CENTRAL of Lima was awarded first place in the World's best 50 restaurants 2023, the Italian mineral water company's award that has been in existence for more than 20 years. It was a selection that neither made sense to the world's foodies nor was it a surprise to anyone else. It was not a strange selection, except for the world's foodies. They had already been receiving various top-level awards and recognition for the past 10 years, and in 2015 they were ranked 4th in the World's best 50, leading the rise of South America's gastronomy culture and communicating its strength to the world.
As one of the world's most notable chefs, leader Virgilio MARTINEZ has been a testament to innovative thinking and practices in food culture from various points in his wide range of activities. While the full scope of his far-reaching activities is not easy to comprehend, one can at least get a little more insight into the creative concept of his all-too-acclaimed CENTRAL restaurant, and beyond that, the actual culinary excellence of his cuisine. This interest grew with each passing news of Latin America's burgeoning contemporary culinary culture.
CENTRAL's MAZ TOKYO branch opened in 2022, just as COVID was settling in. Santiago FERNANDEZ, just 28 years old, was appointed as the head chef for the project, and together with Virgilio, he explored and scrutinized Japanese ingredients, freely combining South American and Japanese ingredients under CENTRAL's dynamic and delicate concept. The result is a Michelin 2-star restaurant that opened just one and a half years ago.
In this second collaboration between our channel and Santiago, we aimed to create a video that would give a solid understanding of their course, which is a very modern integration of culinary cultures. I think we were able to achieve that at a very high level.
Although the clip is 30 minutes long, you will understand that it is the minimum volume necessary to understand on some level the concept of CENTRAL = MAZ and the culinary sensations that seem to flow from it into the palate.
We hope that you will watch this video clip as it demonstrates to some extent the breadth and depth of the periphery within which today's food culture can be integrated.