13 Shanghai Chefs Make the 2025 Best Chef Awards List

The 2025 Best Chef Awards' results are in, this time coming live from Milan! This year saw a whopping 783 chefs recognized across 69 countries for their passion and dedication to the craft of culinary art. This year, the Chinese mainland brought in 31 awards, with 13 of those coming from Shanghai. Read on to see who.

The Best Chef Awards' Knife Recognition System

The Best Chef Awards' tiered Knife recognition system offers a more comprehensive, inclusive view of culinary excellence. This year saw the number of voters almost double compared to last year, reaching a total of 972, including 572 chefs from 64 countries and 400 industry professionals. Abandoning traditional rankings in 2024, the system honors chefs based on impact and skill across three categories, recognizing culinary professionals across six continents:

-Three Knives (The Best): Celebrating the highest tier of culinary mastery, 126 chefs achieved 80 percent or more of the maximum points.

-Two Knives (World-Class): Acknowledging 236 chefs who reached 40 percent or more, representing world-class expertise.

-One Knife (Excellent): Recognizing 421 chefs who attained 20 percent or more, underscoring their notable contributions to the field.

And the Winner is...

Out of nearly 800 awarded chefs, the winner, for a second year in a row, is Chef Rasmus Munk from Alchemist in Denmark! This restaurant is celebrated for offering a multi-sensory, theatrical, and multi-course culinary experience. Chef Rasmus Munk serves highly creative, technically complex dishes that often double as social commentary on themes like the environment and human rights, presented through a choreographed journey of 50 "impressions" in various themed rooms, including holographic projections and immersive dome environments. The roughly 6-hour dining experience uses a blend of technology, art and performance to challenge guests' minds, emotions, and taste buds.

Special Award Winners

As part of The Best Chef's (r)evolutionary ranking system, the awards also celebrate chefs who have made extraordinary contributions in specific areas:

The Best Humanity: Chefs of World Central Kitchen, founded by Chef José Andrés (NEW)

The Best Visionary: Massimo Bottura, Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy (NEW)

The Best Pastry Award: Pía Salazar, NUEMA, Quito, Ecuador

The Best Terroir Award: Debora Fadul, DIACÁ, Guatemala City, Guatemala

The Best Creativity Award: Jason Liu, Ling Long, Shanghai, China

The Best Food Art Award: Quique Dacosta, Quique Dacosta, Dénia, Spain

The Best New Entry Award: Prateek Sadhu, Naar, Kasauli, India

The Best Dining Experience Award: Anika Madsen, Iris, Rosendal, Norway

The Best Science Award: Diego Guerrero, DSTAgE, Madrid, Spain

The Best Voted by Professionals Award: Himanshu Saini, Trèsind Studio, UAE

The Best NextGen Award: Sebastian Jiménez, Ræst, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

The Best Milan Award: Andrea Aprea, Andrea Aprea, Milan, Italy

The Best Origins & Future Award: Diego Rossi, Trippa, Milan, Italy

China-Based Chef Winners

An absolute honor to have famed Chef Jason Liu of Shanghai's own Ling Long bestowed with such a prestigious accolade.

At Ling Long, there are white tablecloths, avant-garde Chinese art-decorated walls in crimson and onyx hues, and gloved service, yet it diverges from the modern Chinese fine dining trend in that the meal follows a whimsical path, leading guests further down the (white) rabbit hole. The level of tongue-in-cheek eccentricity builds throughout, resulting in each course being more imaginative than the last. The ever-changing set menu orbits around the concept of xian (umami). The aim is to re-create a cross-China journey over eight courses, pulling inspiration from regional tastes and their unique terroirs.

A total of 57 China-based chef winners were included in this list, with 19 from Hong Kong, 4 from Taiwan, 3 from Macau, and 31 from the Chinese mainland. In alphabetical order by chef's name, here they are:

Bill Feng of Lingnan House, Guangzhou (1 Knife)

Chen Zhiping of Meet the Bund, Shanghai (1 Knife)

Christiaan Stoop of Tai'an Table, Shanghai (3 Knives)

Dai Jun of Lamdre, Beijing (1 Knife)

Dong Zhenxiang of Gastro Esthetics DaDong, Beijing (1 Knife)

Fu Yue Liang of Ru Yuan, Hangzhou (2 Knives)

Gary Yin of King's Joy, Beijing (3 Knives)

Huang Jinghui, aka Chef Fei of Jiang by Chef Fei, Guangzhou (1 Knife)

Jason Liu of Ling Long, Shanghai (3 Knives)

Jeff Wu of Ensue, Shenzhen (1 Knife)

Jian Zhang of Obscura, Shanghai (1 Knife)

Jiang Qiaomu of Tou Zao, Shanghai (1 Knife)

Jin Yang of Co, Chengdu (2 Knives)

Johnny Pham of Vivant by Johnny Pham, Shanghai (1 Knife)

Julien Xu of Rêver, Guangzhou (1 Knife)

Kang Yang of Xia, Xiamen (1 Knife)

Liang Dee of Chef 1996, Beijing (1 Knife)

Ling Zhengu of Stone Sal, Shanghai (2 Knives)

Louis Tam of Chōwa, Guangzhou (2 Knives)

Lucas Garigliano of TRB Hutong, Beijing (1 Knife)

Nicoló Rotella of 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Shanghai (1 Knife)

Reina Chen of Fumée, Shenzhen (2 Knives)

Stefano Bacchelli of Scilla, Shanghai (1 Knife)

Tony Lu of Fu He Hui, Shanghai (1 Knife)

Vianney Massot of Blackswan, Beijing (1 Knife)

Wang Yong of Jin Sha, Hangzhou (2 Knives)

Weng Yongjun of Yong Fu, Shanghai (1 Knife)

William Mahi of Jing, Beijing (1 Knife)

Xu Jingyue of 102 House, Shanghai (1 Knife)

Yat Fung Cheung of Chao Shangh Chao, Beijing (3 Knives)

Zeyu Tian of AVANT, Shenzhen (1 Knife)

Final Thoughts

The Best Chef Awards is one of the top awards programs in the world that shines a spotlight on the chefs and talents that are pushing the industry forward. By presenting the world's gastronomic cream of the crop, it is laying the foundation for a community of passionate food lovers to come together in one platform to exchange knowledge and experiences universal to the world of fine dining.

Cristian Gadau, Co-founder and CEO of The Best Chef, said: "The Best Chef Awards are more than just a celebration of culinary excellence. They are a reflection of a community that continues to grow and inspire. Our mission has always been to create a platform that honors chefs not only for their skill, but also for their vision and impact, while making this world of creativity accessible to everyone who loves food."

A Bit of Background on the Best Chef Awards History

The Best Chef Awards began in 2017 with the first awards ceremony, although the project known as The Best Chef was created earlier, in 2015, to unify and highlight chefs in the culinary world. Polish neuroscientist Joanna Slusarczyk and Italian gastronomist Cristian Gadau founded the project and later developed the ranking of chefs. Today, the Best Chef Awards continue to connect a vibrant, worldwide community of top-talented chefs and passionate food lovers, as a project dedicated to celebrating the many talented chefs that create the best food experiences around the world.

The Best Chef Awards are now recognized as a global platform dedicated to celebrating the people behind the food. Founded to honor creativity, innovation, and talent in gastronomy, the awards bring together chefs from every corner of the world, highlighting their vision and contribution to the culinary arts. Beyond rankings, The Best Chef fosters dialogue, collaboration, and inspiration through its annual events, discussions, and digital community, offering a stage where established masters and emerging voices alike can share their ideas and shape the future of food.