World’s 50 best restaurants for 2018

(CNN) — If there’s ever a bad night to eat out — not including that time you ordered those mussels — it’s the one when all the planet’s top chefs skip work to find out if their restaurants have finally been named the world’s best.

This year, culinary masterminds from five continents gathered in the Spanish port city of Bilbao for an award ceremony to name the 50 best fine dining joints for 2018 and, most importantly, crown a champion.

“We built this together,” Bottura told the packed auditorium of the Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, where many of his contemporaries were gathered. “I’m not going to disappoint you, I’m going to show the world that chefs in 2018 are much more than the sum of their recipes if we stay together. “

‘Human workplaces’

Also notable was the continuing domination of men at the top of the gastronomic game. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ prize for female chef of the year is often criticized for its shortcomings in addressing this.

“I’m constantly being asked why we have a lack of female chefs, why we don’t see more women represented at the top level … and why don’t we have more diversity,” she said. “I don’t have the answers.”

She said the industry needed to create better working environments and make restaurants an equal and “more human workplace for both men and women.”

“We must draw a line under this and make sure we clear a path for the next generation. I for one can’t wait until we achieve equality and the debate moves on.”

According to organizers, the results were compiled from an “independent” voting panel of 1,000 judges that were subject to adjudication.

The prize ceremony began with tributes to culinary legends who have passed in the preceding year. Among them Gualtiero Marchesi, the first Italian chef ever to receive three Michelin stars, and French “pope of gastronomes” Paul Bocuse.

Anthony Bourdain, the CNN presenter, writer and chef who often railed against the kind of fine dining establishments celebrated by the awards, was also remembered.

“His honesty, his determination and his stubborn truth telling changed our industry for the better,” said William Drew, group editor of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

The world’s 50 best restaurants