The 8th edition of the Best Chef Awards was held in Dubai for the first time, celebrating some of the city’s top local talent…

Each year, the esteemed Best Chef Awards celebrates the top chefs around the world. On Wednesday night, this prestigious event took place at Atlantis, The Palm, bringing together the “who’s who” of the culinary world in its biggest edition yet. This year’s awards honoured 660 chefs from 61 countries—giving foodies everywhere plenty to add to their dining bucket list.

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For the first time, the Best Chef Awards introduced a “knife” ranking system, designed to recognise chefs not only for their skill but also for their impact on the industry. In total, seven Dubai-based chefs were honoured across three categories:

Row on 45/Tresind Studio

Three Knives (the best)

  • Himanshu Saini, Trèsind Studio
  • Grégoire Berger, Ossiano

Two Knives (world-class)

  • Mohamad Orfali, Orfali Bros
  • Daniel Birk, Row on 45

One Knife (excellent)

  • Rahul Rana, Avatara
  • Solemann Haddad, Moonrise
  • Tom Allen, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

And the recognition didn’t end there. A selection of Dubai-based chefs also received special awards, celebrating their extraordinary contributions across a specific areas:

Three by Eva

The Best Dubai Award:

  • Himanshu Saini, Trèsind Studio

The Best Origins & Future Award:

  • Eva, Lilian, and Emilie Rihani of Three by Eva
  • Mohamad, Wassim, and Omar Orfali of Orfali Bros

Images: Social/Provided