The annual World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony is about honoring the avant-garde and celebrating those who ignore boundaries and create their own genres. It’s about making grand and important statements, like declaring that North America’s best restaurant is run by a forward-thinking Korean couple.

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But the list, based on the votes of 1,080 “international restaurant industry experts and well-travelled gourmet who make up The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy,” is also about honoring the old guard and telling stories about legacies. So things got especially interesting at this year’s ceremony at Wynn Las Vegas around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5, when Rasmus Munk’s Alchemist restaurant in Copenhagen was named No. 8.

Alchemist, which opened in 2019, is a multisensory high-tech experience with up to 50 courses (known as “impressions”) that weave together art and science and pure imagination. Last year, Alchemist was No. 5 on the list. This year, it was considered a serious contender for the top spot. But as things turn out, Alchemist might seem too much like the future for some voters in 2024.

And the No. 1 pick for........

© Observer