The ceremony was originally due to take place in Saga Prefecture, Japan, on 24 March.
However, after consulting with The Governor of Saga Prefecture, and in light of the ongoing travel restrictions that have resulted from the ongoing spread of the Coronavirus, it will now be reformatted as a premium-level streamed awards ceremony to be held on the same day, which all interested parties will be able to experience simultaneously online.
“This is an extremely difficult decision for us, as we very much wanted to support the restaurant industry across Asia, which has suffered from the side-effects of the coronavirus situation in recent weeks,” says Charles Reed, CEO of William Reed Business Media, the company behind 50 Best.
“However, it has become clear in the last day or two that, despite our best endeavours, it would not be responsible to stage our events as planned. However we remain committed to announcing the new list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants on March 24th. We will continue working to support and promote great restaurants and great chefs in Asia, as we have done since the launch of Asia’s 50 Best in 2013.
“We are also extremely grateful to our host destination partners in Saga for their efforts in preparing to welcome the gastronomic community to their unique and beautiful region. We aim to facilitate further opportunities for chefs, partners and media to experience the wonderful food, culture and landscape of Saga in the future.”
Last year’s Asia 50 Best Restaurants ceremony saw Singapore’s French fine dining restaurant Odette take the number one spot for the first time, knocking Bangkok’s Gaggan in to second place after spending four years at the top.
To view last year's list in full, click here.
