Chef Diego Muñoz: Running The Show At Astrid Y Gaston, Part 3
This is the final installment in a three-part interview with chef Diego Muñoz. You can find the first installment here and the second installment here.
The Daily Meal: According to you, is the Latin American region at a disadvantage since, with the exception of Brazil, Michelin has not considered it? And is the World's 50 Best list filling that void?
Chef Diego Muñoz: It will be a huge plus if we get the Michelin here because it will give us a lot more exposure, credibility, and shine the spotlight on our restaurants. The other day I was looking at how many Michelin-starred restaurants there are in New York and it will be wonderful if we had a guide like that in our country.
The 50 Best is great but strange sometimes because how it is compiled. It has been working very well for us and I take it as a huge compliment to be a part of it. We don't work for any lists but for our customers and ourselves. Now there are so many other lists out there and we don't lose our heads thinking too much about them.
Among all of the major chefs like the Roca brothers, Massimo Bottura, Andoni Aduriz, or even tourists that visit your kitchens, what are they most surprised by?
Everyone knows about our great gastronomy at all levels and the way we work, even then especially tourists are amazed at our level of work which is comparable to anywhere else in the world. The other thing is how we showcase our culture, our diverse produce, and they are also surprised by our multi-cultural cuisine. Since our country is built around so many varied cultures they have all contributed to our unique food culture. Of course we have a lot of techniques, flavors, and all that.
There is a shift towards more classic cooking around the world. Is that happening in your own region?
What I would like to use are old technologies in use 8,000 years or so ago. Our culture has a lot of history and I think instead of looking forward it is time to look back. We have a lot to learn about these ancient techniques that are still current. I want to start representing this technology in my cooking.
What is the cuisine of Diego Muñoz about these days?
I would say that like many other chefs, it is about produce and flavors, but I have my own way of tweaking and adding surprise twists. It is very fresh and sometimes simple like now I am cooking with the potatoes in season and celebrating the harvest season. My cooking is evolving constantly and moving in different directions.
Is your cooking becoming more Peruvian in essence now since earlier you had all these influences from El Bulli to Australia?
Exactly — I see that happening since earlier I didn't know as much about Peruvian cuisine as I have learnt after coming back to work here. Astrid y Gaston is actually my first experience of working in a Peruvian restaurant and especially one of the most important in the country. Consequently, I am changing and evolving in this learning process.
Why do chefs travel so much these days to conferences or do collaborations? Is it lobbying for place on the lists or to get recognition?
Yes of course it is a good way to showcase your work and puts you in the spotlight. It is really hard to do this though and the best way is to invite people to come and visit and experience your work. It is hard to put your work in context so far away by demonstrating or talking about it. When we do these events we try to replicate with two people what we do with twenty here in the kitchen, adapting different produce for our dishes so it's not the same. Ferran Adrià used to say it is hard to replicate your work outside your own kitchen. Speaking of collaborations, I just confirmed a dinner with Narisawa from Japan to cook here in our kitchen for two days.
What else did you take away from your time at El Bulli?
Ferran Adrià made me realize that if you believe in something, no matter how impossible it seems, persist and don't give up until you achieve it. My time there opened my mind to possibilities and taught me the value of produce.
Any cookbook in the works?
I should since I have developed over 150 unique recipes. It will come soon for sure. [pullquote:right]
What are the least interesting questions journalists ask you?
What do you like to eat, what do you cook at home etc. They are reasonable questions and I don't mind them, and I actually appreciate that people are taking the time to interview me.
Have you been back to Miami to visit family?
I went last year and I will be there again for two days before the Latin America's 50 Best awards in Mexico City on September 23rd, and probably again in December.
Have noticed any changes in the Miami food scene since a lot of big names have now landed there?
I see big time changes in the last few years, especially since December of 2000. There is a big scene going on with its Art District and new restaurants emerging constantly. Gaston Acurio has La Mar in the Mandarin Oriental, Miami which is doing very well.
Do you see any performance art concepts, which are a recent trend, coming to your restaurant in the near future?
Right now we are concentrating on building our clientele more than anything. It's hard to work logistically within our Lima region since it is quite small and you can actually cover it in two days. I try to concentrate on building relationships with small producers since we have produce coming from thirty minutes away and it not even practical sometimes to consider something coming from eight hours travel away.
Would you consider going back to Australia or another part of the world you have lived in your distant future?
If I can choose a place I will pick Australia to take my wife and family, specifically Western Australia.
What do you dream of for your future?
I don't think I would open a big restaurant. I will probably open a few shops, a small place serving food, or even live on a farm. Seeing how hard it is to run a restaurant with a farm, as I am doing now, sounds very romantic but it is a lot of work so I don't see that happening. I would like to have a casual place, maybe an épicerie, but definitely small.
Will pasta be on the menu, since it is one of your favorite foods?
Maybe!
This is the final installment in a three-part interview with chef Diego Muñoz. You can find the first installment here and the second installment here.