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As the year draws to a close we take the opportunity to look back on the highs and lows that have shaken or moved the industry, from restaurant awards to personal victories and new restaurant openings.
Here are some of the best bits from 2019.
World's 50 Best Restaurants
Asia's 50 Best Restaurants kicked off the year in March with Odette from Singapore being crowned the Best Restaurant in Asia at the award ceremony in Macao with a jubilant chef Julian Royer collecting the award.
Mirazur in Menton, France was named the number one restaurant at The World’s 50 Best Restaurant ceremony in Singapore in June with Mauro Colagreco now bearing the biggest crown in gastronomy.
Latin America's 50 Best closed the trio of award ceremonies in October with Maido restaurant in Lima, Peru, owned and operated by chef Mitsuharu Tsumura taking the top spot for a third consecutive year.
S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2019/20
The fourth edition of the world's most exciting talent search for the best young chef also kicked off this year. Twelve gripping regional competitions took place around the world, from the UK to Australia, crowning the twelve best young chefs in the running.
Now the budding young chefs have 6 months to perfect their dishes ready to go head to head in Milan in May 2020, where a panel of seven of the best chefs in the world will judge put them through the biggest test of their young careers.
Find out all the finalist news here.
Food on the Edge
The two day chef symposium founded by Jp McMahon returned for a fifth year with more motivational speeches by an incredible speaker line-up of guests from around the world.
Fine Dining Lover's senior correspondant Ryan King gave a talk about the sustainability of the chef, including examples of chefs trying to change the way of work in restaurants and stories of what can happen when work-life balance is not addressed.
The World Restaurant Awards
This highly anticipated inaugural edition of the new industry event conceived by food writers Joe Warwick and Andrea Petrini, in partnership with producers IMG also took place. The progressive event designed to reflect the range and diversity of the international dining scene
Wolfgat restaurant in South Africa crowned The Restaurant of the Year. Operated by chef Kobus van der Merwe, the restaurant was also highlighted as the winner of the Off-Map dining destination: an award specifically for remote restaurants.
The sustainability of the chef
Kitchen culture and the sustainability of the chef remained uppermost in the minds of many working in the industry for yet another year.
Earlier in the year Carlo Petrini said kitchen environments need to change and warned of the "sadomasochistic relationship" which kitchens can foster.
A huge debate raged about kitchen culture on social media when a picture of a chef eating on what appears to be an upturned trash got chefs talking about working conditions in the industry.
Fine Dining Lovers also launched a survey on kitchen culture asking chefs to fill in anonymous surveys, asking a range of questions about the role of the chef in the kitchen, with some very revealing results. Download the findings here.
The year of Mauro Colagreco
From winning three Michelin stars and being elected Chef of the Year 2019 by his peer group to winning the title of the Best Restaurant in the world this summer and topping le Chef 100 Best Chefs in the world, the Italian Argentine chef has had an unforgettable year. A platform he has used to express borderless cuisine.
Why not try cooking along with Colagreco and some of his seasonal recipes this holiday season!
Michelin news
There were a number of new three-starred restaurants added to this year's Michelin Guides around the world including; Enrico Bartolini al Mudec in Milan, Kelvin Au Yeung’s Jade Garden restaurant in Macau, future-facing French restaurant, Caprice, by chef Guillaume Galliot in Hong Kong and quirky French restaurant The Lecture Room and Library at Sketch, in Mayfair, London, co-owned by Paris based chef Pierre Gagnaire.
In unexpected news, Mitsuhiro Araki in London lost all three stars in the new Michelin guide for the UK.
It was also a year of giving back stars, with Portuguese chef Henrique Leis handing back his star after 19 years to "regain freedom" while the French chef in the hat, Marc Veyrat took Michelin to court, in "cheddargate."
See all the Michelin Guides 2020 here.
In chef news ...
New York's hospitality dream team Will Guidara and Daniel Humm split, with news of Daniel Humm opening a new restaurant at Claridge's in London.
French chef Anne-Sophie Pic became the most decorated female chef in the world.
Daniela Soto- Innes from Cosme in New York was named the "World's Best Female Chef" at just 28 years old.
Anthony Bourdain's legacy was remembered colleagues and friends through a new scholarship at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), in partnership with friends and fellow chefs Eric Ripert and José Andrés.
Jose Andres lived up to his Nobel Prize nomination setting up his World Central Kitchen to feed hungry victims caught in hurricane Dorian.
Zahav in Philadelphia was named the "outstanding restaurant" by the James Beard Association where Michael Solomonov has been offering up modern Israeli cuisine since 2008.
Memoirs and movies
Kwame Onwuachi the James Beard Rising Star winner's memoir Notes on a Young Black Chef, was been picked up by production company A24 and is set to be turned into a film with Lakeith Stanfield playing the chef.
Most recently, news also broke about a film featuring Marco Pierre White's life with Russell Crowe playing the UK's original enfant terribile in the Ridley Scott directed film.
