Alice Waters Lauds Noma’s Ascent to World’s Best Restaurant

Alice Waters congratulated Noma on its recently-bestowed honor of world’s best restaurant.

“The wonderful thing that’s happening at Noma is they’re gathering people from around the world to think about food differently,” Waters, the chef and TIME 100 honoree, said at the TIME 100 gala in New York on Tuesday. The Copenhagen-based restaurant, was given the top spot by Restaurant magazine this week.

Even though Pope Francis, also a TIME 100 honoree and TIME’s 2013 Person of the Year, wasn’t in attendance Tuesday, Waters says he’s the honoree she’d most want to meet.

“I love that he wants to plant gardens on all the Vatican lands,” Waters said.