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Behind every great chef, there’s a savvy business partner or indeed another great chef, and after South America cleared up at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, we wanted to learn more about the faces behind these establishments. Sometimes it’s life partners bound by love, but it can also be chalk-and-cheese business partners who complement each other like Champagne and oysters. We meet some of the continent’s dynamic duos who ranked in this year’s 50 Best.
Leonor Espinosa and Laura Hernández Espinosa, Leo, Bogotá
The world’s leading mother-and-daughter gastro team, this Colombian family is also the perfect professional pairing. Artist Leo leads the kitchen at the restaurant ranked 43 in the world, her aesthetic flair apparent in every dish, while her daughter sommelier Laura designs the innovative beverage programme. Using gastronomy as a tool for social and economic development at Leo, simultaneously with their Funleo foundation, Leonor was, in 2017, awarded the prestigious Basque Culinary World Prize, She also founded the Zotea Culinary Centre in the Pacific Chocó region. After moving into purpose-built premises in 2021, Laura opened La Sala de Laura, the cocktail bar ranked 70 in the top 100 of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2022. “We don’t really have a traditional mother-daughter relationship – and we have the marvellous fortune of shared passions,” says Laura.
Pía Salazar and Alejandro Chamorro, Nuema, Quito
He was a cook undertaking work experience, she was his boss: they fell in love, had three children and opened a restaurant. After several years working for the Ecuador outposts in Gastón Acurio’s empire, Pía Salazar and Alejandro Chamorro decided to spread their wings and apply their knowledge to their own project: Nuema opened in 2014. Over the past nine years, Nuema has moved premises three times, and the third’s the charm: in 2023 it became the first Ecuadorian restaurant to rank in the 50 Best, coming in at 79. In addition, Pía was voted World’s Best Pastry Chef, another first to boost the often-overlooked South American country’s gastronomy. “While we both cook, Pía manages operational and staffing matters while I take care of the creative part and public relations; when I dream too much, Pía brings me back down to earth,” says Alejandro.
Virgilio Martínez and Pía León, Central, Lima
The story behind gastronomy’s first couple began in 2008, when a young chef called Pía León sent her CV to a new restaurant that was under construction in Miraflores, Lima. In 2009, Virgilio Martínez opened Central, then in 2010, the couple became an item, tying the knot four years later. Over the years, León and Martínez have played to and enhanced each other’s strengths. After moving to purpose-built premises in Barranco, Pía opened her own establishment Kjolle in 2018 and was named World’s Best Female Chef three years later. After being nail-bitingly close to the spot for some years, Virgilio, alongside Pía, took home the accolade of World’s Best Restaurant 2023 for Central; the hits keep coming, given that Kjolle also ranked in 28th position.
Pablo Rivero and Guido Tassi, Parrilla Don Julio, Buenos Aires
Established names on the Buenos Aires circuit, with a heap of mutual friends, Pablo Rivero and Guido Tassi first crossed paths at an event in the summer of 2014 in Uruguay. Chef Guido went to eat at the steakhouse, restaurateur and sommelier Pablo dined at Restó SCA, and the conclusion was that each respected the other’s work. Although he was schooled in classic French cuisine, Guido had always longed to have parrilla; it was a no-brainer when Pablo called him as a consultant – and there began the next chapter in Parrilla Don Julio’s story. Together, they went beyond sourcing fantastic beef and vintages, raising the bar to develop seasonal menus, working with local farms for fresh produce including heirloom tomatoes and developing charcuterie. Today they are also business partners in El Preferido de Palermo, a classic bodegón to which they gave a new lease of life in 2017.
Janaina Torres Rueda and Jefferson Rueda, A Casa do Porco, São Paulo
Photo: Rogério Gomes
Two worlds collided when the city girl met the country boy, and Janaina Torres Rueda and Jefferson Rueda embarked on life projects, raising their sons as well as founding several restaurants including Dona Onça and A Casa do Porco. Despite separating in 2022, they continue to lead Brazil’s highest-ranked restaurant together – 12 in the world – striking a harmonious balance in this next stage of life as business partners. Janaina says: “Nowadays, as we also have Sítio Rueda in São José do Rio Pardo, Jefferson spends a lot of time there, taking care of the organic vegetables production, rearing our pigs and taking care of our small slaughterhouse, Porco Real, while I spend more time at the restaurants. We fully respect each other and will always be married for business reasons, creating together and sharing decisions equally.”
Jaime Pesaque and Rodrigo Váldez, Mayta, Lima
After hitting it off at a wedding in 2013, talking all night long and throwing ideas around, chef Jaime Pesaque and hospitality manager Rodrigo Váldez joined forces a year later. While Pesaque had already founded Mayta, currently ranked 48, they created a joint mission to set up Jaime Pesaque Restaurants hospitality group that would add more establishments to their portfolio. The business partners kicked off with 500 Grados, a classy all-day diner in the San Isidro district before upping Mayta’s sticks to a new location in Miraflores. The intervening years have seen them sow the seeds to Yachay, an experimental vegetable garden, unveil open-flame kitchen Sapiens and during the pandemic, Mad Burger, which now has four storefronts.
Mitsuharu Tsumura and César Choy, Maido, Lima
Mitsuharu ‘Micha’ Tsumura remembers exactly when he met César Choy: 15 years ago, he placed an advert for a restaurant he was opening – Maido – in the search for cooks and other staff. César assumed that they would meet at the office (Micha didn't have one), so they went for coffee, saw the construction site in Miraflores, and once he was hired as an itamae sushi chef, the pair began working on the menu at Tsumura’s house (the chef also didn’t have a test kitchen). Over the years, they have travelled the length and breadth of Peru and popped up with Maido around the world. Seven years after opening, the pair became business partners: “He’s always stood shoulder to shoulder with me, in the good times and the bad,” says Tsumura. “César gives me peace of mind and above all I trust him.” Today they also run Tori, a rotisserie chicken spot in Miraflores.
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