Canada has always had the ingredients, the talent, and the chefs. All it needed was someone to finally notice. (Photo by Bettman/Getty Images.) 

T wenty-four years ago, some Brits decided to start ranking the world’s best restaurants; because why not? The editors of London’s Restaurant Magazine were in need of a sales boost. They gathered 150 experts (mostly men) and chose their favorites—I mean scientifically ranked—the greatest chefs (all men) of the moment. People love lists and rankings, but back then lists weren’t ubiquitous in the food world. At that point, in 2002, restaurants were ranked in one of two ways: Reviews and Michelin stars. This was during a relatively genteel time in dining, before print tanked and fired all the restaurant critics, before Yelp launched, before food influencers, content creators and mukbangers, before terms like foodporn, clickbait, and listicle existed. And it was into this relatively civilized era that the World’s 50 Best was birthed.

Nowadays lists are king. Restaurant critics are almost entirely extinct, and those that remain are regularly challenged in a way that would have Craig Claibourne spinning in his grave. Michelin stars remain, though the flurry of red plaques flooding Nevada, Florida, and beyond have diminished the exclusivity somewhat. 50 Best was already a juggernaut by 2010 when Brett Martin, reporting for GQ, wrote that it had gone from “an obscure curiosity to dominating the dining conversation, even eclipsing the Michelin Guide, that grand-père of restaurant judgment.”

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