Michelin-starred chef Grant Achatz is creating a dining experience that will allow guests to feast on some of the signature dishes from the top-ranked chefs on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.
To mark the 15th anniversary of the World's 50 Best Restaurants, which this week pronounced Eleven Madison Park in New York the best dining destination on the planet, Achatz is working on a tasting menu that will feature a collection of signature dishes from the top-ranked chefs on the list.
The project is in collaboration with a roster of heavy-hitting chefs from around the world, who voluntarily shared the secrets to their marquee dishes with the staff at Achatz's Chicago restaurant Next, where the recipes will be recreated.
The pitch? A globetrotting culinary tour of the world's best restaurants, in a single sitting from Chicago.
And while the chef acknowledges the controversial nature of the awards, which have been accused of being opaque, sexist, biased, and unbalanced, he also recognizes its influence.
"The World's 50 Best Restaurants awards list is influential, coveted and controversial. But there is no denying its impact on the international fine-dining scene," reads an introduction to the menu.
"Every year a community of great chefs convenes to celebrate together and see how the voting shakes out. On the 15th anniversary of the list we've invited awarded chefs to collaborate with our team at Next and contribute a unique dish to our Fall 2017 grand tasting menu."
While Next isn't on the 2017 list, his flagship restaurant Alinea is currently ranked 21st.
The collaborative dinner also brings to mind the concept at In Situ at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which likewise serves signature dishes from top chefs around the world.
The vision of local Michelin-starred chef Corey Lee of Benu, In Situ is described as an exhibit-restaurant, and features dishes from chefs like Bottura, Rene Redzepi of Noma fame, Albert Adria of Tickets in Barcelona, Thomas Keller of The French Laundry in Yountville and Seiji Yamamoto of RyuGin in Osaka.
According to Fine Dining Lovers, the latest chef count stands at 18 for Next's World's Best Restaurants dinner, up from a dozen when the menu was first announced last year.
Here are the participating chefs for the dinner which runs August 23 to December 31:
Andoni Aduriz (Mugaritz, Errentería, Spain)
André Chiang (André, Singapore)
Albert Adria (Tickets, Barcelona)
Ben Shewry (Attica, Ripponlea, Melbourne)
Brett Graham (The Ledbury, London)
Dan Barber (Blue Hill, New York City)
Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park, New York City)
Gaggan Anand (Gaggan, Bangkok)
Ignacio Mattos (Estela, New York City)
Issac McHale (The Clove Club, London)
Jonnie Boer (De Librije, Zwolle, Netherlands)
Jorge Vallejo (Quintonil, Mexico City)
Luke Dale-Roberts (Test Kitchen, Cape Town)
Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana, Modena)
Mitsuharu Tsumura (Maido, Lima)
Tim Raue (Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin)
Virgilio Martinez Veliz (Central, Lima)
Yoshiaki Takazawa (Takazawa, Tokyo)
