Susan Jung and Evelyn Chen appointed as The Diners Club® World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy Chairs in Asia

Susan Jung and Evelyn Chen
 appointed as The Diners Club®
World’s 50 Best Restaurants
Academy Chairs in Asia

The organizers of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants are delighted to announce the appointment of two new Academy Chairs in Asia.

• Susan Jung is the new Academy Chair for the region of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan
• Evelyn Chen is the new Academy Chair for the region of South-East Asia (South)

Susan takes over from Grant Thatcher, who stands down due to a change in personal circumstances. As the Senior Food and Wine Editor for the South China Morning Post, Susan is one of the most respected food journalists in the region. Born and educated in California, Susan moved to Hong Kong while working as a pastry chef. She has been overseeing SCMP’s food and restaurant coverage for almost two decades and her cookbook, A Celebration of Food, was published in 2012.

Evelyn takes over from Leisa Tyler, who stands down as Academy Chair but will continue in her role as special consultant to the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants content programme. Based in Singapore, Evelyn is the local editor of Zagat and a formerTime Out food critic who contributes to numerous premium publications including New York Times, Telegraph Travel, Conde Nast Traveller and CNN Travel, as well as writing her own well-established blog, Bibik Gourmand.

William Reed Business Media, the organisers of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, would like to take this opportunity to thank Grant and Leisa for their immense contribution to the success of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants over many years, and in particular for aiding the successful launch of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2013.

Academy Chairs

In order to ensure a fair representation of the global restaurant scene, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants divides the world up into 26 geographical regions. Each region has an Academy Chair appointed for their knowledge of their part of the restaurant world.

These chairs each select a voting panel of 36 (including themselves) – ensuring a balanced selection of chefs, restaurateurs, food/restaurant journalists and gourmets. These voters, numbering over 900 in total, make up The Diners Club® World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy. It is the votes of this Academy that creates The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants:

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, was launched in 2002 byRestaurant magazine, which has been publishing the list and organising the awards event annually in London. Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, was launched in Singapore in February 2013, with the second annual event taking place earlier this year. Each list offers an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of international restaurant industry experts, with any type of restaurant in the world or in Asia respectively eligible for the list.