Monday, April 29, 2013

Noma no longer world's best restaurant

After three years in the No.1 spot, Noma is no longer the world's best restaurant, with Spain once again securing the prestigious title.

Danish chef Rene Redzepi's establishment has now slipped to second position in the 2013 S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list announced overnight.

Top spot in the prestigious international list is now held by Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca, which has finally moved to No.1 after a couple of years of placing second. The last Spanish restaurant to hold the No.1 spot was chef Ferran Adria's establishment El Bulli, which held the title for several years.

The three Michelin-starred El Celler is run by three brothers - Josep, Jordi and Joan Roca. It had been ranked No.2 for the past two years.

Opened in 1986, El Celler is known for dishes that blend innovative cooking techniques with traditional ingredients, such as lobster parmentier with black trumpets and Iberian suckling pig with pepper sauce and garlic and quince terrine, according to Associated Press.

Two Australian restaurants have been included among the top 50: Attica (21) and Quay (48).

It is the first time Melbourne establishment Attica has placed in the top 50; it had been among the top 100 in previous years.

Attica, whose executive chef is Ben Shewry, also received the Best Restaurant in Australasia award and the Highest New Entry award.

Quay was ranked 29th last year.

Chef David Chang's Sydney restaurant Momofuku Seiobo joined the list at No.89.

Once rated among the top 10 best restaurants in the world, Sydney establishment Tetsuya's has missed out on a ranking in this year's list.

It is the first time since the prestigious awards began in 2002 that Tetsuya's has not been listed. But its owner, Sydney-based Japanese chef Tetsuya Wakuda, will still be celebrating because his Singapore restaurant, Waku Ghin, took out 68th position.

Australian-born chef David Thompson's success at Nahm in Bangkok (32) comes hot on the heels of a No.3 spot in this year's inaugural Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list.

Aussie chef Brett Graham took out 13th spot with London restaurant The Ledbury.

Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's London restaurant, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, came in at No.7 while his other establishment, The Fat Duck, took out 33rd spot.

"Six US restaurants made the list, but only one broke into the top 10 - Daniel Humm's Eleven Madison Park in New York was No.5, up from 10th place last year," AP reported.

"Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York fell from sixth place to 11th, and his California restaurant The French Laundry came in at No.47, down from 43rd.

"The French Laundry held the top spot in 2003 and 2004.

"Grant Achatz' ulta-modernist Alinea in Chicago fell from seventh to 15th this year. It had been in the top 10 since 2009.

"Eric Ripert's seafood-focused Le Bernardin in New York held fast at No.19, while Daniel Boulud's Daniel in New York slipped from 25th to 29th."

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Top Australian netballers threaten strike action

Australia's world champion netballers are threatening industrial action if pay talks with Netball Australia fail to achieve a satisfactory deal.

The players' union is to meet with Netball Australia tomorrow with players asking for an increase from $250 to $500 a day when on national team duty.

On average, players spend 50 contact days with the Australian team a year, earning about $12,500 which would rise to $25,000.

Netball Australia's offered a 20 per cent pay increase.

The Australian Netball Players Association director John-Paul Blandthorn says playing for the Diamonds and in the trans-Tasman competition earns a player about $43,000 a year.

But Netball Australia chief executive Kate Palmer says seven of the current Diamonds earn more than $125,000 from netball and related activities, with four of those earning over $185,000.

If the Diamonds decide to strike, the move could effect other national teams including New Zealand, with Australia due to play here later this year.