People 1 minute 25 October 2016

The First Day I Got My Michelin Star: Virgilio Martinez Of Lima In London

We get the world's most celebrated chefs to recall what it was like when they got their very first Michelin stars.

Chef and restaurateur Virgilio Martinez is a man on the move. Besides being at the vanguard of Peruvian cuisine's global spread with one-Michelin-starred restaurant Lima in London as well as Central in Peru, the 39-year-old has just launched a new book, Central, based on his tasting menu, and is on a whirlwind tour to promote and cook up a storm across seven Asia Pacific cities.

The 250-page tome is both an expression of his culinary finesse as much as it is on Peruvian terroir. His cuisine is, after all, based heavily on the bounty of his home country. Considering Peru is home to 84 of the world’s 117 microclimates ranging from the Pacific Ocean to the Andean mountains, the Amazon rainforest and even deserts, that's a lot to contend with. In fact, the terrain is so varied that he had to form Mater Iniciativa with several researchers to document all that Peru has to offer and figure out possible uses with his restaurants’ cuisine.

This week, he’s in Singapore for a pop-up dinner on 25-29 October at Shangri-la Hotel's Blu so local diners, too, get to savour the best of his country's produce. Think along the lines of river fish from the Andes, cacao from the Amazon rainforest and lobsters from Peru’s coasts. 

We get Martinez to pause, catch his breath, and take a look back to when it all started.

The Sixty Mile Fish - Pesca de 60 Millas
The Sixty Mile Fish - Pesca de 60 Millas
My first encounter with the Michelin Guide was when I was at El Raco de Can Fabes, a (now closed) three-Michelin-starred restaurant. I was 25 and it was absolutely overwhelming at that time. It was really something for me as it let me see and experience the rhythm and philosophy of working in a three-Michelin-starred restaurant.
Virgilio Martinez 1 [by Jimena Agois].jpg
The first time I won a star for our restaurant was three years ago for Lima, London. It was a bit of surprise, as we were new in London, and we were doing the new concept of Peruvian cuisine. We were of course happy and grateful, and I would like to thank all my of my team who made it happen and for always being there. 

What was the first thing you did when you realised we won a star?
I was in Peru just about to sleep, as we had just finished service at 1 am. My telephone suddenly started making all kinds of noises. I woke my wife up and called my partners who were in France immediately so that they could double check the news. I mean, when you get a star for the first time, you feel you need to make sure that it is really happening.

How much influence has the Michelin Guide had on your life and career?  It is recognition of the work that we do every single day and for me as a Peruvian based somewhere very far away, this is something new and exciting. While we try not to let it change things, it does have an effect  which I’m sure the team is aware of.

Recommended reading: More 'First Day I Got My Stars' stories here

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