2. Biography Gastón Acurio Jaramillo was born in October 30, 1967 in Lima Peru. He is a Peruvian chef and ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. He is owner of international restaurants and author of several books. In Peru he's the host of his own television program and contributes to several magazines.
3. Education Gastón Acurio Jaramillo, was born the only son of Gastón Acurio Velarde and Jesúsa Jaramillo Razuri. He has 4 older sisters. After dropping his law studies in Lima, he studied cooking at the hotel trade school Sol de Madrid in Spain and the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, where he met his future wife Astrid Gutsche, originally from Germany. In 1994, he returned to Peru with new knowledge of international cuisine and applied it in a Gourmet level to Peruvian cuisine, contributing to the development of the so-called Cocina Novoandina. Acurio is currently recognized as one of the most important chefs in Latin America.
4. Idea (why he became famous) Gastón Acurio is a true culinary visionary who has put all his effort into rediscovering Peruvian cuisine and offering typical Peruvian meals in a modern and attractive way. He has turned his vision into reality by creating various successful restaurant franchises that focus on a specific category of Peruvian cuisine.
5. The start Together with the help of his wife Astrid, he manages since 1994 the restaurant franchise Astrid & Gastón which opened originally in the district of Miraflores in Lima. This franchise has expanded over the years in Latin America and recently in Europe, opening restaurants in Santiago de Chile, Bogotá, Quito, Caracas, Panamá and Madrid.
6. Mistakes early Yet despite several years of strong business relations between Peru and Chile, “there have been some very regrettable episodes in the commercial relationship between the two countries.” said Juan Garrido, professor of economics and international business at the Peruvian University. Gaston Acurio has some franchises all over Chile expert say his work is not popular in Chile.
7. So what kind of food does this guy make? Peruvian cuisine stems mainly from the combination of Spanish cuisine with traditional native Peruvian ingredients, with later influences from other cuisines, particularly from China, Italy, west Africa and Japan. The three traditional staples of Peruvian cuisine are corn, potatoes and beans. These ingredients have been combined with a number of staples brought by the Spanish, such as rice, wheat and meat (such as beef, pork and chicken). Many traditional foods, such as quinoa, kiwicha, chili peppers and several roots and tubers which had previously been tossed aside for European products, have seen a resurgence in popularity in recent decades with a revival of interest in native Peruvian food crops.
9. Business Organization Multiple Franchises all across Latin America and North America. La Mar is a Cevichería in Lima specializing in Peruvian seafood. This restaurant also opened in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Panama and San Francisco. Astrid y Gastón Café, a casual version of Astrid y Gastón which will open in Cuzco and Trujillo. La Pepa, a juice store which will focus on the customer's comfort and experience. La Pollada & Company, a Peruvian pollería in fast-food format which will attempt to promote worldwide the Peruvian pollo a la brasa (roasted chicken).
10. Side projects In parallel with the Peruvian franchises, Gastón Acurio is involved in numerous projects which include: A cooking television program, La Aventura Culinaria, which is broadcast on cable television by PlusTV. It features Gastón Acurio visiting various places in Lima and other regions of Peru in search of restaurants and specific types of meal or ingredients. Two episodes include La Aventura del Ceviche, in which Gastón visited his top list of Cevicherias, and La Aventura del Queso, when Gastón enjoyed the best cheese based meals in various locations in Lima. Top cuisine events worldwide, in which he promotes Peruvian cuisine to a wider audience, task which he accomplished at Madrid Fusion 2006, where he finally internationalized the Peruvian ceviche. Cooking books, with a nice collection released recently by Peruvian newspaper El Comercio.
11. Business Phylosophy philosophy is to create dishes that emphasize Peruvian extraordinary native products –from the Andes to Spain. And Multiple times combining both.
12. Business Name Most of Gaston Acurio’s Business franchises derive from the Inca language, quechua from the Inca the natives of Peru. The confectionery and pralinerie T'anta was opened in 2003. T'anta comes from Quechua and it means bread
13. Interesting Fact And that's all part of a dream that began when Acurio was a boy, a dream that didn't mesh with his father's plans. "He wanted me to be president," Acurio says with a laugh. After two years of law school in Madrid, Spain, Acurio dropped out to enroll at the city's restaurant school. From there he went on to study — and meet his wife, Astrid — in Paris.
