World’s 50 Best Restaurants Announced Amid Criticism Over Voting
By JULIA MOSKIN

A day after the announcement of the 2015 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in London, some chefs celebrated, others mourned and some joined the growing chorus of criticism of the awards Tuesday.

The chef Francis Mallmann of Argentina, a former judge, said that as an elder statesman of the industry, he felt responsible for raising a red flag about the quest for honors and awards. And Rogério Fasano, a restaurateur in Brazil who is also a former judge, voiced concerns about the integrity of the voting process.

The influence of the 50 Best list has ballooned since it was first published in Britain in 2002 by the trade magazine Restaurant. Consistent inclusion on the list can assure a restaurant’s financial success.

El Celler de Can Roca in Spain was named the No. 1 restaurant on Monday, reclaiming its position from Noma in Copenhagen, which dropped to No. 3, its lowest ranking since 2009. The chef Dan Barber’s rustic idyll north of New York City, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, cracked the list at No. 49, while Central in Lima, Peru, entered the top 10 for the first time.

Eleven Madison Park in New York remained in the top 10, and Le Bernardin, Per Se, the French Laundry, Nomad, Saison and the Restaurant at Meadowood, all American restaurants, also held steady. But over all, restaurants in the United States lost stature.

The list showed a marked increase in global reach, adding restaurants in India, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Russia and South Africa. Restaurants in Latin America and Asia — where the 50 Best organization has robust separate awards programs — continued to add entries.

The French chef Joël Robuchon’s restaurant in the Seventh Arrondissement of Paris, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, fell to No. 63 from No. 31. Mr. Robuchon has recently spoken out against the list, saying that as a former judge, he has seen loopholes in the system lead to “cronyism, ‘flip a coin’ voting, geopolitical influence and lobbying.”

Many chefs have long criticized the awards privately, saying that the judging is arbitrary, not credible and susceptible to corruption. They say that the scales are tipped when some governments sponsor free trips and meals for journalists while others do not; when chefs and restaurateurs make up a third of the voters; and when judges are not required to prove that they have eaten in the restaurants for which they cast ballots.

“Voters are supposed to have eaten in the restaurants they vote for at least once in the preceding 18 months,” Mr. Robuchon said. “But no proof of their visit, no expense bill is required, and I know for a fact that this is a major loophole in the process.”

The head of 50 Best, William Drew, said that no one at the organization influences results and that every effort is made to ensure its rules are followed.

This nonsense has been going on since 2002. Here’s what I had to say about it in 2006:“It's disappointing, but I no longer receive weekly...

Mr. Barber pointed to the list as an incubator for culinary creativity. “Being there for the first time, I could see that the list has become the organizing principle for a movement that was happening anyway,” he said, “the global revolution in fine dining.”

Mr. Mallmann said that the chefs honored Monday night are “some of the very best in the world.” But he added that the awards teach the wrong lesson, “that chefs must work to belong in this awards bubble more than they work for anything else.”

“There is too much lobbying and politics in this bubble,” he added.

Mr. Fasano echoed those concerns. “Even if we can agree that the list is only a collection of opinions,” he said, “what about the moral element?”

“Many people in the business know who the judges are — hotel concierges, food media and, of course, other chefs,” he said. “They get every kind of special treatment in the restaurants. There are publicists in my region who say they can help get you on the list, and they even negotiate for a bonus depending on the numbers.”

最佳餐廳！西班牙3兄弟3專長

Restaurant雜誌1日公布今年最佳50家餐廳排行榜，西班牙赫羅納省羅卡家三兄弟開的El Celler de Can Roca再度被評選為全球最佳餐廳。

羅卡家兄弟分別負責主廚、甜點、葡萄酒領域，該雜誌形容，他們的聯合本領有如神聖的三位一體，因而繼2013年之後二度獲得最佳餐廳榮銜。

第二名是義大利的Osteria Francescana，曾經四度奪冠的丹麥Noma落到第三名；第四名到第十名餐廳依序位於秘魯、美國、西班牙、英國、日本、巴西、泰國。

Restaurant雜誌表示，El Celler de Can Roca兼具簡單、家庭溫暖特色，提供美味菜餚和絕佳的葡萄酒。

羅卡兄弟檔掌廚的璜恩表示，希望得獎能讓家鄉料裡的能見度提高。他們的餐廳1986年開張。

Restaurant雜誌2002年起舉辦最家餐廳評選，聲望不輸米其林，但今年出現質疑聲浪。

餐廳排名取決於972位獨立評審的投票，包括美食評論家、主廚、餐廳老闆，分別來自全球27個地區，每個人可以選出自己過去18月吃過的七家餐廳。

主辦單位請知名顧問公司計票，且規定評審不得投給和自己有利害關係的餐廳；然而，批評者指出，評審不必證明他們真的去過特定餐廳。

350多人透過網路連署，要求贊助廠商杯葛這項不透明的獎。連署信中說，評審遴選方式不公開，他們投票時匿名，而且不必說明喜愛某家餐廳的理由或證明去過。

法國連署人數最多；法國餐廳已連續兩年未進入前十名，且從未得到第一名。

為安撫法國料理界，主辦單位最近特地派小組前往巴黎召開記者會，澄清Restaurant雜誌未反法。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/dining/worlds-50-best-restaurants-awards-ceremony-guildhall-london.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯
http://cn.nytstyle.com/food-wine/20150603/t03award/zh-hant/

2015-06-02．聯合晚報．A6．國際焦點．編譯范振光