Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa ('Alma', Lisbon) took the top position for Portuguese chefs with a ranking of 38th in the list that was topped by Spanish Chef Dabiz Muñoz ('DiverXo', Madrid).

This is the first time that Sá Pessoa has been featured on the list which also saw him being awarded the Best Chef New Entry Award, which honours the chef who achieves the highest ranking among all the new candidates.

José Avillez ('Belcanto', two Michelin stars, Lisbon, and about a dozen other restaurants in Portugal) is the other Portuguese chef near the top of the table, being placed in 44th, up from his 2020 position of 70th.

At the presentation of the awards, which were held in Amsterdam, Sá Pessoa highlighted the meaning of receiving this award in Amsterdam, revealing that he is preparing to open in November a new restaurant (‘ARCA’) in the capital of the Netherlands. Sá Pessoa also took the time to thank his team, noting that these were “difficult times for everyone and in particular for the restaurants”.

“I'm happy,” he said. “It is without a doubt a very special award and one of the highest moments” of my career.

Sá Pessoa also pointed out that these awards are also positive for Portugal, with several chefs with restaurants in the country among the top 50.

Austrian Hans Neuner (‘Ocean’, two Michelin stars, Porches, Algarve) has also moved up the table this year from 69th to 50th.

Also with restaurants in Portugal, Spaniards Martin Berasategui ('Fifty Seconds', Lisbon, one star) and Eneko Atxa ('Eneko Lisbon', one star) were respectively in 28th (37th in 2020) and 31st .º (17th in 2020).

While Dabiz Muñoz ('DiverXo', three stars) won the title of Best Cook, Chef Björn Frantzén of Frantzén in Stockholm came in second place and takes the award for The Best Chef voted by Chefs. To round up the top three, Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz in San Sebastián takes a huge jump from his previous 45th position on last year’s list, to number 3.

Author

Originally from the UK, Daisy has been living and working in Portugal for more than 20 years. She has worked in PR, marketing and journalism, and has been the editor of The Portugal News since 2019. Jornalista 7920

Daisy Sampson