This week saw the world’s most influential restaurateurs and chefs gathered to compete for the prize of being named the best restaurant in the world at the ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ awards.

Not surprisingly, three UK restaurants were voted in the top 15 in the world.

Carol Maddison, Manager UAE, VisitBritain, said: “Gulf visitors to the UK are already big fans of our food; they already know it’s great.  But these ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ awards underscore just how quickly the UK is becoming an international centre for culinary excellence.”

Food is one of the seven tourism pillars that VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, is promoting around the world, using inspirational chef Jamie Oliver to invite the world to come to Britain and experience the very best of what it has to offer. With some 30,000 restaurants, and a wonderful range of dining to be found in pubs and hotels across the UK, inbound visitor expenditure on food and beverages is worth over £4 billion to the British economy each year.

The transformation of British food was also celebrated earlier this week in the heart of London, as top chefs and producers from across Britain helped launch “Food is GREAT”. The event, hosted at 10 Downing Street, was part of the campaign to promote Britain as a GREAT place to visit, invest in, and do business with.

Speaking to VisitBritain at ‘FOOD is GREAT’, globally renowned chefs commented:

Raymond Blanc: “What is happening to British food is extraordinary, the French would call it la revolution…we are reinventing our food, our history, our culture.”

Gordon Ramsay: “There are so many young dynamic talented gifted chefs that are talking to the local purveyors more, using local produce. That’s the kind of impact these chefs are having on their restaurants. We can compete with the best now.”

Legendary chef Pierre Koffmann, who achieved three stars at La Tante Claire restaurant, and is now cooking at the Berkeley Hotel, praised the quality of the produce: “Top shellfish from Scotland, lamb and beef as good as anywhere in the world.”

‘Dinner’ by Heston Blumenthal restaurant, in London, shot straight into the Top 50 at No 9, and took the Highest New Entry award, the organizers commenting on how his “historically influenced British cooking has proved hugely popular with both the local and international judging panels”. His world-famous Fat Duck came in at No 13.

Australian Brett Graham, whose London restaurant, The Ledbury, was last year’s Highest New Entry, rose an impressive 20 places to No 14, taking the Highest Climber award.

The No 1 place went for the third year running to Rene Redzepi’sNoma in Copenhagen, and visitors to London will have a chance to sample his cooking during London2012: Redzepi will be cooking at Claridges for 10 days, creating a five course menu which will reflect his signature flavours and dishes from Noma, and using local, seasonal British ingredients. www.claridges.co.uk/atasteofnoma.

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