Dubai to host The Best Chef Awards 2024 in November

World's best expected to attend annual ranking ceremony at Atlantis, The Palm later this year

The world's top 100 chefs are ranked at the annual Best Chef Awards, which is coming to Dubai in November. Photo: Ossiano

The Best Chef Awards are coming to Dubai this November.

The annual event, which recognises some of the world's best cooks, will take place from November 4 to 6 at Atlantis, The Palm. Alongside the awards ceremony, the three-day affair will also include citywide culinary activities, from pop-ups to workshops led by some of the city's popular chefs, including Christophe Devoille of The Royal Tea Room at Atlantis The Royal; Tetsuya Wakuda of Sagetsu; Rita Sueidan of Maisan 15 and others.

“Dubai is the place to be and was a natural choice for expanding the global footprint of The Best Chef Awards,” said Cristian Gadau, co-founder of the award-giving body. “Its reputation as a melting pot of cultures and its burgeoning status as a culinary destination align perfectly with our vision of global gastronomic excellence.”

The Best Chef Awards ranks the world's top 100 chefs. Dubai is already to home to some of the names included on last year's list, such as Himanshu Saini of two Michelin-starred Tresind Studio, who was 27th. French chef Gregoire Berger, of the famed Dubai underwater seafood restaurant Ossiano at Atlantis, The Palm, ranked 39th. They are considered to be top contenders this year, and other Dubai chefs who could be in the mix include Mohammed Orfali of Mena's best restaurant Orfali Bros.

The 2023 ceremony was held in Yucatan, Mexico, where Dabiz Munoz topped the list. He has held the number one spot for three consecutive years for the work he carried out at his Madrid restaurant DiverXO. Earlier this year, the eccentric Spanish chef opened StreetXO at Dubai's The Link.

Given the recent influx of international chefs to Dubai over recent months, the awards ceremony is expected to be widely attended. Together with the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the three-day event will also include a conference, featuring discussions on culinary innovation led by renowned chefs and academic experts. These sessions will explore the latest trends and technologies in the restaurant world.

News that the awards are coming to Dubai has piqued excitement in the city's vibrant culinary scene. “Welcome home,” Chef Berger of the Ossiano said on Instagram.

How chefs are ranked

The announcement comes just months after the organisation announced a revision to its voting and ranking system. A total of 568 voters will make up the jury this year, consisting of 348 chefs and 220 industry professionals.

The voters assign points, from 100 to 1,000, to chefs of their choosing. “Abandoning traditional rankings based on numerical positions, The Best Chef Awards now adopt a more nuanced tiered system using one, two or three knives to indicate a chef’s level of excellence,” the organisation detailed in an Instagram post.

Three knives are given to chefs with 80 per cent or more of the maximum possible points, indicating “top-tier culinary excellence”, while two knives are awarded to those achieving 40 per cent or more of the maximum points. Chefs who rake in 20 per cent or more of the maximum points get one knife.

Voters are encouraged to judge chefs based on specific culinary attributes, from cooking technique and flavour mastery to innovation and sustainability. They are also required to share photos, bills and reservation confirmation details to validate their selections.

“With local and Dubai-based restaurants increasingly gaining acclaim on a global scale, we look forward to welcoming some of the world’s top culinary talents, while showcasing our city’s innovative spirit and its vibrant and diverse culinary landscape,” says Ahmed Al Khaja, the chief executive of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, an arm of the DET.