MAZ:
From the Amazon to the Andes: the latest gastronomy expressing Peru. .

Central, a famous restaurant in Lima, Peru, is a regular on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Its sister restaurant, MAZ, which opened in Tokyo in 2022, actually serves cocktails. We spoke to Santiago Fernandez, head chef of MAZ, to find out more!

writer：Drink Planet　撮影：Daisuke Akita

Gastronomy making full use of the concept of 'altitude'.

Have you heard of the famous Central restaurant in Lima, the capital of Peru in South America?

It is a regular participant in The World's 50 Best Restaurants, ranked second in the 2022 edition and an impressive first in Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2022. Many of you may be familiar with this restaurant.

It was Central and its owner, chef Virgilio Martinez, who brought a South American flavour to the world gastronomy scene, which until now had been dominated by the West.

(It is even said that gourmets from all over the world visit Peru just to go to Central!)

One of the reasons why Virgilio's cuisine has attracted gourmets is because he has brought the concept of 'altitude' to the world of gastronomy.

As we all know, Peru has a long coastline, the Amazon rainforest and, at the same time, the Andes Mountains, which are over 5,000 metres high.

Therefore, the indigenous people of Peru did not see the land in terms of east, west, north, south or south, but in terms of 'altitude'.

It was Virgilio who sublimated this concept into gastronomy.

For example, the names of the dishes in Centaral are written with the 'altitude' alongside the name of the dish, such as '00 m above sea level' or '00 m depth'.

Using this difference in altitude, in other words, using ingredients from the same altitude, each dish is finished, and the entire course expresses the diversity and ecosystem of the Peruvian land.