 2021’s TOP100 AWARDS.
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please contact Kristian Brask Thomsen at:
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Hungry for more? Read this in-depth US-article on The Best Chef.
