After a hugely successful 2016 edition in New York City, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants announces that its 2017 awards will take place in Melbourne in April.

The flagship event, celebrating its 15th anniversary, will be hosted at the city’s historic Royal Exhibition Building on the evening of April 5. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has partnered with Tourism Australia to bring the series to its new home for 2017, where world-leading chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, media and influencers will gather to celebrate the very best in global gastronomy.

The overall event program, running from 1 -7 April, will showcase Australia’s outstanding food and wine culture to an international audience of industry professionals and food lovers.

William Drew, Group Editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, says: “After 14 years hosting the awards event in London, we decided to take The World’s 50 Best Restaurants on a global tour, kicking off in New York in June 2016. Now we could not be more thrilled to be moving to Melbourne, one of the great food cities of the world, in 2017. Come April next year, Australia will undoubtedly be the place to be for those passionate about great food and inspired restaurants. In partnership with Tourism Australia, we will also take the opportunity to highlight the country’s unique produce, brilliant wines and dynamic dining scene.”

John O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Tourism Australia, says the awards and event program provide a natural extension to its Restaurant Australia campaign. “Great culinary experiences are about people, produce and place and with the confirmation of Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building as the venue for next year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, I think we’ve found the perfect location to host such a prestigious global gathering of food and wine luminaries.”

Peter Bingeman, Chief Executive Officer of Visit Victoria, added: "Melbourne's food, bar and coffee culture has a depth and diversity that is born out of decades of migration into Victoria, along with a hearty appetite for embracing the new and the bold. Our produce is second to none, our talent is pioneering, and our natural landscapes and urban centres provide the backdrop to outstanding culinary experiences – from eat streets and coffee houses to stunning vineyards and regional dining."

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants is the ultimate annual gastronomic gathering, with chefs and restaurateurs from across the planet coming together to celebrate and collaborate. Wine Australia will provide wines of the highest calibre throughout the program, which includes the traditional Chefs’ Feast – a unique private gathering of the finest culinary talent in the world taking place on 4^th April – as well as further satellite events.

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Wine Australia’s CEO, Andreas Clark, says: “This event is a wonderful opportunity for the world’s most influential people in food and wine to experience the fine wine Australia produces. We are excited to showcase the innovation, quality and diversity that Australian winemakers are known for as we bring a taste of our most renowned wine regions to Melbourne.”

One of Australia’s most internationally acclaimed gourmet celebrations, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, has already agreed to align its dates with The World’s Best 50 Restaurants 2017. It will now run its program of events, in its 25th year, from 31st March to 9th April. This will include a MasterClass series celebrating The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, featuring top chefs from around the globe, on 1 and 2 April.

Etihad Airways and QT Hotel Melbourne have also been confirmed as key partners, helping transport and accommodate the world’s best chefs and food media for the program. Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Peter Baumgartner, said the airline was delighted to be part of such an exciting culinary tourism initiative. “Flying the world’s culinary elite to Australia next year will enable us to showcase our own food philosophy and hospitality offering to some of the biggest names in food and wine in the world today. The culinary inspiration we draw from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards will bring us another step closer to our goal of being the best restaurant in the sky.”

Newly-opened design-driven boutique hotel QT Melbourne will accommodate chefs from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants during their stay in the city. “QT is inspired by the global trend of contemporary travel and bringing back the great hotel restaurant. Through our partnership with Tourism Australia for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, we will showcase the strength of our food and drink philosophies including our QT Forager, rooftop gardens and bee hives, and innovative cooking equipment," said David Seargeant, Group Managing Director, Event Hospitality & Entertainment.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ move to Australia coincides with the country’s ongoing drive to highlight its food and wine credentials to the world. Since the start of Tourism Australia’s Restaurant Australia campaign in December 2013, international incremental spending on food and wine has increased by more than $1 billion or 25 per cent. One in five dollars spent by international visitors in Australia now goes towards food and wine experiences.

How The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is compiled

The list is created from the votes of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of over 1,000 international leaders in the restaurant community. The panel in each region is made up of food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded ‘gastronomes’. Members list their choices in order of preference, based on their best restaurant experiences of the previous 18 months. There is no pre-determined check-list of criteria, but there are strict voting rules.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is independently adjudicated by professional services consultancy Deloitte. This adjudication ensures that the integrity and authenticity of the voting process and the resulting list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2017 are protected.

To see more details on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants voting process, visit www.theworlds50best.com/the-academy/manifesto