La Central by Virgilio Martínez is chosen as the best restaurant in Latin America

The Central establishment, of the Peruvian chef Virgilio Martínez and located in Lima, was chosen this Monday as the Best Restaurant in Latin America, in a gala that highlighted the trajectory of the 100 best restaurants in the region in the last eight years.

Second place on the list of “The 50 Best Restaurants in Latin America” It was also obtained by the Peruvian Maido, from Mitsuharu Tsumara, while the third position went to the DOM restaurant, from the Sao Paulo chef Alex Atala.

Shortly before the famous ranking was known, the owner of Central stated, in an interview with EFE, that this distinction not only gives value to “Effort and importance” of Peruvian haute cuisine on the international scene, but it is also a way of “celebrate” the gastronomy of the region and “Give yourself encouragement” between neighboring countries “Even in these difficult times”.

“It must be seen as a recognition of the importance it has today Latin America in feeding the world (…) and the fact that Central is the protagonist of this importance excites me, makes me proud ”Martinez acknowledged.

In this alternative edition, in addition, new categories of awards were created, such as the “Rising Star Female Chef” and the “Best reinvention”, whose distinctions were won by the Bolivian Marsia Taha and the Mexican Eduardo García, respectively.

Likewise, all those establishments that had appeared in the ranks in previous years and that, due to the onslaught of the pandemicThey closed, such as the Proper and Tarquino from Argentina, the Osaka from Chile, the Amaz and Malabar from Peru, the Villanos in Bermudas from Colombia, the Olympe, the Epice and the Romanso do Bosque from Brazil, among others.

The ceremony of the “50 Best” was developed simultaneously in a series of events held in person in seven key cities in the region, including Lima, where a live video was broadcast to announce the winners.

In the wake of the pandemic COVID-19, the event took a turn this year to recognize the “Wide and diverse” gastronomic panorama of Latin America and chose the 100 best restaurants based on the votes accumulated in the eight previous editions of the ranking, since the awards began in 2013.

The organizers opted for this change because they did not see it feasible to guarantee “A fair classification” this year, as the content director of “50 Best”, William Drew.

“We are trying to balance the past and the future in this edition in recognition of the challenging time that the restaurant sector has lived, but also to promote it in the future”the editor argued.