Following its latest edition in June 2023 in Valencia, the #50BestTalks series of gastronomic thought-leadership events will make its next stop in Rio de Janeiro on 27 November as part of the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 events programme. Chefs Andoni Luis Aduriz, Alex Atala, Dolli Irigoyen and Sergio Díaz have already joined the line-up – here’s everything you need to know about #50BestTalks: Power of a Meal
Since 2014, the #50BestTalks event series has given a platform to countless chefs and restaurateurs to debate the hottest topics in gastronomy, with editions held in all corners of the world – from Valencia to Singapore, Bogotá to Sydney. Now, #50BestTalks is set to return for its final 2023 event on Monday 27th November, when some of the world’s foremost culinary thought-leaders will gather at the Teatro Prudential in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as part of the festivities around Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna.
With the theme “Power of a Meal” (O Poder da Comida), the upcoming edition of #50BestTalks will explore the untapped potential of food. The esteemed chef-speakers will look at gastronomy as a source not only of nourishment and health, but also of ideas and innovation with the potential to change individuals and society. Food can connect and divide, nourish and harm, inspire and challenge. Combined with other disciplines – from anthropology to art, science to technology – the power a meal can have on the world is further amplified. Can gastronomy become a superhero of our society?
Don’t miss this exclusive chance to hear directly from global gastronomic luminaries. Meet the speakers below and set an alarm to watch the livestream of #50BestTalks: Power of a Meal on YouTube or follow the live highlights on @theworlds50best Instagram Stories.
Tune into the livestream on Monday 27th November from 11:30 Rio de Janeiro time (UTC-3). Note: This #50BestTalks event will be held in Portuguese and Spanish.
Andoni Luis Aduriz – Mugaritz, San Sebastian
Born in 1971, Andoni Luis Aduriz began his career in the restaurant sector with an after-school job at a pizzeria, but soon found himself working at Ferran Adrià's renowned restaurant, El Bulli, where he gained an entirely new understanding of gastronomy. He opened his own restaurant, Mugaritz, in San Sebastian in 1998.
While Mugaritz has appeared on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list every year since 2005, Aduriz maintains that it is much more than a restaurant. It is involved in interdisciplinary projects, such as collaborating with the Basque Culinary Center and providing consultation on health and nutrition, while Aduriz himself also teaches at Harvard University and creates cultural impact through gastronomy with the IXO consultancy group.
An unquenchable curiosity, renewable creativity and a profound interest in questioning the norm are the key ingredients in Aduriz’s impressive career. His three decades of culinary evolution and innovation also earned the Basque chef the Icon Award as part of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023.
Alex Atala – D.O.M., São Paulo
The most recognised Brazilian chef in the international scene, Alex Atala has been revolutionising his country’s gastronomy for more than three decades. His flagship restaurant D.O.M., focused on indigenous ingredients and voted into countless editions of Latin America’s and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants lists, has been open for nearly 25 years and continues to innovate with fresh concepts, confirming its status as a must-visit culinary institution and proving the chef's pioneering work in firmly placing Brazil and South America on the global culinary map.
Dynamic and multi-talented, Atala leads several other projects, such as Atá Institute, which brings together knowledge around food production, the act of eating, nature, science and society with a cross-disciplinary approach, and the annual Fru.To culinary conference, which discusses new avenues towards a more sustainable future through gastronomy. Aside from D.O.M., the chef is also at the helm of restaurant Dalva e Dito, and in 2021, he added to his roster of projects D.O.M. Hotel. One thing is certain: the Brazilian superstar has much more still to offer to global gastronomy.
Dolli Irigoyen – Espacio Dolli, Buenos Aires
The winner of the Icon Award for Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, Dolli Irigoyen was exposed to extraordinary Argentine produce from an early age, growing up between orchards and dairy farms in General Las Heras, just outside of Buenos Aires. After a brief stint as a primary school teacher, she started a business baking and selling cakes to local eateries, then was asked to take over the restaurant of the local sports club – and thus her culinary career began.
A skilled communicator with natural charm and a down-to-earth attitude, Irigoyen soon made it her mission to tell the story of her country through its food and dishes. Over a career spanning 50 years and countless programmes, she perfected the use of the TV medium to communicate gastronomy to a wider audience, impacting the lives of thousands of people in Latin America and beyond.
These days, Irigoyen works from a space in Buenos Aires known as Espacio Dolli – featuring a test kitchen, culinary school, events space, library and store – but she also cooks for celebrities at the Latin Grammy Awards, eats in local markets and wanders agricultural fields, still as in love with cooking as she was on her first day.
Sergio Díaz & Jocelyn Degollado – Sublime, Guatemala City
With his restaurant Sublime, chef Sergio Díaz is breaking boundaries. In 2022, the eatery became the highest ranked Guatemalan venue ever to appear in the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list, earning the No.31 spot. Díaz – who studied gastronomy in Chile and has earned experience in Barcelona as well as Chicago, where he worked at the world-famous Alinea alongside chef Grant Achatz – has achieved this by working closely with anthropologist Jocelyn Degollado, curating a dining experience that is unique in the world.
Holding the belief that gastronomy has the power to change Guatemala and reinforce its cultural identity, Díaz and Degollado craft tasting menus that tell a delicious story of the country, exploring the cultural influences that have shaped it as well as the historical moments that defined it. Taking inspiration from Guatemala’s diverse landscape – which features 360 microclimates and 35 volcanoes – the duo proudly celebrates and shares the richness of a gastronomic culture that is yet to make its break onto the world stage, determined to see the day when Guatemalan food will be more widely known and better understood.
The list of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, will be announced on Tuesday 28th November from Rio de Janeiro. To stay up to date with the latest news, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube, and sign up to our newsletter
