Save
What's next? What happens after winning a global challenge like the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition? These are questions that, sooner or later, a young talent asks himself. The answer is that you could, within a few months, find yourself touring the length and breadth of Peru alongside a number one chef in the world like Virgilio Martínez.
This is the dream come true of Nelson Freitas, the winner of the last S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition in October 2023, told in the documentary Afuera Hay Más—A Young Chef’s Journey available on Prime Video: several weeks with chef Martínez discovering the varied richness of Peru—ingredients to know, people to meet, flavors to taste, colors to admire, surprises and wonders that only the love of cooking and knowledge can hold. A story made of connections between cultures, which teaches us to think and look beyond conventions, to overcome limits and always impose new challenges without ever losing the desire to learn.
A relationship of knowledge that has become genuine esteem, a bond cemented by hours in the kitchen but also by the miles traveled together.
Below you will find a selection of images taken during Freitas' trip to Peru and his experience alongside Martínez. For each shot, we asked Freitas himself to comment on the moment. These are his indelible memories.
“This is my ‘big finale’ image: The Central and Kjolle teams reunited to say goodbye to an amazing three-week mentorship and to demonstrate what teamwork and a nice work environment mean.”
“One of the most important moments to me, when chef Virgilio was plating and explaining the last moment of the tasting menu: Theobromas Mater, a dish using all the parts of cacao.”
“The interaction with the local communities at Mil in Cusco was amazing: I had the incredible chance to learn their costumes and traditions which have been passed down generations.”
“Preparing all the fish and seafood for service is one of the first tasks in a normal kitchen day at Central. Here I was preparing scallops with the brigade.”
“Presenting my own dish to chef Virgilio Martínez was one of the greatest challenges and opportunities of this experience. Here I was picking some local fresh vegetables at the local market to test some new flavors for my recipe.”
“This image represents one of the most remarkable moments of my experience in Peru: getting to feel this landscape with chef Virgilio and understand his point of view and inspiration.”
“Taking some time to write down some ideas and memories with the best view in Lima.”
“A moment to be proud. Taking the chef’s jacket from the global final and getting some inspiration for the mentorship hoping that chef Virgilio signs it in the end.”
“Plating the final dish of my mentorship. A combination of the techniques I used at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition Grand Finale and Peruvian ingredients that I had learned about in the few weeks recording Afuera Hay Más.”
“Preparing huatia at Mil. Chef Luis explained how to recreate this traditional dish on Mil’s tasting menu.”
“The time that I got to know the master behind most of the ceramics at Central, where I also had the chance to choose a prop to serve my final dish for chef Martínez.”
“Spending the day off playing football with all at the Casa Tupac: this was a great time to create bonds and relax from work.”
Afuera Hay Más—A Young Chef’s Journey is available on Prime Video, in France, Italy, Peru, Spain, the UK and the US.
Latest
