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The evening of Sunday, September 22 was full of smiles and emotions. It was the first time that S.Pellegrino presented a documentary of its own making, and the protagonist was Nelson Freitas, winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2022-23. The Pedro de Osma Museum in Barranco (Lima, Peru), an imposing mansion dating back to 1906 and home to a private collection of colonial art, was the venue. There, in the still breeze of a spring night in Barranco, next to the Pacific Ocean, was the launch of Afuera Hay Más—A Young Chef’s Journey, which tells the story of the young Portuguese chef Freitas after his triumph at the competition.
It tells how he arrives in Lima for a three-week mentorship with Virgilio Martínez at Central (number one according to The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023), how he approaches new ways of fine dining, his time at Kjolle with Pía León, at Mil in Moray in Cusco, and the bonds he forged among his new colleagues, which paved the way for him to stay and work at Central.
Freitas recounted his experiences in person in front of more than 200 people gathered for the premiere. Before the screening there was an exhibition, Threads, created by the Mater Iniciativa team under the watchful eye of Malena Martínez, its co-director, where some of their research work done in recent years was displayed.
Then a brief wait and a talk in which Martínez, León, and Freitas reaffirmed the importance of mentoring in the life of a cook and its evolution to an indispensable relationship, but more human, born from respect. They pointed out how essential it is to take the time to teach, but also to listen and receive information. “Getting out of the kitchen is not only exploring other places. It means engaging with other realities, people, cultures, and participating. It means changing one's perspective on things,” said Freitas. “It's a necessity,” added Virgilio. Finally, the film: an attentive audience, an agile rhythm, and huge applause. May there be more to come.
Afuera Hay Más—A Young Chef’s Journey is available on Prime Video, in France, Italy, Peru, Spain, the UK, and the US.
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