Eleven Madison Park, located in New York City, won the title of World’s Best Restaurant of the year 2017.
It overtook Italy’s Osteria Fransiscana, which claimed the No. 1 spot last year. When it debuted, Eleven Madison Park ranked in at no. 50 among the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Since 2012, it had maintained a spot in the top 10.
Eleven Madison Park is the second American restaurant to top this list. The last American restaurant which held this title was Thomas Keller’s French Laundry, in the year 2004.
About Eleven Madison Park
Co-owners Will Guidara and Daniel Humm accepted this award in a ceremony held at the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Australia. The owners wished that they were in New York so that they could celebrate with the entire team. In his acceptance speech, Guidara said that this was “the greatest affirmation of all”.
Guidara and Humm bought this restaurant from its original owner Danny Meyer in the year 2011. They renovated it and changed the dishes as well as the format of the meals. The signature dish is Humm’s roasted duck, which has several variations, from lavender and honey to Sichuan peppercorns. They serve a lot of other delicacies as well such as bay scallop and apple, and pears poached with honey and acorn.
Currently, the restaurant offers an 11 course menu for $295 (approx Rs 20,000). This meal lasts for around 3 hours. It requires reservations in advance and the guests should fully pre-pay for their food. There is a smaller five-course bar menu as well, which costs $145.
About The Award
Each year, 1000 chefs, food writers and experts across 26 regions of the world make a list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. This list is published by William Reed Business Media and has a large number of sponsors including Diners International. It is widely recognized and can instantly popularize a restaurant.
However, the award has also received a lot of criticism. This includes issues such as favoritism and sexism. There was also a brief protest against it, known as Occupy 50 Best. Keeping all these things in mind, the rules for voting have been made stricter in recent years. It will be interesting to see how this award affects the popularity of Eleven Madison Park.