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T​he organisers of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards have announced the launch of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, to be held in Singapore at the end of February 2013.

Launched in 2002, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna is an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of over 800 international restaurant industry experts. It is recognised around the world as the most credible indicator of the best places to eat on Earth and is the trusted arbiter of what matters in global cuisine.

Ms Aw Kah Peng, Chief Executive of Singapore Tourism Board commented, “We are excited with the decision made by ‘William Reed Business Media’ to launch an Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2013, which is complementary to the existing World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The dining and gastronomy industry across Asia has been improving dramatically over the past few years and the time is indeed right to recognise some of the best restaurants from Hong Kong to Tokyo and Singapore.

“The diversity of cuisines across Asia should make this list a highly anticipated annual affair, and we are of course very pleased that Singapore will be playing host to the awards ceremony next year. We will certainly also continue to do our best as one of Asia’s emerging culinary capitals,” added Kah Peng.

The Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list will cover North, East, South East and South Asia and will be voted for by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ Academy of judges as part of the overall voting for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. A supplementary list of ‘Chefs’ local favourites’ recommended by chefs on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants List will also be published, adding to the depth of understanding and discovery of Asia’s food culture, hidden restaurants and cuisine styles.

Singapore is already established as an exciting and dynamic destination for fine dining in Asia, with several of the world’s best chefs based there, Tetsuya, Daniel Boulud, Wolfgang Puck, Guy Savoy and Jason Atherton in addition to plenty of home grown talent like Ignatius Chan (Iggy’s).

Sue Woodward, Director of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants says, “We are thrilled to launch Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, which we have been researching over the past year. The number of restaurants in Asia on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list has been increasing year on year and we believe that the restaurant industry in Asia is ready for a credible and transparent restaurant list. The region’s dining scene is rich in diversity, yet relatively undiscovered and the dedicated list for Asia will allow us to highlight more of this talent than we can in the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants List.

“We want to encourage a shared fraternity of top chefs in Asia, similar to what we have in London, bringing together the best chefs, sharing ideas and celebrating gastronomy together”, added Woodward.

“Asia has tremendous diversity in food styles and this has led to a unique gastronomic landscape. Therefore, it is fitting that Asia should have its own list of 50 Best Restaurants which will allow many more great restaurants in Asia to be presented on a world stage,” says chef Richard Ekkebus of Amber restaurant at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong.

“Asia has a long culinary history and we offer a deep, diverse and rich gastronomic landscape. The Asia 50 Best is a fantastic platform to educate and showcase some of the greatest Asian restaurants to the world,” added Ignatius Chan from Iggy’s in Singapore.

“The sponsorship of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants represents for S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna the natural evolution of a successful collaboration built up over the years. This partnership shows how our two brands of mineral waters have become ambassadors of Made in Italy and a point of reference in the fine dining world.

“We consider Asia a very dynamic, lively and a rapidly expanding market, where we started, some years ago, collaborations with important local chefs who appreciate the quality and Italian taste of S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.” Says Fabio degli Esposti, International Business Unit Director - Italian Brands, San Pellegrino Nestlé Waters.

In addition to an awards ceremony, a series of workshops will be hosted for chefs attending the awards. The organisers will also be hosting Asia’s Best Dinner prepared by Asia’s best chefs.​

For Press Enquiries:

50 Best restaurant Awards: please contact Jo, Edwina or Harriet at KTBPR
Email: 50best@ktbpr.com
Telephone: +00 44 (0) 207 924 7214

SANPELLEGRINO S.p.A: please contact Antonella Stefanell
Email: Antonella.Stefanelli@waters.nestle.com
Telephone: +00 39 02 319 72796 mobile: + 00 39 346 606 4722

Ketchum Pleon: please contact Paola Chiasserini
Email: paola.chiasserini@ketchum.it

William Reed: please contact Sue Woodward
Email: Sue.Woodward@wrbm.com
Phone: +00 44 1293 610 379

Singapore Tourism Board: please contact Marie Li
Email: marie_li@stb.gov.sg
Phone: +65 9011 2071

Notes for editors

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Manifesto

The World’s 50 Best Restaurantsis an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of over 800 international restaurant industry experts. What constitutes "best" is left to the judgment of these trusted and well-travelled gourmets. There is no pre-determined checklist of criteria; for example an interesting experience in a simple establishment, where exceptional innovation was discovered, could be judged better than a more opulent meal from a widely feted restaurant team.

The results are a simple computation of votes. This well-constructed list is based on personal experiences so it can never be definitive, but we believe it is an honourable survey of current tastes and a credible indicator of the best places to eat around the globe.