Chef Virgilio Martinez is a Peruvian Chef and Restaurateur. Born in 1977, he is considered one of the main carriers for spreading the word about Peruvian Cuisine to the World. Cordon Bleu educated in Canada and United Kingdom he begins his career in well-known restaurants such as: Lutèce (New York); Can Fabes (Sant Celoni); and served as executive chef at Astrid & Gastón in both Bogotá and Madrid.
Time is precious for him and he is always busy running his Restaurants Central,Lima and Senzo and traveling across the Andes to find new and exciting ingredients he can use for his dishes.
At a first glance, Chef Virgilio is an ordinary chap with smiling nature, passionate and dedicated personality and very down to earth character. Some people even consider him ” too thin” to be a Chef. He likes to live and eat healthy, loves to use new modern cooking techniques in creating his dishes and source his ingredients from the nature’s best.
Martinez is currently chef and owner of Central Restaurante, his flagship restaurant located in the Miraflores District, Lima, Peru. In June 2012 he opened Senzo, a project in conjunction with Orient-Express Hotels Ltd., located in Palacio Nazarenas hotel in the city of Cuzco.In July 2012 he opened Lima, a modern Peruvian-style restaurant located in the Fitzrovia neighborhood of London. Lima was awarded a Michelin star in the 2014 Michelin Guide.
I’ve always liked to cook, but it never occurred to me that I could do this for a living. Fifteen years ago in Peru cooking was not a typical profession. So after giving a shot at a “normal” career here I decided to go for what I loved doing the most, and to do it I had to study abroad.
My wife, Pia, who runs the kitchen at Central, and the rest of my team.
There is nothing I would not try.
Running along the Malecon de la Reserva in Miraflores.
Break my clavicle while skateboarding, twice.
There is nothing I regret, honestly.
My mom, to try street food in Singapore.
“Extreme Altitude” native potato puree.
Steam the potatoes for one hour. Peel them while hot. Once cool grate them and add the butter in a skillet to obtain a smooth paste. Add salt to taste.
Heat the cushuro to 75ºC. Add the olive oil and stir.
Remove the huacatay sprouts and set aside.
Very finely chop the fresh mullaca, dry and set aside until ready to plate.
Scrub the dried mullaca roots until clean. Set aside until ready to plate.
Place the potato purée on a warm plate. Top with the warmed cushuro, the huacatay sprouts and chopped mullaca. Garnish with the mullaca root.