One of the first and most prominent business casualties of COVID-19 has been the global restaurant business. So the organization behind The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has created an online auction where the proceeds will go to help the industry, bringing restaurants to the rescue of restaurants.

The ‘Bid for Recovery’ Auction will debut on July 3rd, offering food and travel enthusiasts the opportunity to bid for once-in-a-lifetime experiences with the world’s best chefs. More than 100 incredible lots have been donated by restaurants and chefs featured on recent World’s 50 Best Restaurants lists, plus brand partners, to create the world’s biggest gastronomic auction.

Bidders will have the opportunity to select from an array of extraordinary food and drink experiences across the globe, as well as rare items. Some of the bespoke auction lot highlights include:

• A full-day immersive gastronomic experience with Mauro Colagreco, chef at The World’s Best Restaurant, Mirazur, in Menton, France
• Food and wine masterclasses, a day on her farm and multiple meals hosted by Chef Dominique Crenn in San Francisco, USA
• Four-day gastronomy tour of Singapore including dinners at Odette and Burnt Ends
• Plus, many more incredible experiences with the world’s top chefs including private cooking classes, wine tours, luxury hotel breaks, foraging, sailing trips, exclusive tastings and bespoke parties

The auction will be conducted online at 50BestForRecovery.com. Potential bidders can view the full selection of lots from June 29th, with the auction running from July 3-12.

The funds raised will go towards providing direct and tangible financial relief for restaurants worldwide as they emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the 50 Best for Recovery programme, in partnership with founding donor S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. Independent restaurants and bars across the world will be able to apply for a direct grant in July. Additional donations will be made to non-profit-organisations: Lee Initiative’s Restaurant Reboot Relief Program and Black Urban Growers (US); Nosso Prato (Brazil); the Eat Out Restaurant Relief Fund (South Africa); Feed the Needy (India); Horeca Next (Belgium); Ambasciatori del Gusto (Italy); Chefs for Spain, and the worldwide Social Gastronomy Movement.

50 Best is committed to using its platform to help fight for equality and inclusivity in the hospitality sector. The Black community has been hit disproportionately hard by coronavirus; this fact will continue to help shape the distribution of funds in the 50 Best for Recovery campaign.