When the global gastronomic community descended on Singapore for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, cooks took the opportunity to explore food markets, visit restaurants and log their trips through Instagram. Discover the city-state from the chefs’ point of view
1. Eric Ripert narrates his first 24 hours in Singapore
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After flying in from New York, Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin spent his first day in Singapore visiting Gardens by the Bay, taking a trip to one of Singapore’s temples, eating dim sum at Lei Garden, taking part in #50BestTalks: Kitchen Karma, presented by Miele, and finally ending the day with Indian food and views of the city-state’s skyline from Spago atop Marina Bay Sands. Quite the 24 hours!
2. Zaiyu Hasegawa goes fishing
Upon arriving in Singapore, Japanese chef Zaiyu Hasegawa of restaurant Den took some time to go street fishing – in the photo, he poses with his hard-won prize. The cook also settled in for a traditional Singaporean breakfast featuring different types of noodles.
3. Leonor Espinosa explores street markets
Chef Leonor Espinosa of restaurant Leo in Bogotá, Colombia, posed in a sunlit Chinatown Street Market, a bustling downtown tourist destination where hundreds of stalls sell everything from local delicacies and fresh ingredients to handicrafts and clothing.
4. Massimo Bottura loves a selfie
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In town to celebrate his restaurant’s induction into 50 Best’s hall of fame, the Best of the Best, Italian chef Massimo Bottura didn’t miss the chance to send the digital version of “Postcards from Singapore,” posing with fellow chefs and fans. Here he’s joined by fellow culinary legends Daniel Humm, Heston Blumenthal and Joan Roca.
5. Yannick Alléno chronicles the eight-hands dinner at Odette
As part of the extended events programme, a series of culinary collaborations took place in Singapore. French chef Yannick Alléno took to the pass with Mauro Colagreco of Mirazur, Julien Royer of Odette and pastry chef Juan Contreras of Atelier Crenn. The eight-hands dinner took place at Odette and raised funds for the Singapore-based Breast Cancer Foundation.
6. Mitsuharu Tsumura, Jose Andrés and more try Singapore’s famous chilli crab
When in Singapore, do as the Singaporeans do – for most that means eating the city’s emblematic dish: chilli crab. Maido chef Mitsuharu Tsumura, who was visiting from Peru, tasted the crab at hawker stall Keng Eng Kee Seafood along with Central’s Virgilio Martinez. A few days later, Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin and American Express Icon Award winner José Andrés also sampled the dish at the same location.
7. Daniel Humm dines with friends
“It’s the community and the friendships that make our profession so unique,” said Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park in New York. The chef enjoyed a meal at Nouri, a restaurant recently voted on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list for the first time, with his peer pals Alain Passard and Yannick Alléno.
8. Jorge Vallejo takes a dip in Marina Bay Sands’ infinity pool
To recover from the long (21-hour!) journey from Mexico City to Singapore, chef Jorge Vallejo of Quintonil went for a swim at arguably the world’s most famous infinity pool on the 55th floor of Marina Bay Sands. The chef posted: “I had to do it.”
9. Vladimir Mukhin enjoys mentoring the next generation
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Along with Dan Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Luke Dale-Roberts of The Test Kitchen, Tim Raue of Restaurant Time Raue and Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck, Russian chef Vladimir Mukhin took part in an educational event at Singaporean cooking school At-Sunrice. In his post, Mukhin asks himself whether one day he’ll be able to open a such a school in Russia.
10. Andreas Caminada catches up with friends at the Chefs’ Feast
Taking a sojourn from his Swiss restaurant Schloss Schauenstein, chef Andreas Caminada posted a series of snaps from the Chefs’ Feast at Tanjong Beach Club, posing with Eneko Atxa of Azurmendi, Gaggan Anand of Gaggan, Mauro Colagreco of Mirazur and Mehmet Gürs of Mikla, and snapping the giant sand statue of a chilli crab with the 50 Best logo. Schloss Schauenstein went on to win the Sustainable Restaurant Award 2019.
11. Tim Raue visits his favourite food court
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Berlin chef Tim Raue took the chance to stock up on local produce and headed to Takashimaya Food Court, which he described as “my most favourite [sic] Japanese fruit dealer in Singapore”. Returning home with his haul, he planned to fly under the radar: “I hope German customs won’t get me,” he quipped.
12. Peter and Lieve Goossens arrive at the awards ceremony
Hof Van Cleve husband-and-wife team Peter and Lieve Goossens took the classic shot on the red carpet for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019 awards ceremony.
13. Andoni Luis Aduriz goes in for a hug
Andoni Luis Aduriz flew to Singapore to represent his Basque County restaurant, Mugaritz. Here, he met up with compatriot Joan Roca of El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain. The two shared a hug, with Aduriz posting: “How much is a hug worth? And when it’s from Joan Roca? For me, it’s priceless.”
14. Joan Roca posts an epic ‘chelfie’
Chef Joan Roca of El Celler de Can Roca posted an epic selfie featuring five chefs whose restaurants have reached the No.1 position on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Roca congratulated Mauro Colagreco, whose restaurant Mirazur achieved the title in 2019, and was pictured smiling next to Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park, Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana and Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck.
15. Daniela Soto-Innes poses with her trophy
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“I guess America’s favourite food is Mexican,” posted Cosme chef Daniela Soto-Innes, along with a photo of herself and her trophy as The World’s Best Female Chef. Soto-Innes also gave an inspirational speech at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony – you can watch her stirring words on 50 Best’s Instagram.
16. Ana Roš enjoys a post-awards team lunch
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On the day after the awards, Hiša Franko chef Ana Roš took her team out to celebrate the restaurant placing at No.38 on the 2019 list. The Slovenia-based brigade enjoyed a Singaporean meal at Kok Sen, which specialises in tze char cuisine – street-food versions of Chinese favourites.
17. Heinz Reitbauer nails the point of the events
The chef-owner of Steirereck put together a selection of his favourite snaps from his time in Singapore, taking in the view from Marina Bay Sands, some of his favourite bites and plenty of photos wit his friends. In his post, the chef highlights that it was “a very inspiring culinary trip,” and congratulats Mauro Colagreco on taking Mirazur to the No.1 spot on the list.
18. Sergey and Ivan Berezutskiy meet their idol
Newcomers on the list Sergey and Ivan Berezutskiy of restaurant Twins Garden in Moscow, which debuted at No.19, had a chance to have dinner with their idol Heston Blumenthal. The pair posted a happy photo following a meal with the trailblazing British chef.
19. José Avillez perfectly recaps the whole experience
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After returning to his restaurant in Portugal, chef José Avillez summed up his experience of Singapore in one handy video taking in his explorations of the city, the bites he ate, a visit to Atlas bar, 50 Best and S.Pellegrino’s Food Meets Future event and, of course, the awards ceremony.
The 2019 list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants was announced on 25 June from Singapore. Browse the new list and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for all the news, features and updates.
