From New York to Bangkok, the culinary world had some top-notch ambassadors in 2015. Here are eight international chefs who made their mark this year.

Heston Blumenthal
He's one of the most famous British chefs in the world. This three-Michelin-star winner took the brave decision of closing his mythical Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, outside London, for renovations. He then tried his hand at pop-up restaurants by temporarily moving his business to Australia. After making headlines with this concept, he subsequently reopened his restaurant in September with a new approach to the menu, serving dishes rooted in his childhood.

René Redzepi
This Danish chef's name has been on everyone's lips since Restaurant magazine named Noma the "Best Restaurant in the World" in 2014. Even though he dropped to third place in 2015, the media attention continued as he revealed plans to close his restaurant at the end of 2016. This caused shockwaves in the gastronomic world, as did his announcement that he was opening a pop-up restaurant in Sydney in the first ten weeks of 2016. The 5,600 bookings in less than two minutes are an indication of Redzepi's popularity as a chef. And we have not heard the last of him, as he recently announced the opening of a second restaurant in Copenhagen, the 108.

The Roca brothers
Joan, the head chef; Jordi, in charge of desserts; and Josep, the sommelier; are a family trio well-known to fine dining enthusiasts. These Spanish brothers are definitely the star chefs of 2015. Why? Because they knocked Noma off its number-one ranking on the list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Their restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Girona is considered to be the international destination for gastronomes. The Michelin Guide has already recognized this trio's talent as it has awarded them three stars.

Yannick Alléno
At the head of an international gastronomic business via the Stay restaurants in the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and Beijing, Yannick Alléno is the French chef of the year for 2015. He whetted the appetite of foodies far and wide when he took over Le Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris, a historic restaurant on the Champs-Elysées which had moved into the three-Michelin-star category thanks to Christian Le Squer (who is currently head chef at the Hotel Georges V). Less than a year after this takeover, Yannick Alléno joined the very closed circle of Michelin three-star winners. In October 2014, he was named "Chef of the Year" by the Gault Millau Guide.

Gaston Acurio and Virgilio Martinez
Fine dining connoisseurs already know that Peru is bubbling over with gastronomic curiosities and has no shortage of talented chefs. One ambassador of Peruvian cuisine, Gaston Acurio, has left his home country to take on Paris. His restaurant, which will be called Manko, has not yet opened but is already attracting a lot of attention in France. The ceviche maestro is no longer the only one getting praise for Peruvian haute cuisine, as his disciple Virgilio Martinez has been ranked fourth among the 50 best restaurants in the world with his Central restaurant in Lima.

Gaggan Anand
If you're an Indian food enthusiast, head to ... Bangkok, Thailand. This year, the 35-year-old chef Gaggan Anand was ranked number one on the list of Asia's 50 Best restaurants. And as Indian cuisine is not very well represented in the big gastronomical guides, his restaurant Gaggan can be considered as among the very best Indian restaurants in the world. It was opened in 2010, and its success has been phenomenal, especially considering it is one of the rare representatives of Indian cuisine at haute cuisine level. The next Indian restaurant in Asia's 50 Best is only 22nd on the list.

Dominique Ansel
Among the French chefs who have established themselves in the US, Dominique Ansel is one of the heavyweights. Over the past few years, New Yorkers have been prepared to get up very early in the morning in the hope of buying a Cronut, which is a half-croissant, half-donut. This pastry chef anchored his presence in the US this year by opening a second store in the West Village, five years after his first in Soho. This summer, he boosted this second outlet with a mini-restaurant serving a dessert menu.