Guy Savoy is the best chef in the world for the 8th consecutive year

The French Guy Savoy, officiating at the Monnaie de Paris, is the best chef in the world for the eighth consecutive year, tied with nine American, Japanese or Chinese restaurants, La Liste announced to AFP on Monday, in its list of the 1000 best restaurants in the world.

Gastronomy “is very close to tennis”, dares Philippe Faure, president and founder of La Liste, a gastronomic “ranking of rankings”. “For eight or ten years, it only happens between three or four” restaurateurs, the Nadal, Federer or Djokovic of the kitchens.

The Frenchman Arnaud Donckele also stands out, tied for first place with his establishment in Saint-Tropez, La Vague d’Or, and with, in second place, Plénitude, in Paris.

If there is a certain “stability” in the ranking concerning Europe and the United States, “what is moving a lot is Asia”, underlines Philippe Faure, with a Hong Kong restaurant in first place in the world, Lung King Heen.

The president and founder of La Liste also underlines “a considerable push from Korea”, known superficially in France for its ramens. “I’ve seen some amazing things,” chefs who “want to enter the world’s gastronomic elite,” he enthuses.

Two Korean restaurants are tied for eighth place, La Yeon and Mingles.

Japan, long renowned for its cuisine, is the country most represented in the top 1000 of La Liste, with 126 restaurants, followed by the United States (114 addresses).

France has only 11 classified restaurants but is awarded the honorary prize, which rewards Georges Blanc, the famous ambassador of Bresse poultry, for his entire career, and whose establishment in Vonnas points to the third place in the world.

“There is, in my opinion, no drop in tension (…) or disinterest in French cuisine,” says Philippe Faure. But “there is a lack of interest in its excesses”.

Certain chefs, “like Mephistos in their kitchen”, proposed, according to him, “something of which they were very proud but which the customers did not always accept”.

“A period of transition opens the way to a gastronomy centered on pleasure,” summarizes La Liste.

This year, a special “Show to table” prize rewards five establishments in Dubai, Madrid, Melbourne, Paris and Tokyo, where atmosphere and fun are on the menu.

Created in 2015, La Liste aims to be the “ranking of rankings” and tracks 35,000 restaurants in 200 countries, using an algorithm that compiles and weights more than 1,100 sources (guides, blogs and press articles) and attributes a score out of 100 points.