Lima-based chef and restaurateur Virgilio Martínez of Central, the World’s Best Restaurant 2023, takes all the elements of his homeland Peru, even the altitudes in which the ingredients are found, into deep consideration in creating his menu. Virgilio Martínez isn’t just cooking fantastic dishes at his Lima based restaurant Central. He’s documenting the incredible biodiversity of Peru.
Termed ‘altitude cuisine,’ and ‘ecosystems on a plate’ the menu highlights a different Peruvian ecosystem in every course. Martinez connects with a vast network of growers, producers and procurers all over Peru. This unique approach has earned him international acclaim.
In 2023, Central was voted No. 1 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list published by the UK-based company William Reed, with input from 1,080 industry experts. It’s an honour no other restaurant in Latin America — a region ignored by Michelin inspectors has achieved.
In 2018, Martínez established Mater Iniciativa a laboratory amidst the Andes, run by Martinez’s sister Malena Martinez. This research wing of Central travels the length and breadth of Peru, uncovering new and unique products.
Brought to India by Culinary Culture and Masters of Marriot Bonvoy, Martínez cooked two exclusive dinners at Koishii, the Peruvian-Japanese restaurant at The St. Regis Mumbai.
In a freewheeling chat the acclaimed chef talks about honouring native ingredients, altitude cooking, what it means to be the number one chef and why he stocks over 100 types of salts in his pantry.
Excerpts:
Welcome to India. What’s your first impression?
The hospitality here is amazing. When I entered the hotel St Regis everyone was clapping for me. I have never experienced anything like this before. I took a video and sent it to my mother. She called me back to say, ‘I watched the video 25 times. I am surprised.’ It made my mother so happy.
You also did a quick tour of the spice market and relished a local Gujarati meal. How was that experience?
The spice market with its noise and heat, beat my jetlag in one second (laughs). The diversity of the ingredients you have here is mind-boggling. I could see a strong sense of culture of food in the market here. You feel for the food and it’s something I admire.
Did you find any similarities between Indian and Peruvian cuisine?
A lot! Just like in India we too use very good ingredients but add a lot of seasonings and spices to it. Even in Peru we use tons of garlic. I love the way Indian cuisine balances its spices and ingredients. It’s something I haven’t seen anywhere else in the world. Most importantly you have a lot of regional cuisines and not one Indian cuisine. It’s the same in Peru. There is no one Peruvian cuisine. Your regional cuisine is something I want to discover more about. I would love to come back and stay for more than two weeks.
What are your childhood memories of food?
As a young boy, I spent a lot of time with fishermen in Lima a city that is front of the ocean. Those days being a chef wasn’t a possibility. I was very fond of eating ceviche. So I would always get fish from the fishermen and make a ceviche. That was the beginning of going to the market to get ingredients.
Can you tell us a little about Central — the food and its concept?
The whole idea of Central is cooking with ecosystems. Through Mater Iniciativa our research centre in Peru, we have produce from different region of Peru. So we conceptualised a menu based on dishes from different altitudes and ecosystems. Every single dish comes from one region in Peru. So in a way it’s like going through a journey of the different altitudes while seeing the diversity of Peru. When someone visits Central we explain the food, ingredients, our culture and our geography through a table laid out with ingredients in order of their altitudes.
What are the challenges of working with a menu that draws from various altitudes and eco-systems?
The most challenging part is to maintain consistency. Unlike other restaurants that just have to call their suppliers, we go to our suppliers for the ingredients. First we have to ensure through science that all the ingredients are 100 percent edible. Then we have to create a system to ensure all the seasons are good and the ingredients can come to the kitchen regularly. At times when we are unable to get a certain ingredient we have to switch to another dish and at times even change the menu. We are all about being local, farm to table and fair trade. But we are always exposed to the unknown.
Nature is a huge part of your menu at Central. How do you bring it to the plate?
When I feel that creativity is not happening in the kitchen, I go to nature. Sometimes I go to the amazon where I get to see beautiful landscapes. We try to recreate that beauty through our dishes. We are very local in our ingredients but very global in our creativity and techniques. The plating is artistic. The idea is to express the beauty of nature on the plate.
You have more than 100 varieties of salt in your pantry. How do different types of salt affect dishes?
Since origin and ecosystem play a huge part in our food we need to use ingredients that are part of one specific altitude. If we are creating a dish with ingredients found at 3000 meters over sea level, we only take ingredients from that altitude, including the salt. When I go to lower altitudes, say in the Amazon I have to use salt from the Amazon. It is strict but it gives us coherence and a reason to do what we do. Sometimes people say they are working with local ingredients. But it's not 100 percent local if you are using eggplant from your area but dousing it in seasonings and magical powers from China. Then there’s no reason to say that your food is local.
Did you ever think you’d become the World’s No. 1 chef?
All I wanted to do was have a restaurant of my own where I could cook for people and make them happy. In the beginning, my motivation was just to cook. And maybe travel. Now it’s beyond cooking — getting to know different cultures, meeting new people and representing my country.
Do you feel the pressure of being the world’s No 1 chef?
It was difficult in the beginning. I didn’t know if I’d be able to cope with this new responsibility. Suddenly you are representing a whole continent and you have to do it well. But after a while I realised that this is just a result of the work I have been doing for the past 15 years. I didn’t become a genius overnight. It was the result of genuine hard work. These are the things I tell myself to stay relaxed and continue with my work.
You work with a team comprising of your wife and fellow chef Pía León and sister Malena Martínez. How is it working with the family?
My sister Malena who works in culinary research and science has a good brain for investigation, anthropology, social projects and working with communities. She is always concerned if what we are serving is edible and we won’t be killing anybody with our food (laughs). Pia my wife makes things work, she’s the machine. When I’m dropping crazy ideas, she tells me if they will work or not. Then there’s my mother who’s an artist. She is always looking at the place, the colours, the interiors. I learnt ceramics from her when I was a little boy. So she is always looking at the serve ware. It’s a continuous work in progress.