The World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards is seriously lacking diversity

There we were on a sweltering Monday evening, sitting inside Old Billingsgate Market, clapping for the same old people: mostly white men, writes Emma Henderson

The pill is even harder to swallow when host Stanley Tucci says at the start of the evening that this is the most inclusive the list has ever been (Getty/Image Source)

This year, the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards celebrated its 20th anniversary. Hooray, you might say. And yes, it’s an achievement considering the hardship the hospitality industry has suffered over the past few years. But, in reality, it’s not really much to celebrate when you dig a little deeper.

The awards were set up to be the antithesis of the Michelin guide. Non-stuffy, diverse, inclusive, accessible. Yet funnily enough in 2022, three-quarters of the 50 Best list are also in the Michelin guide. It seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

But there we were on a sweltering Monday evening – one of the hottest days ever on record – sitting inside Old Billingsgate Market, clapping for the same old people: mostly white men.