Two Malaga chefs recognised at Best Chef Awards

Malaga has entered the culinary Olympus thanks to two local chefs who are thriving both inside and outside the province. Chefs Dani García and Benito Gómez, owners of Smoked Room (Madrid) and Bardal (Ronda), have been recognised at The Best Chef Awards, which honour excellence and creativity in the world of gastronomy.

Malaga-born chef Dani García, whose restaurant holds two Michelin stars, received two knives in the guide, signifying his high-class cuisine. Meanwhile, Benito Gómez from Ronda, also a two-Michelin-starred chef, received one knife, indicating that his cooking is excellent.

The award recognises chefs who set trends in global gastronomy, with honours structured around a knife system ranging from one to three, depending on the maximum score achieved. In this edition, 126 chefs worldwide received the highest distinction of three knives, 236 earned two, and 421 received one.

After receiving the award, Benito Gómez, born in Catalonia but adopted by Malaga, stated that "this award is not only a personal recognition, but also for the whole team and our constant effort to give value to what we do".

Meanwhile, Dani García's team noted that this recognition "allows us to continue pushing boundaries as part of The Best Chef Awards list, as global references in gastronomy".

This year's publication features 56 Spanish chefs, including Andalusians Ángel León of Aponiente (Cadiz), Juanlu Fernández of Lú Cocina y Alma (Jerez de la Frontera), Paco Morales and Paola Gualandi of Noor (Cordoba), and Pedro Sánchez of Bagá (Jaén).

In this year's edition, and for the second consecutive time, Danish chef Rasmus Munk of Alchemist (Copenhagen) was chosen as the world's best chef, followed by Slovenian Ana Roš (Hiša Franko) and Indian Himanshu Saini (Trèsind Studio, Dubai).