Virgilio Martínez Véliz facts for kids
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| Born | August 31, 1977 Lima, Peru |
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| Cooking style | Peruvian cuisine |
| Education | Le Cordon Bleu |
| Spouse | Pía León |
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Virgilio Martínez Véliz (born August 31, 1977) is a famous chef and restaurant owner from Peru. He is known for being one of the top chefs who has helped make Peruvian cuisine popular around the world. Virgilio uses modern cooking methods with special ingredients found only in Peru.
His main restaurant, Central, is located in Lima, Peru. It first appeared on "The World's 50 Best Restaurants" list in 2013. By 2014, it had moved up many spots, winning the "Highest Climber" award. In 2023, Central was named the number one restaurant in the world!
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Virgilio's Journey as a Chef
Virgilio Martínez studied cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa, Canada, and London, England. Early in his career, he worked in famous restaurants like Lutèce in New York City and Can Fabes in Spain. He also worked as the main chef at Astrid & Gastón restaurants in both Bogotá, Colombia, and Madrid, Spain. These experiences helped him become the amazing chef he is today.
Cooking with Unique Peruvian Ingredients
Chef Martínez is famous for using very special ingredients from Peru. For example, he uses a type of potato that grows high up in the mountains, about 5,000 meters (over 16,000 feet) above sea level! He also cooks with kushuru (also called cushuro), which is an edible blue-green algae found in wetlands high in the Andes mountains. He also uses wild types of kiwicha and quinoa, which are ancient grains.
Virgilio loves to use different kinds of salt. He cooks with more than 120 types of salt in his restaurant in Lima! In 2013, he helped start a group called Mater Iniciativa. This group is made up of different experts who travel all over Peru. They search for unique ingredients that Virgilio can then use in his cooking. In 2018, he even opened a special lab in the Andes mountains. There, he works with local families to learn about and record different crops.
Virgilio's Restaurants Around the World
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Virgilio Martínez is the chef and owner of Central Restaurante in Lima, Peru. This is his most well-known restaurant. In 2012, he opened Senzo in Cuzco, Peru, which was a project with Orient-Express Hotels.
In July 2012, he opened Lima, a modern Peruvian restaurant in London, England. This restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2014, which is a very special award for restaurants. Later, in 2014, a second Lima restaurant called Lima Floral opened in London. In 2017, a third Lima restaurant opened in Dubai.
In March 2018, he opened Mil, a restaurant located near the ancient Inca ruins of Moray. This restaurant is very high up in the Peruvian Andes, at about 11,706 feet (3,568 meters) above sea level.
More recently, in December 2021, Virgilio created the menu for Estero. This restaurant mixes Mexican and Peruvian flavors. It is located inside a hotel in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
An Unusual Airport Story
In May 2019, news reports shared an interesting story about Chef Martínez. He was stopped at the airport in Los Angeles, USA. He had about 40 piranha fish in vacuum-sealed bags in his luggage! When airport officials asked what he was carrying, he said "flesh and bones." This led to him being questioned in a special room. He was allowed to go after he showed the officials pictures of the meal he planned to cook with the piranhas. It was a very unusual situation!
International Cooking Events
Virgilio Martínez has taken part in many cooking events and festivals around the world. He has shared his unique Peruvian cooking style at places like:
- Mesamérica in Mexico City
- Peixe em Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal
- Melbourne Food & Wine Festival in Melbourne, Australia
- Identità Golose in Milan, Italy
- Festival Cultura e Gastronomia Tiradentes in Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Festa a Vico in Vico Equense, Italy
- Ñam Santiago in Santiago, Chile
- Savour in Singapore
- Gulfood in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Paris des Chefs in Paris, France
See also
In Spanish: Virgilio Martínez para niños
- List of restaurateurs
