Top chefs from Spain and Peru together for a special benefit dinner, "Perú y España: unidos por la cocina": this was the theme of the very special and unforgettable dinner that gathered 12 top chefs at Astrid y Gastón in Lima, Peru to celebrate the 25th birthday of the restaurant led by Gastón Acurio and his wife Astrid Gutsche. The celebration was the occasion to meet two cuisines that have helped shape each other over the years and all over the world.
Astrid & Gastón is considered one of the forerunners of Peru’s gastronomic scene, and the chefs have taken their 25-year anniversary as the perfect occasion to not just celebrate the restaurant, but also to “celebrate the 25 years of Peruvian cuisine’s recent history, the meeting spaces it has generated and the leading role it has had in the task of promoting Peru and Latin America to the world.” Acurio was awarded the World 50 Best Restaurant's Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, and has been widely credited for having spread Peruvian cuisine around the globe and having helped turn Peru into a top culinary destination.
Chefs of Astrid & Gastón, Gastón Acurio and Astrid Gutsche, were joined by some of the world's best chefs, including locals Virgilio Martinez, from Central and Mitsuharu Tsumura of Maido (winner of Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2018) who cooked next to Joan Roca of Celler de Can Roca, Albert Adrià of Tickets and Andoni Luis Aduriz from the Mugaritz restaurant for one unique evening.
All profits from the dinner went to the Pachacútec Foundation, responsible for providing accessible education in cooking and service for low-income youth.
Below, the menu of the dinner:
Palta, kiwicha, conchas (Virgilio Martínez)
Gazpacho de aceitunas negras del Perú con salazones del mediterráneo (Joan Roca)
(Veuve Clicqout Ponsardin 2004Champagne A.O.C. - Francia)
Erizo de Marcona, polvo de coco ahumado, kimchi de ají amarillo (Albert Adrià)
Dumpling de seco de cabrito, espuma de frijol, loche, chalaca, sal de txistorra (Mitsuharu Tsumura)
(Aristos Duquesa D’A Grand Chardonnay 2010 Valle de Cachapoal - Chile)
La marmihuela: un abrazo entre un marmitako vasco y una parihuela (Gastón Acurio)
Pellizcos de cordero hojaldrado con jugo acaramelado y piel ácida (Andoni Luis Aduriz)
(Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay 2009 DO. Ca. Rioja - España)
Suspiro limeño: manjar, leche montada, culantro y limón (Jordi Roca)
La lúcuma: cacao, palo santo, algarrobina, especias (Astrid Gutsche)
Petit fours
(Vega Sicilia Oremus Late Harvest 2016Tokaj-Hegyalja – Hungría 2)