Paris, France —It was once the bastion of the Balkans, Russia and Iran. But today caviar is produced throughout the world from a revival of a historical production in the Aquitaine region of France, to the American heartland, China, Poland and beyond, turning caviar production into a resoundingly international affair. Enter, since 2024, the World Caviar Awards which bring together the best caviar producers, traders and refiners with a jury of experts, chefs and food journalists around a common mission: to identify and celebrate the best caviars in the world.

The 2026 World Caviar Awards are slated to kick off in Paris on November 12th in one of the French capital’s most iconic venues, the Alcatraz restaurant in the heart of Saint- Germain-des-Prés on the Left Bank. These awards are being held for the third time after resounding renderings in 2024 in Saint Emilion and Monaco in 2025. The brainchild of Laurent Morin and the French Caviar team, the awards are a response to the increasingly large and widespread production of caviars around the world. The awards aim to spread the word of the excellence of caviar, recognise the worth of the specialized knowhow its production requires and to contribute to providing a framework for the sector on an international level. The organisation promotes producers, traders and refiners through reports, interviews and editorial content destined for the general public and notes each caviar by category and origin.

During the event, caviars the world over are blind tasted behind closed doors starting at noon and the event is followed by a cocktail and gala charity dinner with a caviar-based meal composed by award winning chefs outfitted collectively with 19 Michelin stars. The jury is made up of leading figures in the worlds of gastronomy, art and luxury.The dinner is a seven-course affair concocted by renowned chefs among them Yannick Alléno and Michel Roth. The organization also publishes a magazine, the World Caviar Awards Magazine twice a year. 

But this gastronomic event, with its 800 euro price tag for the cocktail and dinner also benefits two charities. The Association Antoine Alléno and Mercy Ships, a non-governmental humanitarian aid organization. The Association Antoine Alléno was created after Antoine Alléno died in a tragic and violent road incident in Paris that never should have happened. The charity assists families of victims who were under the age of 25 at the time of the tragedy and works to prevent violence in the future. Mercy Ships offers surgical treatments for free to needy populations throughout the world, notably in Africa, with its hospital ships. The charity performs over 2,000 life saving and changing  operations a year. It looks like this year’s World Caviar Awards are playing to a sold-out crowd. But please go to https://worldcaviarawards.com/ to find out more and how you can participate.

©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette