Extraordinary Global Gastronomic Auction: Food And Travel Experiences With World’s 50 Best Chefs In ‘Bid For Recovery’

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants organization has launched ‘Bid for Recovery’, a once-in-a-lifetime offering of gastronomic experiences donated by the world’s best restaurants and chefs in the biggest-ever global online gastronomic auction.

Running from July 3 to 12, the unique online auction — the largest international fundraising initiative of its kind — will give the opportunity to food and travel enthusiasts to bid for more than 100 lots featuring chefs and restaurants that have appeared on recent World’s 50 Best Restaurants lists.

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The funds raised will go towards providing direct financial relief to restaurants worldwide as they emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the 50 Best for Recovery campaign by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, in partnership with S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna and other partner brands.

Independent restaurants and bars across the world will be able to apply for direct grants of up to $5,000 per establishment in July. (Precise dates and criteria for applications will be published in the coming weeks.)

Once-In-A-Lifetime

The first-ever global gastronomic auction on this scale promises to provide the opportunity for bidders to select from “an array of the most extraordinary global gastronomic experiences imaginable, as well as rare and limited-edition items.”

Some of the bespoke auction lot highlights include a day with Mauro Colagreco, chef at the world’s best restaurant, Mirazur in Menton, France, and Julia Colagreco who will welcome two lucky guests to idyllic Menton, visit Mirazur’s famous gardens to select produce, meet the fishermen who supply the restaurant’s seafood at the harbor and lunch with Chef Mauro at his organic Pecora Negra pizzeria.

The guests will also taste dishes at Mirazur’s ‘creation kitchen’ where they will meet the team and enjoy the full, newly-developed tasting menu before departing with a set of wine glasses and a case of wine.

Atelier Crenn in San Francisco offers “a truly unique prize” that includes a day on Chef Dominique Crenn’s Bleu Belle Farm, taking in activities such as fermentation, beekeeping and olive oil production.

An exclusive wine tasting session with a renowned Californian winemaker will be followed by the tasting menu dinner at Atelier Crenn. The next day, acclaimed pastry chef Juan Contreras will lead guests in a chocolate-making masterclass.

The experience culminates in an evening of dinner and drinks at Petit Crenn.

Odette, Burnt Ends, Atlas and others in Singapore offer a “Discover Singapore experience” that includes cuisine, cocktails and culture as part of a four-day event with accommodation at both the iconic Marina Bay Sands and the opulent Capella Singapore hotels.

Guests will take in the best of the city’s superb cuisine and cocktails: a meal at two-time Best Restaurant in Asia, Odette, a dinner at Burnt Ends and drinks at Atlas; plus a guided tour of Singapore’s hawker stalls and time with Odette chef Julien Royer.

Central, Kjolle and Mil in Lima/Cusco, Peru, offers a “Ultimate Three Day Peruvian Food Safari,” led by world-renowned husband-and-wife team Virgilio Martínez and Pía León.

The adventure includes full dining experiences at both Central and Kjolle in Lima, as well as cocktails and local tours. Guests will then be transported to Cusco, home to Martínez’s Mater Iniciativa project and Mil restaurant to stay at the five-star Explora Valle Sagrado lodge and be led on an exploratory trip through the Sacred Valley near Machu Picchu.

Additional auction lots include:

• Ultimate Delhi food experience for four people with Indian Accent, India;

• Three-day culinary safari in São Paulo with A Casa do Porco, Brazil;

• Cocktail masterclass, dinner and night in suite at iconic Connaught Hotel, London;

• Eating, drinking, shopping & clubbing in Berlin with Nobelhart & Schmutzig;

• Overnight Soča Valley immersion with Ana Roš from Hiša Franko, Kobarid, Slovenia;

• Fishing and feasting day with Florilège in Tokyo, Japan;

• Gastronomy and culture in Vienna with Steirereck, including helicopter tour;

• Mexico City tasting tour with Édgar Núñez of Sud777;

• Three days of gastronomic discovery in Moscow with White Rabbit and Selfie;

• Explore HK with Amber’s Richard Ekkebus; suite at The Landmark hotel, Hong Kong.

Plus, rare bottles of spirits, chefs’ artworks, private cooking classes, wine region tours, sailing trips, exclusive tastings and bespoke parties.

The auction will be conducted online at www.50BestForRecovery.com. Potential bidders can view the full selection of lots from June 29.

“ 50 Best is committed to ensuring that the funds from the auction are distributed to businesses led by individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds,” the organizers write. “50 Best will make additional donations to a number of charitable organizations that it has identified as supporting restaurants and their staff, as well as feeding those most in need including Lee Initiative’s Restaurant Reboot Relief Program and Black Urban Growers, both in the U.S.; Nosso Prato in Brazil; the Eat Out Restaurant Relief Fund in South Africa; the National Restaurant Association of India’s Feed the Needy campaign; Horeca Next in Belgium; Italy’s Ambasciatori del Gusto; the newly-founded Singapore Cocktail Bar Association and Chefs for Spain, the Spanish arm of World Central Kitchen.”

One Million Meals

As part of the 50 Best for Recovery campaign, the organization has announced that it will also join forces with Social Gastronomy Movement, a global network of charitable organizations across 38 different countries, in its campaign to provide one million meals to those most in need.

“It is heartwarming to see some of the most internationally-established chefs and restaurants offering out-of-this-world experiences for the 50 Best ‘Bid for Recovery’ Auction from 3 July,” William Drew, Director of Content for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said. “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and support from chefs, restaurant owners, bar owners, commercial partners and tourism boards offering truly unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to bidders as we aim to raise as much money as possible to support our industry and give back to the global restaurant sector.”

50 Best for Recovery is asking “all those who love restaurants and are blessed with sufficient resources to take part in the auction and, crucially, spread the word to like-minded foodies across the world.”

The organization is also planning the publication of an e-cookbook entitled Home Comforts: simple lockdown recipes from the world’s best chefs and bartenders, which will be unveiled to the public for download on July 1st in exchange for a $10 minimum donation.

Money raised from the e-cookbook will also go direct into the 50 Best Recovery Fund and used to support the global restaurant and bar industry.

All details of the auction will be available on the 50 Best for Recovery webpage, as well via Instagram and Facebook.