Gastón Acurio Interview Part 2 at Klephblog

In this second and final half of his interview with Gastón Acurio, journalist C.J. Schexnayder continues his conversation with this leading Peruvian chef.

Gastón outlines his philosophy for his flagship restaurant Astrid & Gastón, as well as for his cevichería, La Mar, and his plans for expansion to the US market. Here's a preview:

Where did the idea for La Mar came from?

La Mar was that idea for the type of cevichería we wished we could go eat at. We said, lets build a cevichería in the style of the classic type of cevichería but offer the highest quality food and service.

So we wanted it to be open, we wanted music. We wanted some of the chaos... but have it with a unified design, with top-quality products. And lets make it a cevicheríathat we can do here but we can also do anywhere else in the world.

How did you turn that concept into reality?

We built La Mar and I spent one year with it completely finish but we did not open it. We were creating the concept, doing the manual operation, training the staff.

We needed to create a system so that anywhere in the world, you could take our system, add the fresh ingredients, the fresh fish and whoop – you would have the best ceviche in Lima.

Click here to continue reading the conclusion of this interview with Gastón.




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TAGS: Peru, Peruvian, food, cooking, cuisine, cocina, comida, gastronomía, peruana

Video: Peru Food

WARNING: This video is not intended for the hungry.

Video: ausum
Running Time: 10:41

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Click here for the Peru Food main page.

TAGS: Peru, Peruvian, food, cooking, cuisine, cocina, comida, gastronomía, peruana

Gaston Acurio Interview at Klephblog

Yes, another post about Gastón Acurio.

Journalist C.J. Schexnayder recently posted Part 1 of a two-part interview he had earlier this year with Gastón at his excellent site, Klephblog, and it is certainly worth a read. Gastón discusses the state of Peruvian cuisine in Peru and the world, his philosophy for his organization, and his transition from a chef of French cuisine to a leading proponent of Peruvian food. Can enough be said about this 'leading light of Peruvian cuisine'?

If you haven't found it yet, here is part of the interview:

What is the state of Peruvian cuisine?

Right now, in Peru, we are living in the middle of a gastronomic revolution. There is a boom in cookbooks, restaurants and cooking schools. We are the reference for the rest of South America. When people from other countries look at Peru they say, "The thing they do well is cook." Our approach to food is a model for the rest.

Is that happening in the United States as well?

Yes. We have seen a lot of attention in the last year to Peruvian food. A lot of journalists, food journalists, have come to write about it because it is the up and coming cuisine in the world. We are where Mexican food was a quarter-century ago.

In the last three years we have seen Peruvian restaurants emerge as some of the best restaurants in the United States. That has never happened before. We are seeing high-end fine-dining Peruvian restaurants opening in Seattle, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

How has that affected Peru’s culinary situation?

More people are starting to realize cooking, and cooking Peruvian food, is a good way to make a living. When I started cooking I had to go to Paris to study because there wasn’t even one school in Lima. Now it is a bit fashionable.

Today there are 22 cooking schools in Lima. We are producing more than 1,000 cooks annually trained in schools here in Lima. And they all have work. Not all here in Peru but all over the world. Right now it is selling point to be a chef from Peru.

How has the popularity of Peruvian and Novo Andino food affected the restaurant industry?

Right now there are about 500 Peruvian restaurants in the world. What we would like to see is that expand to 200,000 in the next 20 years. Which is not impossible when you look at other cuisines that have taken off in the past. There are much more than 200,000 Mexican restaurants in the world today and those restaurants increase the exports of products from Mexico.

It is not just what these restaurants are buying. These restaurants led to an acceptance of Mexican cooking and now you find fajitas and tacos and the ingredients to make them in supermarkets everywhere. People are cooking these dishes in their homes. Not all of this comes from Mexico but there is a greater demand for Mexican products as a result.

Click here to read the complete interview with Gastón.




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TAGS: Peru, Peruvian, food, cooking, cuisine, cocina, comida, gastronomía, peruana

Video: Gaston Acurio Discusses Rescuing Lima's Traditional Street Food

The Panamanian chef, Elena Hernández, was recently in Caracas for the V Salon Internacional de la Gastronomía. She loves Peruvian food, and is a great admirer of chef Gastón Acurio. At her blog, El Amor Por La Cocina, Elena reviews the event in Spanish and posts loads of pictures.

During her visit to Caracas, Elena was able to speak briefly with Gastón before he presented his new project: rescuing Lima's traditional street food. She posted a video of her conversation in Spanish with Gastón.

Here is my rough translation of what Gastón discusses, with many thanks to Elena for letting me use her video.

As the video begins, Gastón is graciously explaining to one of the visiting chefs about a type of tool or technique. This part of the video is hard to understand.

Then we hear Elena ask: What are you going to discuss today?

GA: Today, I am going to speak about a project that seeks to rescue the traditional street food that existed in Lima for centuries. Sadly, this has been lost due to the massive influence of foreign fast food, especially American. What we are seeking is for both culinary proposals to be able to coexist in harmony; but, in particular, giving this traditional type of food the value it deserves, especially in a city like Lima. Cities require public arenas and elements unique to them. For example, just like the crepe you find in Paris, the hot dog you can get in New York, or the arepa you should be able to find in the streets of Caracas, Lima has many foods unique to it and they should form part of the streetscape of the city. That's what I'll be talking about.

Elena Hernandez: Will you send a greeting to the people of Panama, since you're going to open a restaurant there soon?

GA: Yes, we're on our way! We hope you like ceviche and tiradito!

Video: Elena Hernández at El Amor Por La Cocina

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TAGS: Peru, Peruvian, food, cooking, cuisine, cocina, comida, gastronomía, peruana