This week is an exciting time to be in Lima, Peru. Not only do we have the amazing foodie magnet Mistura – ah, Mistura! – but we also have the top Latin America food awards ceremonies. Chowzter’s Latin American awards for casual and street food take place on Friday, while on the elegant side we have the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, which will be held on Wednesday, September 3.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list has been around since 2002. A newcomer was Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, but now Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants has joined the ranks.
The Awards (or, how in the world do they decide?)
Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants is a list of – you got it, the 50 Best in the region. The Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy gets together with about 250 leaders in the restaurant industry across Latin America, who obviously have a pretty good idea of what’s going on in Latin America’s restaurant scene. Then they all work on the list of the 50 best, dividing the region into 4 sub-regions:
- Mexico and Central America, which includes the Caribbean
- South America (north end)
- South America (south bit)
- Brazil
In each sub-region 63 members agree on who will make the list. They’re all either food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs, or others that are immersed in the industry. They keep in mind the gastronomic diversity of the region while comparing it with global culinary trends.
And it all creates quite a bit of excitement.
What does Bogota have to do with this?
Last year Colombia had four restaurants on the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list:
- Criterión came in at number 19. French techniques combined with local ingredients make this one of the most famous restaurants in the city.
- Harry Sasson came in not far behind at number 22.
- And it was closely followed by Andrés Carne de Res at number 24.
- While El Cielo got on the list at position number 47.
And the award goes to…
Of course, the important thing in all of this is the results – so who gets the best spots on the Latin America food awards this year?
The results are announced to the assembled chefs and academy members and other notable foodies on 3rd September 2014 in Lima, Peru, at the awards ceremony.
In case you don’t get to go to those awards, the results will also be available on their official website.
You can always find out on Twitter, too: @LatinAmericas50.
More awards
Check out these categories from Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants:
- The Cusqueña Best Restaurant in Latin America
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- The Veuve Clicquot Latin America’s Best Female Chef Award
- Chefs’ Choice Award
- One to Watch Award
- Individual country awards
Will you be at Mistura this year? Let’s connect on Twitter!
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