Is the World’s 50 Best broken? Father Sal returns as we put on our wildly unearned investigative journalist hats and follow the money behind one of the restaurant world’s most influential rankings.
We get into celebrated Slovenian chef Ana Roš’s decision to skip the awards ceremony, the time and money restaurants spend campaigning for recognition, and the tourism-board spending that helps get influential diners through the door. Why have American restaurants all but disappeared from the global top 100? How does North America’s number-one restaurant miss the worldwide list altogether? And where does smart marketing end and a questionable system begin? Naturally, I made a spreadsheet.
We also discuss worker-treatment allegations circulating about acclaimed restaurants, what responsibility awards bodies have to investigate them, and whether my proposed solution would accidentally create FIFA for restaurants. Sal spots a few potential flaws.
But first, we recap Sal’s wedding feast, my tour of South Florida’s Cuban bakeries, whether Porto’s can hang with the competition, and why the movie Chef may have ruined Cubanos forever. Plus, Miami’s deeply cursed appeal, elite people-watching in Palm Beach, a listener’s complaint about my international travel accents, and Diner Theory’s request to come on the podcast.
In Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss: LA cleans up at the Eater Awards, The Infatuation names its best new restaurants, the Original Pantry prepares for a comeback under nonprofit ownership, and advent calendars become an excuse to sell adults tiny portions of protein powder. Finally, someone allegedly tries to scam Masa of Echo Park with an AI-generated pizza photo. Don’t fuck with Rhonda.
LINKS & FURTHER READING
World’s 50 Best
Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss
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