Ana Roš Stojan Awarded for Best Chef According to Experts

In Dubai last night, awards were given to the best chefs in the world. The Best Chef Awards 2024 ceremony, held for the eighth time this year, was the largest ever – it was held in Dubai for the first time, at Atlantis the Palm, and hosted 550 top chefs from 61 countries, writes the online portal The National.

In addition to the title of the best chef in the world, which went to 33-year-old Rasmus Munk from the Alchemist restaurant in the Danish capital Copenhagen, the second best was Albert Adria from Enigma in Barcelona, and the third was Eric Vildgaard from the Jordnær restaurant in Gentofte, several other special awards were also given.

In the category of the best chefs according to the opinion or voting of experts, the award was received by the Slovenian chef Ana Roš Stojan with her restaurant Hiša Franko, which has three Michelin stars. In the category of special awards, there were also awards for the best pastry chef, the best food artist, the best culinary experience, and others.

As Ana Roš Stojan said after receiving the award for Delo upon landing in Venice on her way to Ljubljana, this award was really unexpected: "If I had known I would get it, I would have prepared a statement for the public, but I had no idea."

"Maybe this is one of the most valuable recognitions for me because it reflects the opinion not only of my colleagues but also of professional chefs working in this segment. I am eternally grateful, you can hardly get more than this," she said.

Besides Roš Stojan, two other Slovenian chefs also received awards. The Best Chef Awards group presented a multi-level knife recognition system in Dubai. This evaluates chefs based on performance and skills in three categories. At the top, 97 chefs received three knives for "culinary mastery," 177 chefs received two knives for demonstrating "top professional knowledge," and the one-knife category recognized 276 chefs for "outstanding contributions in this field."

Most are unaware of the name Ana Roš

"These three knives are no small feat. Maybe we should recognize the value of Hiša Franko in the global space. Most of us are also unaware of the name Ana Roš, sometimes when I come home, my head hurts because I don't know where I'll get hit around the head again. But this is our Slovenian reality," she said for Delo.

David Žefran, chef of the Milka restaurant with two Michelin stars, located by Lake Jasna in Kranjska Gora, was awarded "two knives," Luka Košir, owner and chef of the Grič restaurant in Horjul with one Michelin star, received "one knife." "Two knives" are awarded to those who achieve 40 percent or more of all possible points, while "one knife" is given to those who achieve 20 percent or more of all possible points. The Best Chef serves as a central platform for food lovers to share knowledge, discuss current topics, and promote a community passionate about gastronomy.

The fifty-one-year-old won the third place award in the main category of the best chefs in the world at last year's event held in Mexico. As Roš Stojan said upon receiving the latest award, she did not expect it.