The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2021 winners announced

The Noma restaurant of Copenhagen with Chef René Redzepi and his team took first place in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021, the celebration of global gastronomy sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.

The winners were announced on Tuesday 5th October at an event in Antwerp, Flanders, the northern region of Belgium with a rich culinary and cultural heritage. The event was also live-streamed on 50 Best social media channels.

Accepting the award, Chef René Redzepi, the chef and owner of the restaurant, thanked his team, and said this would never have happened without them.

Second and third prizes went to Geranium, in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Chef Rasmus Kofoed and Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, Spain, by Chef Victor Arguinzoniz.

The previous day, S.Pellegrino had presented "Food meets Talent”  - an event exploring talent and highlighting its crucial role in the future of gastronomy. Protagonists included renowned chefs Clare Smyth, Ana Roš, Micha Tsumura and Heston Blumenthal, young talents Adelaide Lala Tam, Kurt Evans, and from the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Mark Moriarty (2015 S.Pellegrino Young Chef Award Winner) Paolo Griffa and Manon Schenck.

Other awards

Other awards presented on the 5th included the new Champions of Change awards, sponsored by S.Pellegrino. Celebrating local food heroes who have created change for good in their communities, the three inaugural awards went to: Kurt Evans – from Philadelphia, USA, who uses his culinary skills to rally the community around ending mass incarceration; Viviana Varese – chef of Viva restaurant in Milan, Italy - breaking down barriers around LGBTQ+ and inclusivity; and Deepanker Khosla – chef-owner of Haoma in Bangkok, Thailand - a restaurant turned soup kitchen during the pandemic.

The World's Best Female Chef 2021 was awarded to Peruvian chef Pía León, chef-owner of Lima’s Kjolle, co-owner of Central. Meanwhile the Icon Award went to Dominique Crenn of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, USA, who is a LGBTQ+, inclusivity and sustainability activist and author. And finally, the One To Watch award was won by London's Ikoyi, a cosmopolitan restaurant building its own spice-based cuisine around British micro-seasonality.

Discover the full list of awards on Fine Dining Lovers.