This prize, awarded by one of international cuisine’s most prestigious institutions, means Mr Avillez joins names like Alain Ducasse (1993/2007), Ferran Adriá (1994), Massimo Bottura (2010), Joan Roca (2011), René Redzepi (2012/2013), Grant Achatz (2014) and Alex Atala (2015).
“We have worked to promote Portuguese gastronomy around the world and this award is important recognition of what we have achieved. It will certainly help make Portuguese gastronomy more visible”, José Avillez said on Monday.
The 38-year-old chef also said he was proud to join a restricted number of top chefs who he had looked up to as “benchmarks”.
José Avillez has various restaurants in Lisbon and Porto, including Belcanto (in the capital), with two Michelin stars and he is considered to be one of the top 100 chefs in the world by Restaurant Magazine.