May 2022 – ICG

Chef Virgilio Martínez and Pía León, recognized for their gastronomic exploration of Peru’s biodiversity, Central de Peru is the fourth best restaurant in the world and the first in South America in 2021. “The Central team, with the research center Mater Initiative, make up a group of expeditioners full of curiosity about Peru”, defines himself, where he signs a singular commitment to rediscover products, which go from the Coast to the Amazon, with the Andes as the axis, and to translate them into creative dishes. It is the gastronomic verticality of a chef, who prefers to take risks and move away from the most orthodox avant-garde to observe “the world from a different level” and create recipes that are accompanied by height measured in meters according to the origin of their ingredients (sometimes undocumented and cataloged by the chef and his team). Central is a restaurant with two floors, capacity for around 70 diners and a glazed kitchen overlooking the dining room, from where you can see Virgilio Martínez and Pía León finishing and checking dishes on the show.

As beverage options, the menus can be harmonized with a pairing of wines or juices (non-alcoholic), also made with Andean ingredients and under a format designed by the sommelier, coordinated with the kitchen and pastry team. “It’s about using ingredients from the same heights to complement the food.” In addition, at the entrance of the restaurant, there is a cocktail bar, an area with a bar, high stools and an informal menu of dishes, various non-alcoholic drinks and interesting cocktails, many based on a ‘made in Central’ philosophy.