Miele World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards

In the brave new world of kitchen appliances, nothing seems off-limits. With talking refrigerators, smart dishwashers, countertop touch screens and whatever other hyper-connected gadgets our tech overlords are planning, it's becoming clear that if the so-called "smart kitchen" hasn't already changed how we cook, it surely will in the near future.

But as premium kitchen brand Miele is proving, not all important innovations happen in the kitchen—at least, not in your kitchen anyway.

That's not to say Miele isn't leading the charge to the kitchen of the future. The German-based company, perhaps best known for its clean design aesthetic, will always be a part of that conversation. Rather, it's Miele's ongoing partnership with the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards that's elevating the brand to a higher exchange.

The 50 Best Restaurants awards has become a distinguished annual event, where a spot on the list has the rare power to put a restaurant on the global fine dining map. The ceremony was held last month in Bilbao, Spain, with the top prize going to Italy's Osteria Francescana. In addition to being the international award organization's official kitchen appliance partner, Miele also sponsors the One to Watch Award, which this year was awarded to SingleThread, the farm-inn-restaurant concept in California's Sonoma County.

"As a premium kitchen appliance manufacturer, Miele is constantly looking for extraordinary experiences and visionary thoughts on the future of culinary art," Dr. Axel Kniehl, executive director marketing and sales for Miele, says of the award. "With this in mind, we are impressed by SingleThread's dedication, innovation and contribution to the world of fine dining."

Past Miele One to Watch winners include Tokyo's Den, the tiny eight-seat modern kaiseki restaurant, and Barcelona's Disfrutar, known for its fearless Spanish avant-garde cooking.

Yet the most thought-provoking piece of the alliance may be with #50BestTalks, a stand-alone series of culinary panels and live demonstrations that serves as an appetizer to the awards. Miele secured participation in the event earlier this year and has already hosted engaging discussions with thought leaders from Christina Tosi to Dan Barber.

What all this spells is that this company understands that behind every great chef is, of course, a great kitchen, but also ideas that challenge what we eat and why. What does the future of cooking look like, and what might we want from the kitchen of the future? The short and easy answer, at least according to Miele, is innovation.