Latest news with #fusioncuisine
News24
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News24
World's 50 Best Restaurants announces its 2025 list. Here's who took the top spot
Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura's Japanese-Peruvian fusion eatery won the prestigious World's 50 Best Restaurants title. Spain's Asador Etxebarri and Mexico City's Quintonil ranked second and third, alongside highlights like Maxime Frederic winning Best Pastry Chef. The 50 Best list, critiqued for being elitist and opaque, faces competition from 'The List', an algorithm-based ranking launched in 2015. Maido, a restaurant in Peru founded by chef Mitsuharu "Micha" Tsumura, was on Thursday named the best eatery in the world for 2025 by the influential but controversial World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Founded 16 years ago, Maido features a Japanese-Peruvian fusion menu, and lunchtime diners in the sleek Lima dining room were ecstatic about the win, shouting "Maido, Maido!" "The fusion of flavors at Maido is spectacular," the 33-year-old Valentina Mora told AFP. Restaurants from three continents made the podium of the World's 50 Best, which was launched by a British press group to compete with France's Michelin red guides. Asador Etxebarri - which offers Basque cooking in Atxondo, Spain - won second place and Quintonil in Mexico City was third. Maxime Frederic, at the helm of the Cheval Blanc Paris pastry shop and head pastry chef at Plenitude, was named Best Pastry Chef. Three Cape Town spots were named in the extended top 100 World's Best Restaurant's list. La Colombe (55), FYN (82) and Salsify (a new entry at 88) all made the list, with La Colombe making it's 6th appearance, and FYN making it's 5th. The 50 Best award has been presented since 2002 by media group William Reed, based on reviews by one thousand "independent experts" such as chefs, specialist journalists and restaurant owners. The list has been criticised above all by French chefs, who accuse it of being clubby and opaque, but it is generally considered to be ahead of the Michelin guide in identifying the latest food trends. Its detractors - French, but also Japanese and American - launched The List in 2015, a ranking of 1 000 restaurants across the world that uses an algorithm to aggregate and analyse data from more than 400 international sources.
Entrepreneur
13-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Spice Meets Slice
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. When Anisa Khan stepped into the boardroom of The Apprentice, few could have predicted that her Bombay-inspired pizza brand would make it all the way to the final - let alone resonate so widely beyond the show. A second-place finish, it turns out, was just the beginning. "I grew up surrounded by vibrant Indian food, and it's always been a huge part of my identity," Khan says. "At the same time, pizza is such a universally loved comfort food. The idea of bringing those two worlds together came from wanting to create something that felt familiar yet exciting." That hybrid ethos - pairing paneer with mozzarella, tikka with tomato sauce - has captured imaginations and appetites across the UK. Step forward Bomay Pizza. Yet it wasn't just a matter of mashing flavours together. "When it comes to combinations, I think about Indian dishes people already love, then test how those flavours translate on a pizza base. It's all about balance - spice, texture, richness - and making sure it still feels like a pizza." But after the cameras stopped rolling, real life took over. A surge in orders, press attention, and curious customers meant the business faced its first real test. "Surviving, definitely," Khan says when asked which came first - scaling or surviving. "The attention was overwhelming in the best way, but it also came with a lot of pressure. My priority was to make sure every customer had a good experience and that the product quality never slipped." It's the kind of response you'd expect from someone used to tight deadlines and public scrutiny, but Khan is quick to acknowledge the deeper lesson of translating a viral moment into long-term viability. "A trend can open doors, but it won't keep the lights on," she says. "I've learned that consistency, operational systems, and understanding your numbers are just as important as the buzz." For many entrepreneurs of colour, authenticity often becomes a battleground - something to be preserved, negotiated, and, at times, defended. Khan approaches it with a quiet clarity. "For me, authenticity comes from staying rooted in my cultural background and being intentional with storytelling," she says. "Every flavour has a story, and I try to bring that through in everything - from the names of the pizzas to the way we present the brand. At the same time, I want the food to be accessible. I'm not just speaking to one community - I want everyone to feel welcome and curious to try something new." That spirit of openness, matched with resilience, may be her strongest asset - sharpened, unexpectedly, during her time on the show. "It taught me how to think on my feet and pitch under pressure - skills I use daily now. But more than that, it gave me a thick skin. Being in the public eye can be tough, and not everyone will see your vision, but I've learnt to stay grounded and focused on the long term." From a television set to supper tables across the country, Khan's Bombay Pizza isn't just a food trend. It's a cultural conversation - served hot.
