The year 2014 contained an amazing amount of good food eaten across three continents (plus one island that was 2,182 miles away from any continent). Looking back on those meals to winnow down my 10 favorite dishes of the year, my decision on whether or not to include a dish came down to questions such as these—

Did its pleasures go beyond conscious thought? Was my appreciation more than just intellectual admiration for the talents of the chef?

If you’d been nearby, and if your eyes had been closed, would I have confused you, because my groans would have made you assume you were present at an orgy rather than a meal?

Here the dishes which made me moan the loudest last year …

Chupe de Setas de Quintay
Boragó, Santiago, Chile

A rich mushroom dish packed with umami, part of a tasting menu at a restaurant I hope to revisit someday.

Pork ribs
Rancho Doña Maria, Chacobuco, Chile

Cooked to perfection in a traditional clay oven.

Foie gras profiterole, caramel sauce, sea salt
Le Pigeon, Portland, Oregon

My mouth waters merely thinking of this.

Cherry salmon and its roe, fennel
Manresa, Los Gatos, California

Delicate and refreshing.

Sugar snap peas with egg mousse and trout roe
Riverstead, Chilhowie, Virginia

Not only one of the tastiest dishes I’ve ever experienced, but also one of the most beautiful.

Salmon poached in a liquorice gel, artichokes, vanilla mayonnaise and golden trout roe
The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire, England

Perhaps more than just my favorite salmon of the year. Perhaps the favorite salmon of my life.

Tipsy cake, spit roast pineapple
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London, England

So much cream is added to the brioche balls during the cooking of this recreation of an 1810 dish it’s surprising London didn’t run out.

Pig face
Range, Washington, D.C.

Skin as delicious and addictive as pork potato chips, and meat that couldn’t have been any more tender.

Raviolo, foie gras, butternut, white chocolate
Volt, Frederick, Maryland

This pushed every button. I could have closed my eyes and drifted away … but it was only course 14 of a 21-course meal.

Pork sausage, habanero and lychee salad
Rose’s Luxury, Washington, D.C.

Delivered to the able as seen above, prior to us being told to mix it up ourselves. Surprisingly complex flavors which delivered tons of umami.

An amazing year. I don’t know whether 2015 has any chance of coming close, but I intend to try. Will I discover new marvels at Next during the Nebula Awards? At Damon Baehrel during the World Fantasy Convention? Or some Spokane restaurant I’ve yet to discover during Worldcon?

My fingers are crossed. And so would be my tongue, if that were possible!