Elena Reygadas has been named the best female chef in the world in 2023 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. She is the owner and chef of Rosetta, a restaurant and bakery in her hometown of Mexico City. And Reygadas was voted as the winner by 1,080 culinary experts from 27 regions across the globe.
“I feel deeply grateful and honored,” Reygadas wrote on social media. “Cooking is a collective art. This recognition is for all the extremely talented people with whom I have collaborated for so many years. Also, from all the Mexican women who cook every day, keeping our huge culinary tradition alive. Thank you all for your support and love!”
According to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Reygadas studied English literature at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Her true passion, however, led her to the French Culinary Institute in New York – now the International Culinary Centre (ICC).
Reygadas then moved to London where she learned everything about Italian cuisine by working alongside Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli at his restaurant, Locanda Locatelli. She took that knowledge back to Mexico City after her first child was born. She opened Rosetta in 2010 in the historic neighborhood of Roma. Two years later, she expanded the restaurant to include a bakery.
Since then, Rosetta has been named one of Latin America’s best restaurants eight times by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Last year in its extended list, it was ranked No. 60. Some of the dishes she is known for are cabbage tacos with pistachio pipián sauce, sweet potato ravioli with matcha, and corn tamales with smoked cream.
Remezcla recently traveled to Mexico City and attended a culinary masterclass with Reygadas hosted by Expedia, in which she spoke on the diversity of Mexican dishes and how there isn’t just one dish that encapsulates the country’s culinary tradition. “There is not one Mexican food. There are Mexican foods,” she shared with the press during the event. “This country has many foods and many kitchens.”