William Bradley, chef-director of San Diego’s Michelin three-star restaurant Addison, has added two more culinary feathers to his cap.
On Wednesday, he was ranked No. 18 in the Robb Report’s 2024 list of the 50 Most Powerful People in American Fine Dining. And last week, he was one of just 97 chefs from around the world to receive Three Knives, the top-level honor for the Best Chef 2024 Awards.
Robb Report’s second annual list of the 50 Most Powerful people in American Fine Dining is based on a secret vote by nearly 200 restaurant industry leaders, from Michelin-starred chefs to James Beard Award-winning restaurateurs to prominent investors to architects to CEOs of restaurant tech platforms. Each voter could choose 10 people they felt were top leaders in the industry.
Leading the list at No. 1 is Thomas Keller, who was Bradley’s career mentor and greatest champion. In the Robb Report story, Bradley is quoted saying, of Keller, that he “created a restaurant culture and community that inspires us all globally. It truly motivates us, and gives us hope.”
Bradley’s 18th-place award in the Robb Report survey said, of his achievements: “For years, chef William Bradley kept his head down and built Addison into the premier fine-dining restaurant in San Diego — a place locals went for a special meal. But now Bradley has diners and chefs the world over flocking to his little slice of Southern California because of the exceptional experience he has built. Bradley has led Addison since 2006, spending many of those years preparing French-inspired fine dining with a California influence. When Michelin expanded to inspect the entirety of the state in 2019, he was sharply focus on having the guide bestow its highest honor on his restaurant. After Addison only received one in the first Golden State edition, Bradley reset creatively, cooking a cuisine he calls “California Gastronomy,” where he delves into dishes inspired by the cultures across Southern California. His relentless pursuit has pushed him into the rarefied air of three Michelin stars. Now he’s among the leaders of global gastronomy, invited to cook with fellow three-star chefs like Anne-Sophie Pic at a Krug event in Paris or to be an ambassador for Hublot watches like Yannick Alléno. And this December, Norway’s only Michelin three-star chef, Esben Holmboe Bang, will travel to San Diego to cook with Bradley at Addison.”
In a text on Wednesday, Bradley said the Robb Report award caught him completely by surprise.
The Best Chef Awards were founded in 2017 in Warsaw, Poland. The winners are chosen by 348 chefs and 220 industry professionals from 63 countries around the world. The awards were announced last week. Bradley is also one of just six U.S. chefs to receive Three Knives this year. All six have either two or three Michelin stars. They others are Corey Lee (Benu, San Francisco); Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park, New York); Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn, San Francisco); Grant Achatz (Alinea, Chicago);and Junghyun Park (Atomix, New York).
Addison is Southern California’s only Michelin three star restaurant and one of just 13 three-star restaurants in the U.S.
While chefs earn Michelin stars for their restaurants, the Best Chef honors the achievements of the chefs themselves. Voting criteria include the chef’s creativity, intelligence, ion, innovation and sustainability, as well as the chef’s leadership abilities and their ability to make a social impact through their work in the kitchen.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Bradley said he’s grateful for the latest honor, which follows Addison’s 2024 ranking of 97 points on La Liste, which ranks the world’s top 1,000 restaurants. Addison rose 1.5 points this year from 95.5 points in 2023. Addison is the eighth-highest ranked U.S. restaurant on La Liste.
Bradley said these awards and the Michelin stars have helped put Addison on the world map, which has not only helped the restaurant’s business and employees, but also has helped raise the profile of San Diego as a culinary destination.
“What has been so great is to see the impact it has on the city,” said Bradley, a San Diego native. “It’s reassuring that the foundation is there and the city will continue to climb. We’re moving in the right direction. Every chance can get to help put this city on the world map we’re very grateful for.”
