10 chefs for the 2010s
04.01.10
Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay may have ruled the noughties, but which chefs will be challenging them in the next decade? The Good Food Guide picks ten contenders.
Ramsay and later Blumenthal dominated the restaurant scene in the 2000s, just as Nico Ladenis and Marco Pierre White had done in the 1990s. Ramsay scored 10 out of 10* in The Good Food Guide in 2003, 2004 and 2005 with Blumenthal achieving the perfect score in 2009 and 2010.
Will they continue to rule the roost in the next decade, or will others come to the fore? Chefs like Marcus Wareing (3rd in the Good Food Guide top 50**); Jason Atherton, Maze (11th); and Angela Hartnett, Murano (33rd), all from the Ramsay stable, are obvious contenders.
Or will this be the decade for highly talented chefs Nathan Outlaw (10th); Shane Osborn, Pied à Terre (9th); or James Sommerin, Crown at Whitebrook (36th)?
Or could someone relatively unknown, such as young Will Holland at La Bécasse in Ludlow (50th), race to the top? Other dark horses are Robert Thompson, Hambrough Hotel, Isle of Wight (37th); Marc Wilkinson, Fraiche, Merseyside (30th), deserves greater attention; and Adam Simmonds, Danesfield House, Marlow (19th) is currently producing some breathlessly modern food.
Elizabeth Carter, editor of The Good Food Guide, says:
“There’s no doubt that Blumenthal and Ramsay have been the chefs of the decade. But what will the 2010s bring? We certainly have some exciting talent coming through the ranks. Will any of our predictions make it to the top in the next decade?”
