Elena Reygadas Of Mexico City Named The World's Best Female Chef 2023
Ahead of its June award ceremony in Valencia, Spain, the World's 50 Best Restaurants has revealed its first pre-announced winner of 2023: Elena Reygadas. According to an April 18 press release, Reygadas, the owner of Rosetta and four smaller establishments in Mexico City, including the restaurant's spin-off bakery, Panaderia de Rosetta, casual restaurants Café Nin and Lardo, and Italian restaurant Bella Aurora, has been named as the World's Best Female Chef.
"I'm very grateful and honored to have been elected by people I admire so much," Reygadas said after receiving the nod, which is voted on by over 1,000 culinary experts from around the world. "Cooking is a communal practice. And so, for me, this award belongs to my team, and in some way, to all the Mexican women who have devoted themselves to cooking over thousands of years."
Reygadas was previously recognized as the Best Female Chef in Latin America in 2014 and Rosetta, which opened in Mexico City's Roma district in 2010, was acknowledged in the 2022 listing of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, landing at number 60.
Giving back
The Best Female Chef award is fitting for Reygadas, who has not only spent her career proving her prowess in the kitchen but has also begun advocating for gender equality in professional kitchens. In 2022, the mother of daughters launched the Beca Elena Reygadas Scholarship fund, which covers accommodation and living costs for young women who are accepted into culinary school but don't have the money to attend. Noting the reduced opportunity for young women and the lack of available scholarships, Reygadas told 50 Best, "I felt that I had reached a moment in my career where I was no longer a young girl. It was my turn to give something to the new generations, or in this case, to young women in the Mexican countryside who want to study gastronomy but can't."
In addition to her philanthropy, Reygadas is an advocate for the environment and biodiversity. According to 50 Best, she actively considers ethical sourcing for ingredients and has worked to incorporate more vegetable-forward versions of traditional Mexican dishes at her restaurants.
In announcing the award, 50 Best Restaurants' Content Director William Drew said, per the press release, "It's an [honor] to bestow The World's Best Female Chef award this year on Elena Reygadas, a chef who is paving the way for future generations of female leaders in Mexico and beyond. With her advocacy of traditional dishes and indigenous biodiversity, Reygadas is promoting the future of Mexican gastronomy and we're proud to support her mission with this prestigious award."