Virgilio Martínez

Virgilio Martínez is Lima-born and trained in Europe (including El Bulli, Astrid y Gastón) before opening Central in Miraflores in 2008, which relocated to Barranco in 2021. He pioneered altitude-based cooking — organising Peru's extraordinary biodiversity into distinct altitude zones (from -15m ocean depth to 4,200m high Andes) — and co-founded Mater Iniciativa with Pía León, a research centre that conducts field research into Peru's flora, fungi, algae, and native ingredients across all altitude zones. Central was #1 World's 50 Best in 2023 and entered the 'Best of the Best' Hall of Fame in 2024, the highest honour the award system offers. The restaurant is considered the most important in the history of Peruvian fine dining.