19-03-2018
At Identità Milano, Virgilio Martínez, chef at Central in Lima, number 5 in the World's 50Best, showed this video
Virgilio Martínez, chef at restaurant Central, for a long time now at number one in South America (and 5th in the World’s 50 Best), is almost a veteran at Identità Milano. This year he held two lessons: one as part of Identità Naturali (here’s the story by Giorgia Cannarella) and one in the Auditorium. On both occasions, he came with two representatives from Mater Iniciativa, the research centre he co-established: an environmental economist, Gonzalo Urbina and an entomologist, Julio Rivera.
Mater Iniciativa is a project led by Malena Martínez and Pia Leon, Virgilio’s sister and his wife. It’s «the soul of Central», said the 40-year-old from Lima, that is to say the main source of their special, unusual and strictly autochthonous ingredients. Together, they analyse, document and promote the use of these raw materials. A research project that perfectly fits with the concept behind the Alturas menu, which is based on dishes that use ingredients from the same altitude in Peru. Thanks to the image Martínez can create with his dishes, Mater Iniciativa promotes and safeguards biodiversity. It is also a cultural investigation, through which they can tell the story of the various communities that, in different areas of the country, have developed around different ecosystems. «We cannot be serious unless there’s research in what we do», said Martínez, «if we were to work on ingredients we didn’t research on, it would be unjust to those who work at Central, to our guests, to the communities of farmers, to nature and its products».
Virgilio Martínez (in the centre) with Gonzalo Urbina and Julio Rivera (photo Brambilla/Serrani)
Martínez’s dish
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
Tutto sull’edizione 2018 di Identità Golose, a Milano da sabato 3 a lunedì 5 marzo. Il tema della quattordicesima edizione sarà “Il fattore umano”
by
Journalist, based in Milan. At 8 years old, he received a Springsteen record as a gift, and nothing was the same since. Music and food are his passions. Author and broadcaster at Radio Popolare since 1997, since 2014 he became part of the staff of Identità Golose Instagram: @NiccoloVecchia