ANTWERP: As René Redzepi walked into the auditorium of the Flanders Meeting and Convention Centre in Antwerp he was anxious. Not because there was a possibility that he could end up on the podium of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for the fifth (and last) time but rather because events like these have not happened for many months now and restaurants in part of the world are still struggling with COVID-19 outbreaks. He had come prepared with a speech even if he said he was not aware that his team would clinch the top spot in the list. “Given we were second last year, we had to be prepared,” he said. Eleven years since he clinched the first title for Noma in 2010 he attributes that success not to his creativity or to his leadership but to the 79 members of the team who work to make it happen. On stage, he paid tribute to the members of the team who could not be present in Antwerp as they were serving guests at the restaurant in Copenhagen. “A lot of things passed through my … [Read more...]