World’s 50 Best Awards Announces Long Overdue Structural Changes

International restaurant awards announces judging changes for 2019

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants will introduce a 50-50 gender-split panel for this year’s awards, which claim to provide a definitive ranking of the world’s top 50 establishments. It will also introduce a ‘Best of the Best’ program, removing #1 restaurants from voting eligibility year on year, in order to refresh the ranking. The awards’ current makeup has been repeatedly criticised for its lack of diversity, particularly concerning its coverage of women, global regions, and pricing at awarded restaurants. The divisive ‘Best Female Chef’ award, currently held by London’s Clare Smyth, will remain in place, with awards director Hélène Pietrini reasserting the way that a second tier awards category “inspires younger women to reach the heights of their chosen profession” last October. Time will tell whether the restaurant awards’ changes in criteria go far enough.

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