50 Best Scholarship

Creating opportunities for aspiring chefs

The 50 Best Scholarship is a scheme that provides a unique opportunity for an aspiring cook to work alongside some of the finest chefs and gain experience in award-winning kitchens with three stages in restaurants across the world. The Scholarship was created as part of 50 Best's mission to support and develop fledgeling culinary talent. It also includes a £1,500 cash prize to help the winner support himself during the stages.

The selection process for the last edition of the 50 Best Scholarship took place between November 2019 and February 2020. 21-year-old Hawaiian cook Andrew Wong was named as the recipient of the Scholarship on 12 March 2020. Following the pandemic, he undertook his stages in late 2021 and 2022. 

Wong was selected through a three-stage judging process overseen by the 50 Best team that involved written and video submissions and interviews, and to which host chefs Mauro Colagreco and Leonor Espinosa had an input.

Stay tuned to 50 Best's Instagram to follow Andrew's journey, to be the first to find out which restaurants will be taking part in the next edition of the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship and how to apply. 

In 2019 and 2020, over 1,100 ambitious cooks from 81 countries have applied for the scholarship. Below is an infographic relative to the 50 Best Scholarship.