- Written by: Chefluencer Editorial Team
Milan hosted The Best Chef on 1–2 October at Spazio Antologico in the East End Studios complex. Day one centred on the Area Talks programme, featuring chef and industry panels; day two culminated in the awards gala, with dinner prepared by an all-Italian brigade on 2 October.
The podium
Rasmus Munk (Alchemist, Copenhagen). Back-to-back wins reflect a method, not momentum. Research-driven courses. Cohesive visual narrative. Tight technical control. Public themes that withstand repetition in service.
Ana Roš (Hiša Franko, Kobarid). Second place confirms a Slovenian approach built over years: Alpine herbs and dairy cultures, ferments, and long extractions, with the Soča Valley as her disciplined pantry.
Himanshu Saini (Trèsind Studio, Dubai). Third place, plus Voted by Professionals Award, reads as peer trust. The tasting language rebuilds Indian flavour structures through controlled spicing, modern textures, and exact pacing. Technique first, setting second.
“Winning this award for the second year is not just a personal honour, it’s a recognition of the entire team at Alchemist. My hope is that gastronomy continues to evolve beyond craftsmanship alone. Food can be a powerful medium, one that sparks conversations, raises questions, and inspires change. I’m honoured to be listed alongside so many brilliant chefs, and I believe that we all have a role to play in shaping the future of food.” - Rasmus Munk
Where the list actually moved
The numbers prove the shift. In 2024, the system recognised 97 Three Knives, 177 Two, and 276 One. In 2025, that jumps to 126 / 236 / 421 - 783 chefs chosen by 972 voters, including 572 chefs from 64 countries and 400 industry professionals. Scale changes what excellence looks like.
Thirty-eight chefs join Three Knives. That is expansion, not reshuffle. Signals worth naming: Michele Lazzarini (Contrada Bricconi, Oltressenda Alta) pushes deep-rural Italy without fireworks. Jessica Rosval (Al Gatto Verde, Modena) turns a fire-and-ferment program into a point of view. Peter Tempelhoff (Fyn, Cape Town) maintains a precise South Africa–Japan dialogue. Mohammad Orfali (Orfali Bros, Dubai) asserts a contemporary Levant that remembers and insists, rather than flatters.
Geography now has names: Darren Teoh (Dewakan, Kuala Lumpur), Alejandro Chamorro & Pía Salazar (NUEMA, Quito), Prateek Sadhu (Naar, Kasauli), Maksut Aşkar (Neolokal, Istanbul), Eelke Plasmeijer & Ray Adriansyah (Locavore NXT, Bali), Gonzalo Aramburu (Aramburu, Buenos Aires).
Check the full rosters: 2025 Three Knives and 2024 Three Knives.
Two Knives that tell a story
This is the tier where the list shifts and where the centre of gravity moves. The most telling pattern is promotion from 1→2 knives from 2024 to 2025 including Chele González (Gallery by Chele, Manila), Davide Oldani (D’O, Cornaredo), Ryogo Tahara (Logy, Taipei), Bertrand Grébaut (Septime, Paris), Ciro Scamardella (Pipero, Rome), Luiz Filipe Souza (Evvai, São Paulo), Zor Tan (Born, Singapore), Masaki Saito (Sushi Masaki Saito, Toronto),
Fresh arrivals that matter on entry: Antonino Cannavacciuolo (Villa Crespi, Orta San Giulio), Emmanuel Pilon (Le Louis XV, Monte Carlo), Michael Tusk (Quince, San Francisco), Mickael Viljanen (Chapter One, Dublin), Umberto Bombana (8½ Otto e Mezzo – Bombana, Hong Kong), Paul Farag (AALIA, Sydney), Peter Duncan (La Petite Colombe, Cape Town).
One Knife is the laboratory
The One-Knife intake is where diners should prospect. It is the most diverse tier and the least interested in old borders. If you're looking for ideas on where to head next, start here.
Notable 2025 newcomers not in the 2024 list: Brandon Hayato Go (Hayato, Los Angeles), Bruce Ricketts (iai, Manila), Daniela Soto-Innes (Rubra, Punta de Mita), Driss Alaoui (Farmers, Marrakech), Johnny Pham (Vivant, Shanghai), Jonathan Brincat (Noni, Valletta), Selassie Atadika (Midunu, Accra), Vusi Ndlovu (EDGE, Cape Town), Witek Iwański (Hub Praga, Warsaw), Zhexi Lee (Eat and Cook, Kuala Lumpur), Plabita Florence (Forest, Auckland), Jhonatan Gómez Luna (Le Chique, Puerto Morelos), Abhiraj Khatwani (Manāo, Dubai).
2025 in one map
Europe still holds a little over half of all knives, so it sets the table. Eastern Europe, often overlooked as the underdog of all lists, is starting to gain visibility. At the very top, Eastern Europe still has a single seat - Slovenia’s Ana Roš (Hiša Franko, Kobarid) - so the Three Knives tier remains thin but present.
The movement starts below: Two Knives doubles year-on-year, increasing from three to six entries, with an even split between Poland, Slovenia, and Hungary. Poland adds Antonio Arcieri (ARCO by Paco Pérez, Gdańsk) to Przemysław Klima (Bottiglieria 1881, Cracow); Slovenia fields Filip Matjaž (COB, Portorož) to David Žefran (Milka, Kranjska Gora); Hungary brings Jenő Rácz (Rumour, Budapest) to Szilárd Tóth (SALT, Budapest).
The One Knife “intake valve” is where the surge is clearest: up from 13 to 25 names. Poland jumps from three to eight (Andrea Camastra at NUTA, Warsaw; Artur Skotarczyk at MUGA, Poznań; Beata Śniechowska at Baba, Wrocław; Michał Kuter at A Nóż Widelec, Poznań; Marcin Jasiura at Noriko Sushi, Wrocław; Bartosz Szymczak at Rozbrat 20, Warsaw; Przemek Sieradzki at Giewont, Zakopane; Witek Iwański at Hub Praga, Warsaw); Slovakia appears from zero to four (Daniel Tilinger at ECK, Bratislava; Jirka Zajíček at ARTE, Svätý Jur; Jozef Breza at Gašperov mlyn, Batizovce; Lukas Heuser at Origin, Lučenec); Croatia edges from two to three (Deni Srdoč at Nebo, Rijeka; Marijo Curić at Restaurant 360, Dubrovnik; Hrvoje Kroflin at ManO2, Zagreb); Estonia holds steady at three (Matthias Diether at 180°, Tallinn; Peeter Pihel at Fotografiska, Tallinn; Tõnis Siigur & Roman Sidorov at NOA Chef’s Hall, Tallinn); and single new flags appear for Romania (Alex Petricean, NOUA, Bucharest), Bulgaria (Vladislav Penov, Cosmos, Sofia), Czechia (Otto Vašák, ESSENS, Hlohovec), Georgia (Tekuna Gachecheladze, Apotheka, Tbilisi), and Russia (Artem & Aleksey Grebenshchikov, Bourgeois Bohemian, Saint Petersburg).
Asia accounts for around a fifth and continues to add courses, led by Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore. The Middle East is a distinct, fast-growing pocket led by Dubai kitchens like Trèsind Studio (Himanshu Saini), Orfali Bros (Mohammad Orfali), Row on 45 (Jason Atherton and Daniel Birk), and Moonrise (Solemann Haddad).
North and South America cluster in the high single digits each, which undersells heavyweight hubs like Lima, Mexico City, São Paulo and New York. Africa is present rather than deep, with South Africa’s Peter Tempelhoff (Fyn) in Three Knives and a supporting cast across Egypt and Morocco like Mostafa Seif (Khufu’s), Issam Rhachi (Tfaya), Aniss Meski (Farasha Farmhouse) and Driss Alaoui (Farmers). Oceania is rather visible if you squint.
The criticism writes itself: Western Europe still gets the loudest microphone, but the signal from Asia now shapes the conversation, and the southern hemisphere is finally audible. Continue pushing for density outside the Paris–Barcelona–Copenhagen comfort zone, and this list transforms from a map to an atlas.
For diners, not just chefs
Best Chef is a peer vote. It often reveals people and places that Michelin has not yet mapped, and that the 50 Best will not reach, covering the top 100 marquee places. Use it as a chef-centric radar. The top tier is bigger. The middle moves faster. The intake continues to pull the map south and east. If the list keeps rewarding work over noise, diners win first.
In addition:
Special awards
The Best Humanity award went to José Andrés and the chefs of World Central Kitchen, recognition for their field work that feeds people under fire rather than critics, making most of the Gala attendees share a tear.
Massimo Bottura took Visionary award for a decade of social projects threaded through Osteria Francescana, Modena.
Pía Salazar won Pastry for NUEMA in Quito, proof that dessert can carry terroir, not just technique.
Debora Fadul earned Terroir for DIACÁ in Guatemala City, where origin stories are built plate by plate.
Jason Liu at Ling Long, Shanghai took Creativity for disciplined risk that reads as cuisine, not stunt.
Quique Dacosta in Dénia received Food Art for a language of form with flavour at the centre.
New Entry Award went to Prateek Sadhu for Naar in Kasauli, a hard-to-reach kitchen already shaping a region.
Dining Experience went to Anika Madsen at Iris, Rosendal, for an extreme-site meal that still eats clean.
Science went to Diego Guerrero at DSTAgE, Madrid, for a process you can actually taste.
Voted by Professionals award went to Himanshu Saini at Trèsind Studio, Dubai, a peer check as much as a prize.
NextGen Award went to Sebastian Jiménez at Ræst, Tórshavn, a reminder that small islands make big statements.
Milan Award to Andrea Aprea in Milan and Origins & Future to Diego Rossi at Trippa, both of which tie the host city to the work on the plate.
2025 regional split
Europe 54%
East and Southeast Asia 21%
Middle East 6%
North America 8%
South America 7%
Africa 2%
Oceania 2%