Top chef Gastón Acurio as guest chef in the Ikarus

In September 2008 at the Restaurant Ikarus: Gastón Acurio

The Peruvian Ambassador

"Astrid y Gastón", Peru, Lima

Gastón Acurio is not a politician, but the gastro-cultural revolution that he started in Peru and that is now spreading all over the world has a very strong political component. A nation that has seen the rise and fall of many civilisations and has experienced several immigration waves is currently rediscovering its culinary culture and sharing it with the world. What makes this development even more positive is that it is not just a fad, but a sustainable transformation affecting all levels of society. Peru has every right to be proud of its newly-found place on the culinary map. New restaurants and cookery schools are mushrooming everywhere as more and more Peruvians want to make the preparation of Peruvian dishes their mission in life. But other countries are also discovering the delights of Peruvian cuisine – in the U.S. in particular, journalists are becoming increasingly interested in the country’s culinary scene, also because several excellent Peruvian restaurants have opened in Seattle, San Francisco and Washington D.C. One man and one woman are right at the heart of this boom:

Astrid y Gastón is the name of the restaurant that Gastón Acurio and his German wife Astrid opened in Lima in 1994. Both trained in Paris, where they met and fell in love. At the beginning of their joint career, they offered exclusively French cuisine, true to the motto “if it’s good, it must be French.” It took fi ve years for Gastón to rediscover the culinary delights of his native country: anticucho (a type of kebab), sanguche (sandwich), cebiche (a fish-based dish) and tacu tacu (rice and beans). During this period, he talked to Peruvian farmers, breeders and fi shermen and built up business contacts. In 1999, he fi nally “outed” himself as a Peruvian chef, cooking in Peru, using Peruvian ingredients, Peruvian traditions and Peruvian memories. One man’s quest to fi nd his own identity soon spread across the entire country. Acurio, a resourceful chef and businessman, read the signs of the times correctly and decided to bank on the Peruvian theme, both from a culinary and a business perspective.

Today, Gastón Acurio is something like the Peruvian Jamie Oliver and outperforms even Jamie in terms of medial omnipresence, social commitment and entrepreneurship. In 2005, he was elected “Latin-American entrepreneur of the year” by the pendant of European business magazine “The Economist”, an award that refl ects his extraordinary presence and skill. Gastón Acurio doesn’t think much of fashions and fads – he is more interested in developing solid structures and platforms. Rather than subjecting his restaurant to the current zeitgeist, he wants to make sure it enriches the daily lives of the people who live in its vicinity, not just in Peru – today, Astrid y Gastón restaurants also exist in Quito, Santiago de Chile, Caracas, Bogota, Panama City, Mexico City, and most recently one has opened in Madrid.

The energy that Acurio invests in realising his vision is also refl ected in the incredible variety of his project portfolio: in 2003, he opened ”t’anta” in Lima, a café and deli with prices that suit every pocket – in short, the Peruvian equivalent of a bistro. And this idea has also become a success story: the fourth “t’anta” branch has just opened in Lima. In 2005, Acurio set up “La Mar”, a contemporary Peruvian “cebicheria” that is intended to promote Peruvian “cebiche” all over the world. In September 2007, the fi rst Peruvian cookery school with a no-fee structure will open in Pachacutec, one of Lima’s poorest quarters, under the auspices and management of Acurio’s enterprise. His vision is to turn Peruvian cuisine into a worldwide brand that will bring prosperity to the entire nation. His personal dream – to own a small country restaurant at the foot of a mountain – testifi es to his romantic side. We can only hope that Acurio will wait a while longer before fulfi lling his wish – we are already looking forward to his next idea!