Virgilio Martinez: Putting Peruvian Cuisine on the World Map
Back when chefs didn’t enjoy the reputation and fame that grace them today, young Virgilio Martinez — now a well-known name in the culinary world with multiple awards in his basket — had a dream: to put Peruvian cuisine on the world map. It was an unexpected choice, considering he had already secured a seat at the state university to pursue law. It was almost unacceptable for his lawyer father, who saw him following in his footsteps and carrying forward the legacy. “Back then, there weren’t any culinary schools in Peru. Peruvian cuisine didn’t have any validation in the world. Telling your parents that you wanted to be a Peruvian chef was akin to telling them that you wanted to clean toilets. It wasn’t considered a meaningful profession that could bring you any success,” he told The Indian Express.
As evident, his father’s disapproval didn’t stop him. Chef Martinez also credits his mother, an artist by profession, who understood that cooking was his way to express art and played an instrumental role in shaping him. “Growing up, I was all over the place and had issues being stable or focused. My mother noticed this and pushed me to paint, work with ceramics and engage with art,” he said, adding that aesthetics play a very important role in his work. “Before I plate the food, I look for a specific ceramic or plate. And, if I can’t find it, I will get it made. Sometimes, we have to wait for the plates to come, but it is decided by us,” he added.
During his maiden visit to India at the end of May, facilitated by Culinary Culture and Masters of Marriott Bonvoy in partnership with American Express, Chef Martinez hosted two dinners at Koishii, The St. Regis Mumbai. Priced at a whopping Rs 50,000 per person, he brought a taste of Central, his flagship restaurant that earned the coveted number one spot on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants List 2023, to the Maximum City. The diners were served an eight-course menu, featuring ingredients as intriguing as codium (a marine green algae), macambo (a nutrient dense superfood consumed by indigenous communities of Amazon rainforest), olluco (a root vegetable native to the Andean regions of South America) and Copoazú (a tropical fruit native to Amazon), among others.
In July, Chef Martinez returned to Mumbai, as part of chef consortium, to curate an all-vegetarian menu for the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. A photo of the menu, which went viral on social media, featured eight unique dishes created by him and his team. The menu included options like “Avocado emulsion and Peruvian corn,” “Cashew roll with mountain chimichurri and fresh cheese,” “Extreme altitude seeds with smoked tomato,” and “Dates & lentil triangles with pistachio tiger’s milk.”
When asked about the awards and their relevance, he quickly shared that his plan wasn’t to be number one or appear on magazine covers or television, adding that it would be shallow “because then there won’t be anything to do once you reach there,” he says. “I was dreaming of having a restaurant where I was able to cook for people and make my guests happy,” he shared, adding that in a restaurant, one can express multiple things. “Of course we want to please our guests, but we also strive to create new ideas, philosophy, a culture of cooking, and to represent our country and the whole continent.”
But how does one find the motivation to continue going on and on? “With time, I started to develop new motivations. At the beginning, my motivation was to cook or travel. Now it has gone beyond that; it is about getting to know different cultures, people, and of course, representing my country. We need motivation and creativity every single day because I need a reason to wake up and be creative.” Going forward, he plans to have “a museum inside Central showing our work.”
At a meet-and-greet session held at Koishii, food writers and chefs interacted with Martinez and watched his Netflix documentary “Virgilio” (not available in Asia), which offered insight into his life and the food philosophy he employs at Central. The restaurant, known for its contemporary interpretation of Peruvian cuisine, also serves as his research centre where he examines and integrates indigenous ingredients into his menu. Guided by the philosophy of “cooking ecosystems,” the restaurant also has a research arm, Mater Iniciativa.
“We have noticed with our research that in Peru, we can cook at different altitudes. So we conceptualised a menu featuring a variety of dishes that come from different altitudes and ecosystems, highlighting the biodiversity of the region,” he explained, adding that diners in India experienced “Peruvian nature and American biodiversity coupled with some other dishes prepared using ingredients that we found in India — we are amazed by the way you use lentils.”
Drawing a comparison between India and Peru, Chef Martinez, who also visited the spice market in Mumbai, noted that both countries take pride in their ingredients and flavours. “I am surprised by the diversity of ingredients that you have and the strong sense of food culture that’s visible on the street. Yes, it is noisy because a lot of information is being exchanged, but in the end, you see this balance of harmony, which isn’t seen in many places around the world,” he said.
When asked what took him so long to visit, he explained that he wasn’t ready or mature enough to see India the way he did during this trip. “We have to cook, which brings along its share of stress that we are used to, but then I wouldn’t have been able to see the city, its people, culture, and ingredients,” he said, adding, “I can’t wait to come again and stay for over two weeks to truly explore India’s many regional cuisines.”
