‘El Celler de Can Roca’ ranked world’s second-best restaurant, down from first place in 2015

Barcelona (CNA).- Catalan restaurant ‘El Celler de Can Roca’ continues to be amongst the world’s best places to eat according to ‘Restaurant’ magazine. However, after 11 years on the list and having topped the ranking in 2015 and 2013, the restaurant run by the three Roca brothers has ceded its crown to the Italian restaurant ‘Osteria Franciscana’ and is now in second position. Chef Joan Roca was awarded by his colleagues the title of best chef, at a gala event held for the first time in New York instead of London. Another Catalan restaurant, Tickets’, by Albert Adrià climbed from the 42^nd position it occupied last year to 29^th this year. Adrià was dessert chef at El Bulli, which was run by his brother Ferran Adrià and was recognised as the best restaurant in the world on five occasions. ‘Restaurant’ magazine’s list annually ranks the 50 best places to eat according to the votes of 900 international experts. 

Chef Joan Roca, the eldest of the Roca brothers, won the Chef’s Choice Award 2016, a recognition which is voted for by chefs from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, and recognises an individual who has gained the respect and admiration of his peers. “This is very important”, stated Roca “because it represents mutual understanding and recognition from chefs that I truly admire”. Joan Roca also celebrated ‘Osteria Franciscana’s result and assured that he has a “very good relationship” with the awarded restaurant’s chef, Massimo Mottura. “We are really happy for him”, he stated.

Joan Roca is renowned for his pioneering culinary techniques which have inspired many chefs worldwide and has always sought new ways to create delicious multi-dimensional eating experiences for his diners. Born into the world of hospitality – his mother’s café still operates by the roadside, where all the staff go daily for the family meal – Joan always worked in the family business, creating ‘El Celler de Can Roca’ with his brother, Josep, now a globally renowned sommelier, back in 1986.

Youngest brother Jordi joined the team in the late 90s to form a holy trinity of the culinary world, resulting in a restaurant that balances Catalan traditions with avant-garde techniques. In fact, Jordi Roca, who is in charge of the family restaurant’s desserts, was recognised as the world’s best pastry chef.

Since 2011, the Girona based restaurant has been either the world’s best or second-best establishment, competing with the Italian restaurant, ‘Osteria Francescana’, which was second last year and first this year, and the Danish restaurant Noma, which falls to 5^th position this year.

 Recognition for ‘Tickets’, by Albert Adrià

The ‘tapas’ restaurant ‘Tickets’ run by renowned chef and Ferran Adrià’s younger brother, Albert Adrià, climbed from the 42^nd position it occupied last year to 29^th this year. Indeed, he seems to have inherited the heritage of the internationally applauded restaurant ‘El Bulli’ which was awarded Best Restaurant in the world on several occasions. Albert Adrià himself won the World’s Best Pastry Chef prize in 2015. He was the pastry chef at El Bulli and when this famous establishment closed in 2011, he opened his own project in Barcelona, Tickets, where he has also continued to take care of desserts, among other things.