Gastronomic Peru is facing an important moment. This year the Peruvian presence was in The 50 best restaurants in the world is established: Central, Maido and Mayta restaurants are safe on the gastronomic list and chef Pía León’s Kjolle is expected to be announced as a new entry (after being found at number 68 in 2022). A large Peruvian delegation arrives in Spain to attend the ceremony on Tuesday 20th at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, where we will find out what positions these Peruvian restaurants hold in the 2023 global ranking.
The expectation is great. Last year, Central took second place, followed by two Spaniards: Catalan Disfrutar (a restaurant run by Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, three former El Bulli chefs) and Madrid-based DiverXO by Dabiz Muñoz . Virgilio Martínez and Pía León, together with the director of Mater Iniciativa, Malena Martínez, the triad that, from Casa Túpac (in Barranco), marks the path of research and gastronomic development of Central and its culinary satellites, travel to Spain to meet the great to receive awards. How do you expect this moment? “Obviously excited and nervous. We have a large team of motivated guys here. And whatever the outcome, we’re clear: we know we’ve done an honest, real job, put a lot of heart and family into it, and we’ll be happy and proud. “The course we have set will not change because we enjoy what we do and really like it,” says chef Pía León.
Virgilio Martínez and Pía León celebrate the announcement of Central as number 2. (Photo: Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants)
Founded in 2008, Central has featured in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list since 2013. And this is the tenth time the chef couple has celebrated the award, which is the result of voting by 1,080 food service professionals in 27 regions of the world. “We’ve been in the top 10 for seven years and we know it’s normal to be nervous. The best result can make this an incredible platform for the expansion of the restaurant, Peru and all of Latin America in general. Last year it was number 2 that had a huge impact, from the reserves benefiting producers in Cusco and for the Peru brand. As Pía said, we have already mapped out a path and whatever comes will not change our essence,” stresses Virgilio Martínez.
Lima-based Peruvian Central was awarded second place at the influential The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony in London. (Photo: CRIS BOURONCLE / AFP)
Peruvians on the list
Micha Tsumura arrived in Spain on Thursday. After spending a few days in Madrid, the chef flies to Valencia today, where he will take part in the activities leading up to the Big 50 Night. It is the seventh time that the Maido chef takes part in this ceremony, filled with the emotion and expectation that his team conveys to him. “And also feelings of gratitude to all the people who support us, follow us and love us and who have enjoyed what we do over the years. To feel that affection is the most beautiful thing in the world,” admits Micha. Amidst this festive atmosphere in the world of gastronomy and hospitality, one thing is very clear to Peruvian chefs: this is important to Peru.
“I think it will be a good year for Peru and for tourism. Aside from the pride in Peruvian cuisine, it is also economically important not only for restaurants that are [en la lista] but for the country and for Latin America. This creates activation in all areas that we so urgently need,” says the Maido cook.
Maido, Micha Tsumura’s restaurant, was recognized as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world and ranked 11th in the top 50 restaurants in the world. In addition, it was recently positioned as the third best restaurant in Latin America.
Tomorrow, Sunday, Jaime Pesaque will also arrive in Valencia to take part in the activities, which will start with a welcome dinner for the chefs. This is the second time the owner of Mayta has attended this global ceremony, to which he is grateful and proud to represent Peru. “It feels very nice to do a little bit to promote culture through cooking. And seeing the country at the top, in these very important guides, is a motivation for me and the team to keep moving forward and create the homeland,” he emphasizes, who is committed to pushing the boundaries of creativity, to ensure that Peru and Lima remains one of the gastronomic capitals of the world.
“And the possibility that he is number one in the world [este año] Be a Peruvian, a Latin American… that would be extraordinary! Peru as a world leader would trigger a great gastronomic movement to Lima and all of Latin America,” he emphasizes. So be it.
Left to right: Central’s Virgilio Martínez and Pía León, Mayta’s Jaime Pesaque and Maido’s Mitsuharu Tsumura at The World’s 50 Best 2022.
If?
The 50 best restaurants in the world will announce their 2023 rankings this Tuesday, June 20, starting at 1:40 p.m. Lima time (8:40 p.m. in Spain). The ceremony will take place at the City of Arts and Sciences complex in Valencia and will be streamed live on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants YouTube channel and Facebook
- https://www.youtube.com/@worlds50best
- https://www.facebook.com/50BestRestaurants/
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about the event
-Since its inception in 2002, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking has focused more on European and American gastronomy.
– The first Latin American country to make the list was Brazil with DOM by Chef Alex Atala. His earnings were No. 50 in 2006; For years it was the only restaurant in the region to be included in this ranking.
– Peru first made the list in 2011 with chef Gastón Acurio’s Astrid y Gastón restaurant. He entered at number 42.
– Central by Virgilio Martínez and Pía León, debuted at number 50 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2013; The following year it rose to number 15 and in 2015 it ranked fourth, repeating this in 2016. In 2017, Central dropped to fifth place and the following two years to sixth place. In 2021 it peaked at #4 and in 2022 it was ranked #2 in the world.
– In 2015, Mitsuharu Tsumura’s Maido entered the global list at number 44. The following year it jumped to number 13; In 2017 it rose to 8 and a year later to 7. In 2019 it was 10th, in 2021 it was 7th and last year it was 11th.
– Chef Jaime Pesaque’s Mayta restaurant debuted at number 32 on the global list last year.
– It is also important to highlight that this year 2023 the restaurant Mérito, run by the Venezuelan chef Juan Luis Martínez in Barranco, joins this Peruvian representation: in 59th place, this new entry was celebrated in the extended list (from 51 to 100). following its presence in the Latin American rankings, where it topped the top 10 last year.