Rio de Janeiro—The Chairman of the World´s 50 Best Restaurants, Britain´s Charles Reed, of Redhill, announced Wednesday morning with Rio de Janeiro´s mayor Eduardo Paes that Brazil will host on 28 November for the first time the awards ceremony for the 50 best restaurants in Latin America.
The gala will be held at the city´s Copacabana Palace Hotel,which has hosted visiting British royalty including the then Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
The last ceremony in 2022 in Mexico was won by Peruvian cuisine but Brazilian restaurants were among the top ten in ranking .
Calling the event “extremely important for Rio de Janeiro,”Mayor Paes put in a special word for local and national Brazil cuisine observing “ something which marks the Brazilian identity is the enormous quality of Brazilian cuisine.
“This gastronomical event in November will call attention to Latin American cuisine and Rio de Janeiro has an exceptional gastronomic production, from sophisticated restaurants to street cuisine.to botecos (bars) to informal spaces.
“From the economic point of view the event will have an impact and it is creating an identity for the city. The quantity of persons who will visit Rio de Janeiro is a profit and the construction of a narrative which will consolidate the city is also important.”
The announcement was made during a breakfast held at the Mayor’ s Palace, in Botafogo on Wednesday morning.
Recalling that Rio.hosted the World Cup and the Olympics, Paes says he is convinced that Rio’s destiny is as a “global city”. The gastronomic calendar also includes programs focused on technology and innovation.
– An event like this has its impact the moment it happens, but it creates a narrative, an identity for that city. The number of people who will visit us is a gain, but the most important thing is this narrative construction that allows us to consolidate the city as a stage for major events – the mayor pointed out.
The 50 Best, which, in addition to the awards will, include two more days of events. Since 2013 it has been held in Latin America including Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bogota (Colombia), Mexico City (Mexico), Lima (Peru) and now arrives in Brazil.
Reid observed that the event will leave a “legacy” for the city.
– It is a strategy to turn Rio de Janeiro into a gastronomic destination and this makes a lot of sense, to highlight innovation and creativity of this wonderful city – said the CEO of the 50 Best, who explains that holding the event in the city can bring results in the long term, since the website with the ranking of restaurants receives about 3 million hits from travelers “interested in gastronomy”.
Besides the list of the best participating restaurants, Reid also pointed out that the presence of the chefs in the city, getting to know even “emerging” bars and restaurants help in the consolidation of this image of Rio as a gastronomic destination.
At the breakfast was the city’s secretariat and renowned chefs such as Claude Troisgross, Janaína Rueda, Katia Barbosa and Rafael Costa e Silva.
– The 50 Best is for us one of the greatest gastronomy awards in the world. Having it in Rio demonstrates the quality of the cuisine we offer in the city – said the renowneda French chef Claude Troisgros, who has been in Brazil for 42 years.
Kátia Barbosa, owner of award winning “Casa do Porco” (Pork House) –in Sao Paulo which was awarded the best Brazilian restuarant and the 4th best in Latin America in the 2022 ceremony in Mexico, says she “was thrilled with the announcement.”
The chef emphasizes that the award rewards “good food”, regardless of the glamour of the restaurant.
– “It is the valorization of the profession, of the city, we are very happy regardless of whether it is awarded or not. It is a dream come true to receive the 50 Best here.”