La Paz, (EFE).- The prominent Peruvian chef Virgilio Martínez advocated for “the identity button” to be activated in Latin American kitchens and to find similarities to work together and stop “competing.”
“I think this identity button is the brutal change, it is not a technical issue, it is not a matter that we have discovered something, it is that we activate the identity button and at that moment we can all work together and stop competing , find similarities and thus we find how to grow together”, said Martínez in an interview with EFE.
He added that the union of the region is not only because of the kitchen, but because of the history, the way of working, the “megadiverse” territory and “working together” or partnering in projects, to further promote the “very important moment” that Live Latin American gastronomy.
“The important thing was really to value our identity, our culture, our people,” he stressed.
Dinner together with Virgilio Martínez
Martínez is in Bolivia along with other chefs from the famous Central and Mil restaurants to prepare a dinner together with the prominent Bolivian chef Marsia Taha and the entire Gustu team to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Bolivian restaurant, which is ranked 45th. of the 50 best in Latin America.
Central, one of Martínez’s restaurants, is in the first place of the 50 best in Latin America and second in the world.
The chef announced that his restaurant is undergoing a renovation process in which the cultural and gastronomic content will become more visible to make it a “multidisciplinary” experience.
Unite the cuisines of Bolivia and Peru
This meeting of prominent chefs in Gustu precisely has the objective of uniting and finding the common factors between Bolivia and Peru and the ingredients that will be used in the dinner come from the forests, which are a great pantry.
“Today it is much more coherent to see the things that unite us because we are in a world, we live in polarizations and divisions, and here many things unite us (…) as products of nature that create incredible bridges,” said the chef.
For this nine-step dinner, Martínez brought some Amazonian fish and fruits from the Peruvian forests so that diners can taste a variety of landscapes from both countries on their plate and create an ecosystem of forest flavors.
Anniversary in Gustu
Taha highlighted to EFE that Martínez is one of the chefs who “has supported Gustu the most from the beginning”, for which he was invited to this anniversary dinner, in which the protagonists will be 100% Amazonian foods that show similarities, but also the “contrasts” in the techniques and ingredients found in the forests of both countries.
“This is a celebration in the lungs of the world”, stressed Taha.
Yolanda Salazar