For many of us, food is a (the?) key factor when choosing where we travel. And with food tourism one of the fastest growing travel trends, cities all over the world are now vying for the accolade of best food destination.
With this in mind, online catering marketplace, Caterwings has released the 2017 Best Food Destinations Index, detailing the top 100 best food cities around the world. And I'm impressed enough with their research to share the surprising results here.
The top 10 foodie destinations in their Index are: San Sebastian, Tokyo, NYC, Barcelona, Singapore, Paris, Madrid, Lima, London, and Munich.
Here's the complete ranking list of 100 destinations, with detailed categories. And here are highlights that I noted, some obscure yet fascinating:
When asked to rate which cities had the best quality of the culinary scene, experts ranked San Sebastian, Spain first; followed by fellow Spanish city Barcelona and Peruvian city Lima -- an example of how the Spanish influence in cuisine is becoming ever greater.
When asked to rate which cities had the best quality of food service, experts ranked San Sebastian, Spain first; followed jointly by Oslo, Norway; London, UK; and Zurich, Switzerland.
Seoul, South Korea has the most restaurants per 10,000 citizens at 110.23, followed by Osaka, Japan and Jeonju, South Korea.
Lea Lane Jeonju, South Korea has the lowest percentage of fast food outlets as compared to restaurants at 0.06%, followed by fellow South Korean city Seoul, and Japanese city Osaka.
Dubai, UAE ranks first for diversity of cuisine, followed by Mumbai, India; and Seoul, South Korea.
Zanzibar, Tanzania comes out on top for vegetarian/vegan options; followed by Venice, Italy; and Edinburgh, UK.
San Sebastian, Spain ranks first for high-end restaurants, followed by Tokyo and Paris.
San Fernando - Pampanga, Philippines comes out on top for street food, followed by American cities Honolulu and Austin, (which may seem weird, as you probably haven't heard of the Philippine area, but the folks there eat well).
The food in New York City is the most affordable for locals (surprise!), followed by Singapore; and Dubai, UAE.
The food in Hanoi, Vietnam is the most affordable for visitors; followed by Kiev, Ukraine; and Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Citizens earning minimum wage must work the most hours in Pondicherry, India, to afford a dinner in a restaurant for two, followed by Dakar, Senegal; and Chennai, India.
How did the company come up with this detailed survey? Research was extensive, analyzing thousands of cities based on the number of restaurants per capita, as well as established international restaurant rankings. They then considered which factors are most important to food lovers, opting for four scaleable criteria: critics' opinions, the accessibility and variety of food on offer, the quality of available food, and the affordability of dining in a restaurant.
Within these categories the study included factors such as percentage of fast-food restaurants as compared to restaurants, availability of vegetarian/vegan options, and number of restaurants per 10,000 citizens.
Due to preferences in taste, the company also analyzed the quality of both the high-end restaurants and the street food scene in each city. And to calculate the accessibility and affordability of food in each location, Caterwings calculated how many hours a person on minimum wage would have to work in order to afford a two-person dinner in a restaurant.
To round off the study and find out an on-the-ground expert view, they then asked 20,000 food journalists and restaurant critics to rate the quality of both the food scene and the food service in their city.
That's a comprehensive survey, worth bringing to your attention.
All of these factors were then given a score to determine the final ranking of 2017’s Best Food Destinations, with every city on the final list worthy of recognition and praise.
