William Drew, Director of Content at 50 Best, joined the organisation in 2010. As the decade draws to a close, he takes the opportunity to look back on his personal dining experiences to pick out 10 memorable and meaningful dishes from this period
Friends and acquaintances tell me I have the best job in the world. I protest, of course, that my role is not to travel the globe eating, but to organise, cajole, edit and communicate about food and restaurants. That said, as a by-product of my ‘day job’ at 50 Best, I am extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to eat more extensively than most.
Since joining the team that puts together The World’s 50 Best Restaurants (and all its offshoots and cousins) almost 10 years ago, my own gastronomic journey has to some extent mirrored that of 50 Best, and perhaps reflects wider shifts in the international restaurant sphere.
What follows is a very personal snapshot of dishes, in chronological order, that have had a significant impact on my culinary growth (which includes some physical expansion, inevitably). Although single plates can never be extricated from the meal as a whole or from the specific occasion on which I enjoyed them, they can offer a representative – if subjective – sample. Here are 10 dishes I tasted between 2010 and 2020 that will stay with me forever.
1. Mock Turtle Soup and Mad Hatter Tea
The Fat Duck, Bray, UK. 2011 
Image: Mike_fleming via Flickr
I kicked off my 50 Best decade on a high by visiting The Fat Duck. Heston Blumenthal’s masterpiece was one of the most in-demand restaurants in the world at the time, and it’s difficult to overstate the impact it had (and can still have) on first-time diners: the experience was delicious, imaginative, technically brilliant, fun and fantastical. I could pick almost any dish from the 14-course extravaganza, but the Mock Turtle Soup perfectly embodies the chef’s flights of fancy, mixing Alice in Wonderland storytelling with culinary wizardry, backed up by the intense flavours of veal, pickled cucumber and truffle.
2. Steamed pork buns
Momofuku Ssam Bar, New York, US. 2012
Image: Lou Stejskal via Flickr
Early proof – both for me personally and in terms of global culinary shifts – that the best restaurant experiences do not have to be delivered in fine dining packages. I rocked up, solo, to Dave Chang’s unremarkable-looking corner joint in the still down-at-heel East Village and proceeded to scoff gutsy but high-end Asian-American comfort food at the counter until I near burst. The crowing lunchtime glory was the simplest (and most famous) dish on the menu: steamed buns, roast pork belly, cured cucumber, hoisin sauce. Accept no imitations.
3. Foie Gras – Can’t Quit
Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai, China. 2012
Image: Scott Wright
Goose liver pâté in cigarette form, presented on an ashtray with cabbage ‘ash’, may not sound enormously appetising (whatever your ethical stance). But in the immersive setting of Paul Pairet’s 10-seat capsule restaurant in Shanghai, it is not only perfectly executed, but witty and entertaining. The multi-sensory theatre shouldn’t disguise the precision of Pairet’s conception and cooking. In taking the blurring of taste and emotion to new levels, a meal at Ultraviolet is both deeply memorable and laced with laughter.
4. King prawn, fried prawn legs, prawn essence, prawn head
El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain. 2013
One beautiful core ingredient cooked and presented in multiple ways, each offering an entirely fresh and contrasting sensation. It’s characteristic of this understated but always innovative restaurant and of the three brothers behind it: Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca. (I later took my own three young sons to this restaurant: while it’s fair to say that they enjoyed some dishes more than others, it remains a beautiful and memorable family day.) I can’t cite El Celler de Can Roca without mentioning sommelier Josep’s wine – not just the exquisite pairings but his infectious passion for certain grape varieties and regions. Take a tour of his magnificent cellar to understand more. A restaurant steeped in hospitality that defines my decade at 50 Best more than any other.
5. Plankton risotto
Aponiente, El Puerto de Santa María, Spain. 2014
This was a last-minute holiday excursion, and just happened to be preceded by an extensive sherry tasting – pretty much the ideal lead-in (and accompaniment) to any meal in this corner of south-west Spain. It meant it was even more of a surprise to be blown away by Ángel León’s seafood-only, plankton-laced menu. I had an early incarnation of this dish – experienced in the restaurant’s original, cramped location years before its arrival on the extended 50 Best list – which demonstrates the chef’s enduring obsession with the sea, sustainability and marine biology.
6. Southern crab curry with kalamansi limes
Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand. 2016
Nahm, under the mercurial Australian-born chef David Thompson, had been voted No.1 in the second edition of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2014, but I didn’t get the chance to visit this seminal Thai restaurant until the ceremony moved to Bangkok a couple of years later. It was a truly eye-opening (and sweat-inducing) experience; as though I’d never eaten Thai food before. In the hands of a true master – and partly through this dish – I began to understand the enormous depths, subtleties and strengths of this cuisine: spice, sourness, richness, salt, heat, layering of flavours and more. Educational in the extreme.
7. Chorizo, home made
Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain. 2017
Bittor Arguinzoniz is globally acknowledged as the master of grilling over wood, but it’s not just the smoky flavours imbued into every dish that make his restaurant in the tiny village of Axpe in Spain’s Basque Country such a treat. It’s also the home-grown and home-made nature of the ingredients, which are largely sourced and lovingly nurtured by the chef himself in the farm and fields around Asador Etxebarri. The simplicity of this artisanal product emphasises the stunning flavour. And, ultimately, taste and deliciousness always win.
8. Corn husk meringue
Cosme, New York, US. 2017
Unfashionable as it may be in this era, I have an unashamedly sweet tooth – and this is my favourite dessert. Ever. The brilliant Daniela Soto-Innes and her trusted pastry chef Isabel Coss have created a unique yet comforting dish – Mexican but not wholly traditional – that reflects the chef’s own vibrant personality. Coupled with the New York restaurant’s buzzing vibes and brilliant mezcal cocktails, it helps make Cosme one of the go-to destination in NYC for almost any occasion.
9. Pastrami short rib
Mishiguene, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2019
Another relatively straightforward dish, but a highlight of a fascinating exploration of Jewish food from across the globe at Mishiguene. In the skilled hands of chef-owner Tomás Kalika, each dish tells a different historical, social and cultural story. Since launching Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2013, I have been exposed to a whole new continent full of rich culinary histories, innovative chefs and genuine hospitality. This year marked my first visit to Argentina; I intend to return.
10. Salt crusted beetroot, caviar cream
Mirazur, Menton, France. 2019
Image: Lopez De Zubiria
It seems fitting to finish the twenty-teens at the top, with a dish from the destination currently ranked No.1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Mauro Colagreco’s skill, reputation and dishes have grown and grown over the last decade as he has honed his beautiful and precise mix of local ingredients and global influences. The white beetroot from his own fabled gardens, aged in salt, epitomises the versatility and depth of great vegetables, combined with an unapologetically luxurious caviar cream. Just add great company and charming service in a sun-filled dining room overlooking the azure Mediterranean for the full effect.
Ten dishes over ten years inevitably leave out equally memorable culinary moments that simply can’t fit in. Special mention must go to El Bulli, which I was extremely fortunate to visit shortly before its closure in 2011. Dishes from Central, Saison, Odette, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Atelier Crenn, Per Se and Restaurant Tim Raue came very close, while the impact and influence of Osteria Francescana, Gaggan and Eleven Madison Park – on me and on the gastronomic world – remain unarguable.
Here’s to another decade of brilliant memories for all of us – centred around, but not limited to, delicious food.
Note: William Drew, along with all employees of the 50 Best organisation and its commercial partners, does not take part in the voting for any of the 50 Best lists. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants annual voting process and list are independently adjudicated by Deloitte.
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