A couple of months ago, I opined that el Bulli closing (at that time, temporarily, while it now will be closed permanently) will open the door for chefs to seize the #1 ranking on the S.Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants list. I figured that this seizure may take a year or two, at the least. Well, I was wrong.
S.Pellegrino released their list a few hours ago in London. Here's the list. You'll notice that el Bulli is not on top. Noma, the Nordic restaurant led by genius Rene Redzepi is. The losers here? Blumenthal and Keller, without a doubt.
With regards to Blumenthal, the Fat Duck slid to third. Yes, they had food poisoning concerns earlier in the year. That probably warranted the slide. But...Blumenthal is a magician, a modern day Willy Wonka. I find it hard to believe that this choice was an easy one, but hey, I've been wrong before.
Keller was hit the hardest, though. Not only did Per Se slide, but The French Laundry slid many a place all the way to 32. Remember, this was on top of the list not a decade ago. What happened? Well that answer may be complicated, but in my opinion, it deals with Keller not being there. Many reviewers have stated that while the quality is high, it isn't what it was when Keller was behind the stove. Can the same be said for Per Se? I suppose only time will tell...
The winners are clearly Redzepi and Grant Achatz, whose Alinea is now the best restaurant in N. America. That is quite a feat, and he will only continue to march on. Unless of course he decides to have an empire.
(And BTW, Mr. Overrated Himself, Gordan Ramsay, has not a restaurant on the list--or even the top 100. Keep making your TV shows, it's doing wonders for your real job!)
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I've often wondered what Gordon Ramsay's food actually tastes like since he seems to have very little regard for his employees, and anger like that can only spill over into your cooking (or am I just laboring under a misapprehension regarding professional chefs?). But your nickname for him seems to be warranted; I certainly never hear about his restaurants outside of his TV shows.
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