(Paris) The Mexican Elena Reygadas, chef and owner of the Rosetta restaurant in Mexico City, was crowned best cook in the world on Tuesday in the 2023 list of the British 50 Best ranking.
For the third consecutive year, 50 Best rewards a chef from Latin America after the Colombian Leonor Espinosa in 2022 and the Peruvian Pia Leon in 2021.
In her restaurant opened in 2010 in a mansion in the Roma district of Mexico City, Elena Reygadas revisits traditional Mexican cuisine in a menu that changes daily thanks to seasonal and local ingredients from small producers.
She has made a name for herself with handmade pasta like hoja santa (Mexican pepper) tortellini. It also offers pipian (sauce made from mashed vegetables that would have origins in Aztec and Mayan cuisines) with pistachio, tacos romeritos (fresh grass), and tamal (Amerindian papillote) of corn served with cream warm smoke.
“It is an honor to present this year’s award to Elena Reygadas, a leader who is paving the way for future generations of women leaders in Mexico and beyond. By defending traditional dishes and local biodiversity, it is working for the future of Mexican gastronomy”, underlined William Drew, director of content for World’s 50 Best Restaurants in a press release.
This award was traditionally revealed before the 50 Best 2023 ceremony which will take place in Valencia (Spain) on June 20.
Coming from a large family, Elena Reygadas learned to cook from childhood and then studied English literature at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
However, she never stopped cooking and worked in restaurants throughout her studies and became a chef at the end of her university career.
The chef had spent four years in London under the guidance of Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli, before returning to Mexico to open Rosetta.
She recently launched a scholarship program for women, with the aim of promoting greater gender parity in kitchens.