Americas
New ranking for North America’s 50 Best Restaurants
The organisers of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants has announced a brand new regional listing specifically for North America. Launching its first edition this year, this new list will include restaurants in Canada and parts of the Caribbean in addition to the US. “North America has a thriving and diverse restaurant scene, which is constantly changing and evolving – its wealth of culinary traditions and influence cannot be understated,” said William Drew, Director of Content. The new annual celebration joins existing regional rankings in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
Delta expands Shake Shack partnership
As of this month more travellers in Delta’s First Class cabin can enjoy cheeseburgers from Shake Shack. Available as an entrée for lunch or dinner on flights over 900 miles out of Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York-La Guardia and Seattle in the expanded partnership, which originally launched on flights out of Boston. Stephanie Laster, Delta’s managing director of onboard service said customers were raving about the Shake Shack experience. “This is part of our work to partner with brands our customers already know and love while continuing to raise the bar for the in-flight experience”.
Asia Pacific
Chinese chain overtakes McDonald’s in number of locations
The Chinese bubble tea and ice cream chain Mixue Bingcheng has dethroned McDonald’s in the number of locations they have across the world. With over 45,000 restaurants in the world, as of September 2024, it beats the American burger giant, which counted around 42,000 sites, by a few thousand. Described as “the largest brand no one has ever heard of”, Mixue Bingcheng launched in 1997 and has become famous for low price soft serve ice creams. It has stores across China and in 11 overseas locations, including Thailand and Singapore.
Indian farm restaurant named as the one to watch
An 18-seater dining experience on a 37-acre farm near Bengaluru in India has been named as the one to watch in the upcoming celebration of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, which will take place in Seoul on 25th March. Farmlore was launched by chef Johnson Ebenezer and entrepreneur Kaushik Raju with a firm focus on the farm-to-table ethos, driven by a commitment to seasonality, sustainability and local produce. The team prioritise organic farming principles and the menus, shaped by the harvest from the farm, feature a strong South Indian influence.
Europe, Middle East, Africa
Whole Foods announce first UK store in 10 years
A decade after its last UK opening, Whole Foods Market, part of Amazon’s worldwide grocery stores, will be launching its new store in London’ King’s Road at the end of March. The 21,000 square-foot store will offer shoppers a selection of foodservice outlets serving coffee, pizza, rotisserie chicken, soup, salad and a deli in addition to its significant range of organic and conventional fresh produce. On opening day, the first 200 customers through the doors will receive a filled Whole Foods tote bag with a chance to win up to £100 off the first shop.
Noma launches coffee service
Copenhagen’s most famous restaurant has announced its latest venture: a foray into the coffee subscription market. After years of trailing the next moves for the pioneering restaurant, chef and founder Rene Redzepi has announced Noma Kaffe, part of Noma Projects, an innovation and product development lab. After ten years investigating and researching coffee, working closely with growers, and with the assistance of coffee specialist Carolyn Lane, coffee lovers can sign up to the monthly subscription service, which will see them receive two bags of coffee, sourced by the team and roasted in Copenhagen.
Tina Nielsen
