April 27 (Bloomberg) — Noma’s victory at the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants last night is a triumph both for the Copenhagen eatery and for the awards, which were stuck in a rut, handing out first place each year to El Bulli.

Danish chef Rene Redzepi was there to collect the crown that had gone for the past four years to Ferran Adria for his establishment north of Barcelona. El Bulli has been in the top three every year since the awards were founded in 2002.

Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck has been the other big winner, coming first in 2005 and always making the top three since 2004. The U.K. restaurant came third last night, behind El Bulli. The only other winner has been the French Laundry, in 2003 and 2004. Noma, which seats 42 diners, was founded in November 2003.

Noma — which stands for Nordisk Mad, or Nordic Food — is housed in a converted warehouse by the waterside in the Danish capital’s Christianshavn district. Redzepi, 32, travels the region in search of ingredients and culinary inspiration for his seasonal menu. Noma entered the table at 33 in 2006 and had risen to third by last year.

According to foodchannel.com editors, the biggest trends of the last decade (2000-2009) include:

TOP TEN TRENDS OVERALL

• Sushi
• Bacon
• Cupcakes
• Sliders
• Gourmet Burgers made with Kobe or Angus Beef
• Superfruits such as Acai, Pomegranate and Blueberry
• Oils, such as olive oils and truffle oils
• Whole grains, such as Kashi, polenta, risotto
• Artisan foods, particularly in breads, cheeses and dark chocolates
• Coffees, teas

DECADE’S TOP FLAVORS

• Pomegranate
• Wasabi
• Cranberry
• Ginger
• Blueberry
• Hibiscus
• Bacon
• Green tea
• Dark Chocolate
• Mint

TOP TEN FOOD INFLUENCERS OF THE DECADE

• Organic foods, along with Locavore and Community Supported Agriculture
• International Cuisines
• Food TV and Internet
• Food Safety
• The Economy and subsequent shift to home cooking
• Fast casual restaurant concepts
• Fair trade and Artisan concepts in bread, chocolates, cheeses
• Mobility/Social Media/Twitter notifications/Underground dining
• Mixology
• Culinary education

TOP FOOD PEOPLE OF THE DECADE

• Food bloggers
• The local farmer
• Celebrity Chefs in general: Rick Bayless, Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri, Emeril Lagasse, Gordon Ramsey, Giada De Laurentiis, Mario Batali, Alton Brown, Tyler Florence, Jaime Oliver, Ina Garten
• Julia Child/Julie Powell
• The home cook
• Grant Achatz
• Alice Waters
• Thomas Keller
• Martha Stewart
• The local restaurant chef

TOP TEN GENERAL NEWS TOPICS OF THE DECADE IMPACTING FOOD

• Food Safety (tomatoes, green onions, H1N1)
• Food Prices
• Slow Food
• Sustainability
• Consumer generated advertising (Dorito’s Super Bowl ad)
• The demise of traditional publishing (Gourmet Magazine)
• Organic
• Private branding
• Carl’s, Jr.’s edgy advertising
• McDonald’s innovation

DECADE’S TOP RECIPES

• Macaroni and Cheese
• Bread Pudding
• Risotto
• Biscotti
• Ceviche
• Deep Fried Turkey
• Creme Brulee
• Bruschetta
• Tilapia
• Guacamole

TOP RESTAURANT TRENDS OF THE DECADE

• Fast casual concept
• Tapas and shareables
• Gastropub
• Molecular Gastronomy
• Taco Trucks
• Underground dining
• Fusion
• DIY
• Catering
• Upscaling of Bar food

What do you predict will be a new trend for this decade?

I just wanted to let my wonderful readers know that the reservations for elbulli season 2010 is now open, so send your emails to try your luck in scoring a table at the world’s best restaurant!

This is from the elbulli website:

Reservations information – 2010

You can send your request to bulli@elbulli.com from the beginning of January.

All the requests that we receive until the middle of January will be considered to be received at the same time. We will start reviewing reservations at that moment.

We are obligated to forewarn you that, due our limited room capacity for one season, it will be impossible to fulfill most of the requests even those received at the beginning of January.

We will give you an answer as soon as possible but the revision of reservation requests is a very complicated and slow moving process

elbullireservations: bulli@elbulli.com

As I mentioned before in my previous posts, emails written in Spanish normally have a better chance, as 50% of the tables are reserved for those from Spain, and the other 50% for the rest of the world. Your chances are much higher if you appear to be a local!

Fear not, there’s always an answer – and a stylish one at that!
Zeelush designs offer customised purse hooks designed for the girl who loves to treat her nice things… nicely. After a quick consultation, lead designer Deborah specializes in working with Swarovski crystals, contemporary and vintage components to create a unique design that suits your style and personality. Each piece is one of a kind.

Check out the beautiful handmade bling designed especially for Spread My Butter, complete with an adorable miniature butterknife!

Zeelush purse hook

You can get your own personalised purse hook here.

Zeelush also offers bling’d out mobile phone covers, mirror compacts and more. Check out this beautifully made iPhone3G case with a sugartoothed theme for a culinary student in Paris, complete with an Eiffel tower, delicious mini pastries and a sundae.

Visit http://www.zeelush.com/ and spoil your inner fashionista!

Elizabeth grew to love beef jerky while living in California, where it is as readily available as candy. Made from air dried strips of organic silverside, it is high in protein, low in fat & only 74 calories a bag. The perfect snack for anyone following the Atkins or any other lo-carb diet.

There are oat bars and fruit bars as well, but they are not nearly as exciting as beef snacks that can be carried around in one’s Fendi purse on the go.

You will have to browse through a catalog of her swimwear and various scantily clad photos of her (some completely un-clad at all) before you find the snacks for sale, but there’s a free offer until the end of November: “A free oat bar with every bikini sold”. (I’ll take four!)

you can buy yours now at: http://www.elizabethhurley.com

What’s next? T-Pain Asprin?

The kitchens of Melbourne’s best restaurants are busily working overtime in order to prepare for the ultimate culinary experience that is Taste of Melbourne – now only two weeks away.

Our beautiful friends at Taste of Melbourne are giving away 2 general admission tickets to a lucky Spread My Butter reader if you can answer the following question:

Which of the following participating restaurants is your favorite in Melbourne – and what did you order that blew you away?

(simply answer by leaving a comment below – easy!)

Your answers will be featured in a Best Of Melbourne post at a later time. Don’t forget to use a valid email address when you comment, or we won’t be able to contact you if you win!

Winners will be drawn at 5pm, August 25th (Tuesday) so get your entries in quick!

Congratulations to Adski - I hope you have a fantastic time at Taste of Melbourne!4xpykw2q7i

'Fua-men' ramen noodle shop, Nagoya

Opened by Kenju Nagaya, the president of Aisei (a local robot manufacturer), he explains that “The benefits of using robots as ramen chefs include the accuracy of timing in boiling noodles, precise movements in adding toppings and consistency in the taste and temperature of the soup,”. Diners say they cannot taste the difference between a Robot-cooked ramen to one made by real human chefs.

Pork broth ramen

Watch the action in the video here: Japan’s ramen robot

(Source: Reuters)

Robo-chef

THEY’VE got ones that clean, and others that pour drinks, so it was only a matter of time before Japanese inventors came up with robots that can cook.

Various prototype robo-chefs showed off their cooking skills at the International Food Machineryand Technology Expo in Tokyo this week, flipping okonomiyaki – Japanese pancakes – serving sushi and slicing vegetables.

“We all know that robots can be very useful. We want to take that utility out of the factory so that they can be used elsewhere,” said Narito Hosomi, president of Toyo Riki, manufacturers of the pancake-cooking robot.

(source) Thanks to Justin for the link!

The Top 50:

1 El Bulli, Spain (=)
2 The Fat Duck, U.K. (=)
3 Noma, Denmark (+7)
4 Mugaritz, Spain (=)
5 El Celler de Can Roca, Spain (+21)
6 Per Se, U.S. (=)
7 Bras, France (=)
8 Arzak, Spain (=)
9 Pierre Gagnaire, France (-6)
10 Alinea, U.S. (+11)
11 L’Astrance, France (=)
12 The French Laundry U.S. (-7)
13 Osteria Francescana, Italy (New Entry)
14 St. John, U.K. (+2)
15 Le Bernardin, U.S. (+5)
16 Restaurant de l’Hotel de Ville, Switzerland (+11)
17 Tetsuya’s, Australia (-8)
18 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, France (-4)
19 Jean Georges, U.S. (-2)
20 Les Creations de Narisawa, Japan (New Entry)
21 Chez Dominique, Finland (+18)
22 Ristorante Cracco, Italy (+21)
23 Die Schwarzwaldstube, Germany (+12)
24 D.O.M., Brazil (+16)
25 Vendome, Germany (+9)
26 Hof van Cleve, Belgium (+2)
27 Masa, U.S., (Re-entry)
28 Gambero Rosso, Italy (-16)
29 Oud Sluis, Netherlands (+13)
30 Steirereck, Austria (New Entry)
31 Momofuku Ssam Bar, U.S. (New Entry)
32 Oaxen Skaergaardskrog, Sweden (+16)
33 Martin Berasategui, Spain (-4)
34 Nobu U.K. (-4)
35 Mirazur, France (New Entry)
36 Hakkasan, U.K. (-17)
37 Le Quartier Francais, South Africa (+13)
38 La Colombe, South Africa (Re-entry)
39 Asador Etxebarri, Spain (+5)
40 Le Chateaubriand, France (New Entry)
41 Daniel, U.S. (=)
42 Combal Zero, Italy (Re-entry)
43 Le Louis XV, France (-28)
44 Tantris, Germany (+3)
45 Iggy’s, Singapore (New Entry)
46 Quay, Australia (New Entry)
47 Les Ambassadeurs, France (-2)
48 Dal Pescatore, Italy (-25)
49 Le Calandre, Italy (-13)
50 Mathias Dahlgren, Sweden (New Entry)

and the other 50:

51 Zuma, China
52 Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, U.K.
53 Spondi, Greece
54 L’Arpege, France
55 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, China
56 Hibiscus, U.K.
57 Aqua, Germany
58 Le Gavroche, U.K.
59 Chez Panisse, U.S.
60 Les Amis, Singapore
61 El Poblet, Spain
62 Maison Pic, France
63 Cafe Pushkin, Russia
64 Le Meurice, France
65 Bukhara, India
66 Varvari, Russia
67 Schauenstein, Germany
68 RyuGin, Japan
69 La Maison Troisgros, France
70 Wasabi, India
71 The River Cafe, U.K.
72 Enoteca Pinchiorri, Italy
73 Le Cinq, France
74 Allegro, Czech Republic
75 Quintessence, Japan
76 Restaurant Dieter Mueller, Germany
77 Geranium, Denmark
78 Caprice, China
79 Jardines, South Africa
80 Amador, Germany
81 Biko, Mexico
82 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon U.S
83 Fasano, Brazil
84 Mozaic, Bali
85 Obauer, Austria
86 Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee, France
87 L’Ambroisie, France
88 Maison Boulud, China
89 De Librije, Netherlands
90 Babbo, U.S.
91 Maze, U.K.
92 Zuma, U.K.
93 Manresa, U.S.
94 Pier, Australia
95 De Karmeliet, Belgium
96 Aubergine, South Africa
97 Bo Innovation, China
98 Rust en Vrede, South Africa
99 Del Posto U.S.
100 Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire, UAE

Sonic Bloomberg!