100 Best Chefs in the World 2020 - See the Full List

The Le Chef compilation of the 100 best chefs in the world for 2020 has been released, with chef Mauro Colagreco from Mirazur restaurant in Menton, France, being in first position and named the best chef in the world. 

The Argentine-Italian chef Mauro Colagreco, from the produce-driven restaurant located on the French Riviera, Mirazur, adds this recognition to a string of accolades achieved in 2019, 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 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list 2019.

The top three places on the list go to French-based chefs, with chef Christophe Bacquié from Restaurant Christophe Bacquié claiming second place, and last year’s winner, Arnaud Donckele from La Vague d’Or, following up in third.

French chefs dominate the top 10, with six of the world’s best chefs listed in France, including Mauro Colagreco, Christophe Bacquie, Arnaud Donckele, Emmanuel Renaut, Laurent Petit and Arnaud Lallement. 

Danish chef Rene Redzepi features in the top ten again, moving up five places to number five, and is joined by four other chefs from outside of France: USA’s Dan Barber from Blue Hill Farm, Jonnie Boer from De Librije in The Netherlands and Björn Frantzén from Restaurant Frantzén in Sweden.

French chefs retain the most places on the historically French influenced list with 30 ranked chefs, Spain is in 2nd place with 11 ranked chefs, tied with Japan.

The Le Chef list is a list compiled by peers, where two and three-starred Michelin chefs are asked to provide a list of five names they think best represent the values of the cooking profession, creating exceptional cooking and whose the restaurants are a must-visit. 

Top 10 best chefs in the world

1. Mauro Colagreco
2. Cristophe Bacquié
3. Arnaud Donckele
4. Emmanuel Renaut
5. René Redzepi
6. Laurent Petit
7. Dan Barber
8. Jonnie Boer
9. Bjorn Frantzen
10. Arnaud Lallement

1 Mauro Colagreco, Mirazur (France)

Holder of the 2019 number one place on the World's 50 Best Restaurant list, the Argentinian's Mirazur holds three Michelin stars in Menton, where the chef's garden is famous.

Photo©Anne-Emmanuelle Thion

2 Cristophe Bacquié, Restaurant Christophe Bacquié (France)

Cristophe Bacquié's 3-Michelin-star restaurant Le Castellet in Provence is a bastion of French high-Mediterranean cuisine. The Corsican chef obtained the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France) in 2004.

3 Arnaud Donckele, La Vague d'Or (France)

The firm French favourite Arnaud Donckele is consistently placed at the top of the world's best chef lists. He was one of the youngest chefs to earn three Michelin stars when he achieved the accolade for his work at La Vague D’Or  in Saint-Tropez.

4 Emmanuel Renaut, Flocons de Sel (France)

Parisian chef Emmanuel Renaut chose the French ski resort Megève to open his Flocons de Sel restaurant. With a passion for the mountains, Renaut says: "I try to bring my environment to the plate."

5 René Redzepi, Noma (Denmark)

The chef/owner of the world-leading Noma restaurant in Copenhagen is cited as the main reason Denmark has transformed its reputation to become considered one of the most important food destinations in the world.

6 Laurent Petit, Le Clos des Sens (France)

Le Clos des Sens by chef Laurent Petit was awarded its third Michelin str in 2019. Petit refers to his cooking stye as “cooking out”, or a departure from the rigid “codes of gastronomy” such as the idea that high-level French restaurants must serve foie gras, lobster or caviar.

7 Dan Barber, Blue Hill Farm (USA)

The chef and farm-to-table innovator at his Blue Hill restaurant in Manhattan and his Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, strives to change the way Americans think about the provenance of their food.

8 Jonnie Boer, De Librije (Netherlands)

Chef Jonnie Boer runs his world-renowned 3-Michelin-star De Librije restaurant in Zwolle, The Netherlands. He has run the restaurant together with his wife Thérèse for over twenty years.

9 Bjorn Frantzen, Restaurant Frantzen (Sweden)

Bjorn Franzen is the owner/chef at Sweden's only 3-Michelin-star restaurant, Restaurant Franzen. His cuisine is described as Nordic, informed by Japanese kaiseki sensibilities underpinned with French technique.

10 Arnaud Lallement, L'Assiette Champenoise (France)

Chef Arnaud Lallement holds three Michelin stars at his restaurant L'Assiette Champenoise, in Tinqueux near Reims, France. The chef first began cooking at 5-years-old alongside his father in the kitchen at home. 

From 11th to 25th best chefs in the world

11 Yannick Alleno, Alleno Paris (France)

12 Alain Ducasse, Plaza Atheneé (France)

13 Seiji Yamamoto, Nihonryori Ryugin (Japan)

14 Pascal Barbot, L'Astrance (France)

15 Alain Passard, L'Arpege (France) 

16 Martin Berasategui, Restaurant Martin Berasategui (Spain)

17 Peter Goossens, Hof Van Cleve (Belgium)

18 Virgilio Martinez, Central (Peru)

19 Andreas Caminada, Schauenstein Schloss (Switzerland)

20 Rasmus Kofoed, Geranium (Denmark)

21 Michel Troigrois, Maison Troisgros (France)

22 Victor Arguinzoniz, Asador Extebarri (Spain)

23 David Kinch, Manresa (Usa)

24 Eric Frechon, Epicure (France)

25 Joan Roca, El Celler de Can Roca (Spain)

From 26th to 40th best chefs in the world

26 Nadia Santini, Dal Pescatore (Italy)

27 Daniel Humm, Eleven Madison Park (Usa)

28 Christian Bau, Victor's Fine Dining (Germany)

29 Jerome Banctel, Le Gabriel (France()

30 Testuya Fujiwara, Fujiya 1935 (Japan)

31 Heston Blumenthal, The Fat Duck (UK)

32 Heinz Reitbauer, Steirereck (Austria)

33 Yoshihiro Narisawa, Restaurant Narisawa (Japan)

34 Clare Smyth, Core (UK)

35 Michel Guerard, Les Pres d'Eugenie (France)

36 Enrico Crippa, Piazza Duomo (Italy)

37 Grant Achatz, Alinea (USA)

38 Pierre Gagnaire, Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire (France)

39 Paul Pairet, Ultraviolet (China)

40 Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn (USA)

From 41st to 55th best chefs in the world

41 Andoni Luis Aduriz, Mugaritz (Spain)

42 Eric Pras, Maison Lameloise (France)

43 Hideki Ishikawa, Restaurant Ishikawa (Japan)

44 Franck Giovannini, Restaurant de l'Hotel de Ville de Crissier (Switzerland)

45 Yoshihiro Murata, Kikunoi (Japan)

46 Sergio Herman, The Jane (Belgium)

47 Daniel Boulud, Restaurant Daniel (USA)

48 Massimiliano Alajmo, Le Calandre (Italy)

49 Hans Haas, Tantris (Germany)

50 Peter Knogl, Cheval Blanc - Hotel Les Trois Rois (Switzerland)

51 David Toutain, Restaurant David Toutain (France)

52 Olivier Nasti, La Table d'Olivier Nasti (France)

53 Quique Dacosta, Restaurant Quique Dacosta (Spain)

54 Gilles Goujon, Auberge du Vieux Puits (France)

55 Thomas Keller, Per Se (USA)

From 56th to 70th best chefs in the world

56 Bruno Oger, Villa Archange (France)

57 Ángel León, Aponiente (Spain)

58 Jacob Jan Boerma, De Leest (Netherlands)

59 Albert Adria, Tickets (Spain)

60 Stefano Baiocco, Villa Feltrinelli (Italy)

61 Eneko Atxa, Azurmendi (Spain)

62 Olivier Bellin, Auberge des Glazicks (France)

63 Claude Bosi, Bibendum (UK)

64 Jannis Brevet, Inter Scaldes (Netherlands)

65 Yoann Conte, Restaurant Yoann Conte (France)

66 Paolo Casagrande, Lasarte (France)

67 Andre Chiang, Restaurant Sichuan Moon (China)

68 Alexandre Couillon, La Marine (France)

69 Sven Elverfeld, Aqua (Germany)

70 Alexandre Gauthier, La Grenouillere (France)

From 71st to 85th best chefs in the world

71 Ronny Emborg, Atera (USA)

72 Dani Garcia, Restaurant Dani Garcia (Spain)

73 Marc Haeberlin, Auberge de L'Ill (France)

74 Cristophe Hardiquest, Bon Bon (Belgium)

75 Dan Hunter, Brae (Australia)

76 Hitoshi Ishihara, Mizai (Japan)

77 Alexandre Mazzia, Am Par Alexandre Mazzia (France)

78 Martin Klein, Ikarus (Austria)

79 Arjan Speelman and Onno Kokmeijer, Ciel Bleu (Netherlands)

80 Dieter Koschina, Vila Joya (Portugal)

81 Normand Laprise, Toque I (Canada)

82 Nicolas Le Bec, Villa Le Bec (China)

83 Edouard Loubet, Restaurant Edouard Loubet (France)

84 Tadayoshi Matsukawa, Matsukawa (Japan)

85 Jean-Georges Klein, Villa Rene Lalique (France)

From 86th to 100th best chefs in the world

86 Motokazu Nakamura, Restaurant Nakamura (Japan)

87 Hans Neuner, Ocean (Portugal)

88 Norbet Niederkofler, St. Hubertus (Italy)

89 Jiro Ono, Jiro Honten (Japan)

90 Gaston Acurio, Astrid y Gaston (Peru)

91 Anne-Sophie Pic, Maison Pic (France)

92 Fabio Pisani and Alessandro Negrini, Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia (Italy) 

93 Julien Royer, Odette (Singapore)

94 Carme Ruscalleda, Cuina Estudi (Spain)

95 Andreas Senn, Senn Restaurant (Austria)

96 Ciccio Sultano, Duomo (Italy)

97 Yusuke Takada, La Cime (Japan)

98 Mathieu Viannay, La Mere Brazier (France)

99 Joachim Wissler, Vendome (France)

100 Hajme Yoneda, Hajime (Japan)