Global gatherings may not be possible in a physical sense, but the gastronomic world can still come together – online and in spirit – from 13-15 October. As part of the 50 Best for Recovery programme, the upcoming Recovery Summit will focus on exploring the new shape of the restaurant sector: what we’ve learned, changes that are in motion and fresh possibilities ahead
What does the ‘next normal’ for restaurants across the world look like? How has the global pandemic altered our relationship with food forever? Will the professional culture of kitchens genuinely change to build inclusivity into its structure? Do organisations and rankings, including The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, have a positive role to play?
These are just a few of the myriad questions any of us involved in, or interacting with, the culinary sector might be asking ourselves, our peers and leaders in the gastronomic world. These are also some of the key issues that will be addressed in the upcoming Recovery Summit, hosted by 50 Best online from October 13-15, 2020.
The aim of this Summit is to bring the global food community together – albeit via the magic of digital media – to share learnings, promote best practices and present visions of a post-pandemic world for restaurants and diners. The core focus will be on exploring how the sector that we all love can thrive once again.
How will we do that? 50 Best is putting together a variety of different virtual gatherings, hosted primarily on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Facebook channel, but with additional elements presented across other digital platforms – free-to-air and open to all. On each of the three days of the Summit, there will be a main event at 3pm UK time lasting approximately one hour and featuring some of the most influential and inspiring thinkers in food.
Make sure you check the Recovery Summit digital programme for all the information about the nine sessions making up the event; and here are some key moments to slot into your calendar:
Food Meets Hope
The opening session of the Summit, created in partnership with S.Pellegrino, charts positive stories of restaurant restructure, recovery and revitalisation. The event will have three distinct sections investigating themes of Recovery, Inclusivity and Evolution respectively, including hearing from people in the throes of reshaping their businesses, those seeking to use recent events to instigate positive cultural change and key figures discussing how the restaurant model can evolve effectively to reflect the fast-changing desires of diners.
For all the information about Food Meets Hope, see our dedicated article.
Food Meets Hope will premiere at 3pm UK time on Tuesday 13th October on 50 Best’s Facebook page.
Chef José Andrés speaking at Food Meets Future as part of The World's 50 Best Restaurants programme of events in Singapore 2019
#50BestTalks: Rewriting the Menu
This edition of our regular interactive thought-leadership series, presented by Miele, will provide a forum for discussion around changing ingredients, menus and culinary outlooks in a post-pandemic restaurant ecosystem. Online audience members will be able to put live questions to the expert panel of chefs and leaders in gastronomy, including those who have shifted their entire approach and menu format prior to reopening and those who are transforming what we eat.
For all the information about #50BestTalks: Rewriting the Menu, check out the digital programme or see our dedicated article.
Attendees will need to pre-register for this event, which takes place from 3pm UK time on Wednesday 14th October on the Intrado webinar platform. Click here to register to watch #50BestTalks.
A dish from Mirazur's new Luna menu, which was re-written by Mauro Colagreco as the France-based restaurant reopened in July
New Horizons
The culmination of the Recovery Summit, the New Horizons seminar is an exploration of the future of fine dining, inclusivity and recognition. A keynote speaker will challenge the hospitality world to reinvent itself in order to welcome a brighter dawn ahead. The multi-faceted session will also celebrate the quality and diversity of leading restaurants across the globe, as well see 50 Best unveil its plans for the future, including a key new launch reveal.
New Horizons will premiere at 3pm UK time on Thursday 15th October on 50 Best’s Facebook page.
Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck, The World's Best Restaurant 2005, as he joins the discussion at a 50 Best educational event last year
In addition to the three key events listed above, the Summit includes an online series of 50 Best Masterclasses, with the world’s top chefs demonstrating dishes for a hungry audience at home. Finally, a succession of powerful Q&A interviews with leaders in gastronomy from around the world will be hosted live on 50 Best’s Instagram channel over the same week.
The Recovery Summit forms part of the overarching 50 Best for Recovery programme, which was launched earlier this year in conjunction with founding partner S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. This programme has been created in lieu of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020 events and list publication, which are postponed until 2021.
Since the onset of the global pandemic, the 50 Best team has focused its resources on 50 Best for Recovery, providing tangible financial relief, as well as creating and collating helpful resources, for hospitality businesses as they emerge from the pandemic and seek actionable advice and support.
The World’s 50 Best Recovery CIC, an independent non-profit body created to administer funds raised, has recently distributed $1.23million to non-profit organisations working in the fields of social gastronomy and feeding those most in need, as well as to restaurants and bars via a grant scheme. In total, 238 restaurants and bars across the globe have received a grant of up to US$5,000 to aid their plans for reopening and revitalisation.
We are now seeing tentative signs of renaissance in hospitality – by no means universally, but still encouragingly – across different parts of the globe. 50 Best aims to play an ongoing role in reconnecting, reaffirming and rebuilding the restaurant sphere, for professionals and diners alike. Please join us at the Recovery Summit to ensure you are also part of this positive process of reconstruction.
Full details of the participants involved in the Recovery Summit will be revealed in the coming weeks. Updates will be posted on the 50 Best for Recovery site as well as via Instagram @TheWorlds50Best and Facebook @50BestRestaurants.
