San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2010

[nickrey]

Let's take a step back from subjective opinions and emotions and look at what we are talking about, which is rating performance.

The top person in the world at Tennis beats others (not all others but sufficient cumulatively to gain the title). The top formula one driver doesn't win all races but wins sufficient to beat the other competitors. In all such cases, it is clear who wins because the scoring is not only well defined but the area in which performance occurs is totally circumscribed (fastest, most points, etc.).

Let's now move to restaurants. There are so many different subjective characteristics involved that as someone who regularly measures these things (as a psychometrician and psychologist), I'd have to say that you would have a snowball's chance in hell of coming up with criteria that everyone agreed on, let alone then rating them accurately.

Is there any clearly definitive way of creating a list of the world's top restaurants? I would have to say no.

This makes any list such as this, and I would include Michelin ratings here, a soft target for anyone who wishes to criticise it.

As someone who regularly measures using assessment instruments that have a level of error, I know the best way to deal with these is to take into account the level of error and place an appropriate level of credence in the results.

Just because you have an opinion that varies from the list in one area, does that make the list wrong? Does it invalidate all items on the list? Who is to say that you did not experience one of the good days at that restaurant when, God forbid, the owner/celebrity chef may actually have been in the kitchen.

A list such as this that combines opinions from food professionals is a great step forward in an area where there are as many opinions as diners. Think to yourself how you have had the same dish as someone else and loved it when they found it adequate or wanting.

Would I use it as my only list? Not at all. Read other ratings, combine information, seek opinions from those whose opinions seem to match yours. Then make your choices about where to spend your hard earned money.

I say long live the San Pellegrino "Top 50." Is it perfect: No. Is anything else in this area? Definitely not. Is it easy to criticise? Just look at earlier posts.

Now on to tackle art prizes, I hear they are a subjective lot as well...

Edited May 1, 2010 by nickrey (log)