Among the fixed dates in the gastronomic calendar, there are few that are as glamorous as the announcement of the "World's 50 Best Restaurants" - which, as the name suggests, is not least due to the internationality that the award exudes: hundreds of top representatives of the culinary profession are attracted to the respective host city each year by its award ceremony and festivities, thus considerably increasing the probability that locals and tourists alike might encounter one of the world's best chefs, or female chefs.

On Tuesday evening, the jury of the "World's 50 Best Restaurants" once again chose the best restaurants in the world. First place on the top list announced in Valencia, Spain - and thus currently the best restaurant in the world according to the jury - is Virgilio Martínez's "Central" in Peru's capital Lima. Second place goes to "Disfrutar" in Barcelona, Spain, which, like "Central", has moved up one place since last year, followed by another Spanish restaurant, "Diverxo" in Madrid, which has also moved up one place since last year.

Only four eateries from German-speaking countries made it onto the prestigious list: Berlin's "Nobelhart & Schmutzig" (45th place), the "Restaurant Tim Raue" also in Berlin (40th place), "Schloss Schauenstein" in Fürstenau, Switzerland (26th place), and the "Steirereck" in Vienna (18th place).

The jury praised Martínez's cuisine as "an ode to Peru in all its forms." At the "Central", one has a culinary experience that focuses entirely on the country's ecosystem, its diverse flavours, history and traditions. First listed in 2013, "Central" is the first South American restaurant to be awarded first place - and also the first to be at least co-led by a female chef: Pía León, Martínez's wife.

The "World's 50 Best" award has been presented annually since 2002. The list is considered the most influential ranking in the gourmet scene - and at the same time the most controversial. This is because the judgements of the gender-balanced international panel of experts - a total of over 1,000 chefs, restaurateurs, journalists and gourmets from 27 regions of the world - are not subject to any uniform evaluation rules but are left to each and everyone to decide for themselves. Some critics suspect that this is a gateway to cronyism, lobbying and corruption. Another significant difference to the Michelin Guide, for example, is the rule change made in 2019, according to which a restaurant that has already landed in first place once (such as "Noma", "El Bulli" or "Osteria Francescana") is no longer eligible for future nominations.

It is astonishing that the "50 Best" list was able to gain so much influence at all, since it was originally nothing more than a marketing idea of the London gastronomic magazine "Restaurant". The editors thought about how they could counteract the decline in circulation and came up with the idea of the list. In the beginning, the jury consisted of only 150 members and selected restaurants that did not even have one star, according to their own taste. After the media group "William Reed" took over the magazine in 2005, the Best List was built up into an independent brand. Until 2015, the awards took place annually in London; since then, the list has been presented in a different country every year.

In addition to the main prize, other awards are presented at the event. For example, the Sustainable Restaurant Award for sustainable work, which was awarded to the "Fyn" in Cape Town. The One to Watch Award was presented to "Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi" in New York, which convinced the jury with its Afro-Caribbean cuisine.

Elena Reygads from the restaurant "Rosetta" in Mexico City (49th on the list) was named best female chef. The Icon Award went to Andoni Luis Aduriz, chef of the two Michelin-starred "Mugaritz" in Errentería. The title Champions of Change, awarded since 2021 for trend-setting work in the field of gastronomy, went this year to Nora Fitzgerald Belahcen from the "Amal Center for Culinary Arts" in Marrakech, who supports the interests of disadvantaged women, and to Damian Diaz and Othón Nolasco from the organisation "No Us Without You LA".

Miguel Ángel Millán from "Diverxo" in Madrid won the title of best sommelier. The Art of Hospility Award went to the "Alchemist" in Copenhagen.

The award ceremony was flanked by numerous side events. For example, the Italian coffee company "Illy", sponsor of the award ceremony since 2019, invited guests to a festive reception in the garden of the Bombas Gens Centre d'Art.