SingleThread, the farm restaurant in Sonoma County, Northern California from husband and wife team Kyle and Katina Connaughton has been announced as the winner of the Miele One to Watch Award ahead of The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2018 sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.
The award is given to a restaurant entering the 51-100 list that has the potential to break the top 50 in the near future. Previous winners have included Disfrutar in Barcelona, Den in Tokyo and Saison in San Francisco.
Open since 2016 and with sustainability very much at its core, the two-Michelin-star SingleThread restaurant and inn in Healdsburg serves an 11-course tasting menu using over 70% products from its nearby five-acre farm, including honey, olive oil, vegetables and eggs. Menus are devised based on 72 micro seasons that direct which products are used and when to ensure ultra-seasonality.
A Japanese influence runs through the menu (chef Kyle Connaughton worked there for many years) and the dining room, with screens, dark wood panelling and linen lanterns, and earthenware from Japanese artisans adding to the general sense of wellbeing.
Connaughton was previously the head of the development kitchen at Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck, and has worked under Michel Bras.
He and farmer Katina will receive their award at The World's 50 Best Restaurants in Bilbao on 19 June, which you can live-stream on Fine Dining Lovers. Two other awards have already been announced ahead of the ceremony: British chef Clare Smyth is the winner of the elit Vodka World's Best Female Chef Award, while Peruvian legend Gaston Acurio will receive the Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award.
Watch a short video about SingleThread below.