The world record for the most Michelin-starred restaurants visited in 24 hours has been broken by 44-year-old foodie Joshua Fyksen (USA), who ate at 22 of New York City’s finest establishments within the span of a day.
When Joshua first read about the previous record – 18, achieved by Eric Finkelstein (USA) in 2022 – he immediately started making plans to beat it.
"I have long been an enthusiast of fine dining, eating at Michelin-starred restaurants frequently and planning trips and vacations around visits to these sacred halls,” Joshua said. “This is a record I was born to break."
Excluding tax and tips, Joshua spent a total of $593 (£489) on food during this record attempt, which he researched and planned for four months.
Picking the location was simple; with 72 Michelin-starred restaurants in close proximity, New York was the obvious choice.
From there, he put together a list of restaurants with à la carte menus, as he couldn’t waste time eating at places with full tasting menus.
He then mapped out a potential route, allocating just 15 minutes per restaurant for both dining and travel.
Some of the restaurants declined to participate, and some were deemed by Joshua to be inconveniently located, so he was left with a final list of 22 to visit.
Joshua strategically began his record attempt at 2:30 p.m. on 25 May, meaning that he could eat throughout the evening, sleep, then wake up the next day to continue at restaurants which opened for lunch.
He started at Oxomoco in Brooklyn, where he ordered a $25 (£21) tuna tostada with avocado and radish, before visiting Manhattan’s Casa Mono to eat some Spanish tomato bread.
Joshua says the “main event” began at 5:00 p.m., when most other places started opening. He enjoyed Korean cuisine at the next two restaurants, Oiji Mi and Cote, before heading to Gramercy Tavern to eat roasted oysters for $27 (£22).
He continued his Michelin march through the city, with his highlight of the evening being two-star Korean restaurant Jungsik, who served him a “delicious” five-course amuse bouche.
Momofuku Ko was in such a rush to cooperate that they had my dish – cold fried chicken and pickles – ready but didn't give me any silverware or napkins. I signed the check with sticky fingers. – Joshua
Joshua went back to Brooklyn to end the evening at his 16th restaurant, European-inspired brasserie Francie, where he ate soufflé cakes with caviar and seaweed butter, which was the only dish he disliked during the record attempt.
Fortunately, he began the next day by enjoying his favourite dish of them all: roasted octopus with shrimp, Iberico pork, and rice for $31 (£25) at Le Pavilion.
Joshua visited five more places, surpassing the previous record at Scandinavian restaurant Aquavit, and ending the record attempt at Le Bernardin, the only three-star establishment on his list.
After polishing off a plate of pounded tuna and foie gras for $50 (£41), Joshua ended his record attempt at 2:21 p.m. with nine minutes to spare.
Of course, I ordered more food and champagne to celebrate. – Joshua
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