Ten years ago, The Best Chef began with a simple but radical idea: put the chef at the centre.
Not the restaurant. Not the institution. Not the establishment.
The chef- their creativity, personality, ideas, courage and ability to shape the future of gastronomy.
What started in Warsaw in 2017 has grown into a global community connecting chefs, scientists, researchers, innovators and culinary professionals across continents. Along the way, The Best Chef has evolved from an awards ceremony into a platform for recognition, conversation, knowledge and change.
Ten years. Ten editions. A journey that continues to redefine what a culinary platform can be.
2017
EDITION I · INAUGURAL
Warsaw, Poland
A bold idea takes its first breath in Warsaw.
Founded by Joanna Slusarczyk and Cristian Gadau, The Best Chef Awards is born with a clear proposition: the chef, not the restaurant, deserves the spotlight.
At the gala in the historic Reduta Banku Polskiego, Joan Roca of El Celler de Can Roca is crowned The Best Chef. Six special categories debut alongside the main award, laying the foundations for a platform that would grow far beyond a single ranking.
The first edition is small compared with what would follow.
But the idea is big.
2018
EDITION II
Milan, Italy
The awards move to Milan — a city synonymous with craft, creativity and uncompromising standards.
Joan Roca retains his title, becoming the first chef to win twice. But the real story is happening beyond the podium. More chefs join. More voices enter the conversation. The community begins to take shape.
The Best Chef is no longer simply an award. It is becoming a meeting point.
2019
EDITION III
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona marks the first major evolution of The Best Chef.
The city — one of the world’s great centres of avant-garde gastronomy — becomes the perfect setting for a new question:
What if celebrating chefs could also mean exploring the ideas shaping the future of food?
The answer arrives with the launch of Area Talks and Food Meets Science.
For the first time, chefs, scientists, researchers and innovators come together under the same roof to discuss technology, sustainability, psychology, nutrition and sensory experience.
The Best Chef begins to move beyond competition.
It becomes a platform for ideas.
Björn Frantzén takes the top prize, bringing his precise Nordic-Asian philosophy to an increasingly global community.
2020
EDITION IV · VIRTUAL
Global · Online
Then the world stops.
Kitchens close. Events disappear. Borders shut.
But The Best Chef refuses to go silent.
The fourth edition moves online, transforming a moment of uncertainty into an opportunity to connect across borders and time zones. A three-day virtual edition reaches more people than any previous physical event. René Redzepi is named The Best Chef.
More importantly, the community stays together. 2020 becomes a reminder that The Best Chef was never only about a room, a stage or a gala.
It was about people.
2021
EDITION V
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Back to Live. Back to Reality.
Amsterdam welcomes a culinary world ready to reconnect.
The return to physical events carries a different kind of energy. After months of distance, chefs meet again, conversations return and the community comes back stronger.
Dabiz Muñoz takes the top spot, embodying the fearless creativity and boundary-pushing spirit at the heart of The Best Chef.
Over 100 days of daily candidate reveals build anticipation and transform awards season into an ongoing conversation — putting individual chefs firmly at the centre.
The Best Chef is no longer simply an annual moment.
It is becoming a year-round movement.
2022
EDITION VI
Madrid, Spain
Madrid brings The Best Chef home to Spain.
Dabiz Muñoz retains his crown in front of a roaring crowd, while the platform continues to expand its definition of culinary excellence.
Three new special awards are introduced, including the Pristine Award, recognising chefs who champion exceptional local produce and reinforcing the growing importance of origin, quality and sustainability.
The sixth edition confirms something that has been building for years:
The Best Chef is no longer simply celebrating who is at the top.
It is asking what makes a chef matter.
2023
EDITION VII
Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
A historic leap.
For the first time, The Best Chef Awards leaves Europe and arrives in Mérida, under the Mayan skies of Yucatán. The theme “Origins & Future” creates a meeting point between ancient knowledge, living traditions and the future of gastronomy.
Dabiz Muñoz completes an unprecedented three consecutive victories. But the significance of Mérida goes beyond the podium. Mexico’s extraordinary culinary heritage expands the cultural and geographical horizons of The Best Chef, bringing the Americas firmly into the conversation.
The world of The Best Chef gets bigger.
And so does the definition of gastronomy itself.
2024
EDITION VIII
Dubai, UAE
Dubai marks a turning point.
A city built around ambition, transformation and new ideas provides the stage for one of the most significant changes in The Best Chef’s history. The traditional Top 100 ranking is replaced by a new system of one to three knives.
The change creates a broader and more inclusive way of recognising culinary talent — opening the door to a global Guide to Gastronomy Achievement and Expertise. The Best Chef is no longer defined by a single list. It becomes a wider recognition system designed to showcase a much broader spectrum of talent across the culinary world.
Rasmus Munk of Alchemist takes the top prize. With 972 voters across six continents and 783 chefs recognised from 69 countries, The Best Chef enters a new era.
2025
EDITION IX
Milan, Italy
Milan welcomes The Best Chef back to Europe. At Studio 90 — a former aircraft factory transformed into a spectacular event space — gastronomy, creativity and technology meet once again. Rasmus Munk wins back-to-back, joining Ana Roš and Himanshu Saini among the rare group of chefs who have claimed the top position more than once.
But the evolution continues beyond the main award. A new humanitarian award recognises chefs who use food as a force for relief, resilience and positive change.
The message is clear:
Culinary leadership goes far beyond the kitchen.
And with the tenth edition approaching, a decade of evolution is about to reach its defining moment.
EDITION X · THE TENTH
TEN YEARS OF THE BEST
A decade ago, an idea was born in Warsaw.
Since then, The Best Chef has travelled across cities and continents, survived a global pandemic, built a worldwide community, created new platforms for dialogue, introduced new ways of recognising talent and continually challenged the boundaries of gastronomy.
Ten years of celebrating creativity.
Ten years of giving chefs a stage.
Ten years of connecting gastronomy with science, culture, technology and ideas.
Ten years of asking not only who is the best, but what does it mean to be a great chef?
The tenth edition is not a finish line.
It is a summit. A moment to look back at everything that has been built and, at the same time, to look forward. Because the future of gastronomy does not stand still.
Neither do we.
What began as an awards ceremony has become a global platform. And now, after a decade, that platform is ready to evolve once again.
TEN YEARS BROUGHT US HERE.
THE NEXT ERA STARTS NOW.
A GROUNDBREAKING EDITION IS COMING.
