I was in foodie heaven last night! I was very lucky to attend the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards at the fabulous Royal Exhibition Building.
You could feel the anticipation in the air as the world’s best chefs marched down the red carpet towards an array of fresh delicacies waiting to be devoured. The grand halls were teeming with an array of Australia’s best chefs and surrounded by Neil Perry’s Catering, offering of some of Australia’s freshest and finest produce.
Now in its 15th year, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants welcomed six brand new entries and three re-entries to the 2017 ranking.
Most exciting was seeing the two Australian restaurants announced in the prestigious line up. Attica was listed at number 32 and took the title of The Best Restaurant in Australasia, while Brae entered the ranking for the first time at number 44. Take note, both restaurants are in Victoria proving te again that we Victorians are punching above our foodie weight!
The crown of the night was awarded to Eleven Madison Park in New York. The restaurant focuses on local ingredients and is famous for its eight to ten course tasting menus.
Heston Blumenthal was awarded the Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award. During his engaging speech, he spoke about the importance of creative food invention, including sensory excitement for diners and to never stop dreaming up new foodie ideas. But most importantly, he spent a great deal of his speech talking about how Melbourne is the most exciting place in the world due to the non-conditional food explosion that is happening here.
Chefs have the freedom to do whatever they can dream of here!
Melbournians, you are fabulous foodies!
