Best Chef Awards 2024 honours Arab, Indian, British and French chefs with restaurants in Dubai

Chefs from Denmark and Spain took home the top honours, while Tresind Studio's Himanshu Saini won big locally

An Onam-inspired dish at two-Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Tresind Studio, helmed by chef Himanshu Saini. Photo: Tresind Studio

Honouring 550 chefs from 61 countries, the Best Chef Awards 2024 ceremony was the largest to date – and held for the first time in Dubai, at Atlantis the Palm on Wednesday evening.

While the top three positions went to international chefs (see list below), three Dubai restaurants stood out for their impeccable mastery in the kitchen in the Special Awards category.

Indian-origin chef Himanshu Saini, who helms two-Michelin-starred restaurant Tresind Studio, took home the Best Dubai Award, while Jordanian chefs Eva, Lilian, Emilie Rihani of Three by Eva and Syrian brothers Mohamad, Wassim, Omar Orfali of Michelin-starred Orfali Bros shared the Best Origins & Future Award.

The Best Chef Awards group also debuted its tiered Knife recognition system in Dubai. This rates chefs based on impact and skill across three categories. At the top end, three Knives were awarded to 97 chefs for “culinary mastery”, two Knives went to 177 chefs for representing “world-class expertise” and the one Knife category recognised 276 chefs for “notable contributions to the field”.

Here, too, chefs from the UAE were well-represented, with chef Saini, Gregoire Berger of Ossiano and Vladimir Mukhin of Krasota winning three; Mohamad Orfali and Daniel Birk of Row on 45 winning two; and Rahul Rana of Avatara, Solemann Haddad of Moonrise and Tom Allen of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal winning one Knife apiece.

As the dining scene in the UAE goes from strength to strength – and gastro-tourism continues to attract foodies from all over the world to the Emirates – ceremonies such as the Best Chef Awards serve up a bucket list of restaurants for discerning diners.

If you’re a food-first traveller, here are some international restaurants to add to your itinerary based on the various categories awarded at the ceremony in Dubai.

World’s top 3 best chefs

1. Rasmus Munk of Alchemist (Copenhagen)

Alchemist is located in an old shipyard in the industrial district of Refshaleoen, complete with a planetarium dome, projections of the aurora borealis and jellyfish floating among plastic bags.

Alongside creative audio-visuals and live performers, chef Munk serves what he terms “holistic cuisine”. This translates to dishes such as a puffed gluten sphere filled with smoke and topped with cream, langoustine tartare, almond cream and Osetra caviar; an omelette with an egg yolk membrane, egg espuma, truffles, cheese, peppers and a thin layer of pancetta; and a “sunburnt bikini” sandwich, with a toasted mochi dough ball, Gruyere cheese, Iberian ham, truffles and butter.

2. Albert Adria of Enigma (Barcelona)

A fantastical setting awaits diners at this Spanish restaurant, including ceilings that look like they’re suspended mid-air. Here, chef Adria, the former pastry chef at El Bulli restaurant, serves a 25-course tasting menu that changes every month based on seasonal ingredients.

Dishes include a tartlet with thinly laminated funghi, olive oil, salted funghi praline, lemon thyme, wild pine nut and lemon zest; Bouchot mussel meat jelly with Thai onion soup; and mango with white chocolate and black olives.

Adria also won the Best Evolution award this year.

3. Eric Vildgaard of Jordnær (Copenhagen)

Located in the affluent suburb of Gentofte, Jordnær translates as “down to earth”, and its decor is bright, spacious and simple – with white linen tables studded with only a small bouquet of flowers.

The menu is quite the opposite, as chef Vildgaard offers up multi-ingredient dishes that combine Romanesco blanched in lemon leaf oil, Espelette peppers, freshly churned goat's milk fromage frais, Comte cracker, toasted Marcona almonds and wild watercress; chawanmushi with young ginger, steamed snow crab, Galanga tea, mandarin oil, habanero-marinated radishes, Beluga-Sevruga caviar, Norwegian sea urchin, Buddha’s hand, Hanaho flowers and kinome leaf; and grilled turbot with ramps sauce, frothy blue mussels, young kale and spring shoots.

Special award winners

Best Pastry Chef award: Rene Frank of Coda (Berlin, Germany)

Best New Entry: Mei Kogo of Sushi Meino (Tokyo, Japan)

Best Terroir Award: Jaime Rodriguez of Celele (Cartagena, Colombia)

Best Science: Angel Leon of Aponiente (Cadiz, Spain)

Best Food Art: Julien Royer of Odette (Singapore)

Best NextGen: Michele Lazzarini of Contrada Bricconi (Oltressenda Alta, Italy)

Best Dining Experience: Vaughan Mabee of Amisfiled (Queenstown, New Zealand)

Best Creativity Award: Paco Mendez of Come Restaurant (Barcelona, Spain)

Best Voted by Professionals: Ana Ros of Hisa Franko (Kobarid, Slovenia)

Other notable winners

It's worth noting that more than a dozen chefs who won accolades for their international venues also have their names above restaurants in the UAE. French chef Anne-Sophie Pic, for instance, who got three Knives for Maison Pic in Valence, opened La Dame de Pic in Dubai; Syrco Bakker (three Knives for Syrco Base in Bali) recently took over Farmhouse in Ras Al Khaimah; and Antonio Guida (one Knife for Seta in Milan) owns Talea in Abu Dhabi.

Other award-winning chefs with UAE interests include: Bjorn Frantzen, Dabiz Munoz, Jose Avillez, Massimo Bottura, Mauro Colagreco, Pierre Gagnaire, Yannick Alleno, Dani Garcia, Heinz Beck, Heston Blumenthal, Jason Atherton, Niko Romito, Alvin Leung and Tom Aikens.

UAE aside, two other chefs from the Middle East were recognised at this year’s Best Chefs Awards. Tala Bashmi won three Knives for Fusions by Tala in Manama, Bahrain; and Sara Aqel won one Knife for Dara Dining in Amman, Jordan. Two Turkish chefs also got a Knife apiece, including Burcak Kazdal for Apartiman Yenikoy and Fatih Tutak for his eponymous restaurant, both in Istanbul.

Ahmed Al Khaja, chief executive of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, part of Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, said: “Dubai’s successful hosting of the Best Chef Awards 2024 has underlined its status as a global gastronomy capital, with the city providing a platform not only to celebrate global culinary talent, but also to bring the industry together to share knowledge and explore innovation. We are proud to see Dubai-based culinary talent among them, as they continue to contribute to our goal to become the best city to visit, live and work in.”

Cristian Gadau, co-founder of the Best Chef, said: “We couldn't have asked for a more remarkable city to host this celebration. Dubai’s ambition, spirit, and dedication to excellence perfectly mirrored the calibre of talent we witnessed at this year’s awards.”