Chef Profile: Raymi’s Jaime Pesaque

Quietly, chef and restaurateur Jaime Pesaque has been carving out a Peruvian food empire that rivals that of Gastón Acurio. His signature restaurant is Lima’s Mayta, which opened to rave reviews in 2010, though he has also opened Nuna in Punta del Este, Uruguay, Suviche in Miami with a second South Beach location the way, and Calle del Medio in Cusco, Peru, which opened in July. The group of restaurants all showcase contemporary Peruvian cuisine, with special attention paid to seafood and the bar. Recently he partnered up with Richard Sandoval for Raymi in New York’s Flatiron District, vastly expanding the buzz surrounding Peruvian cuisine that has building steadily in the city in the past year.

Like many of Peru’s top chefs who grew up before the current boom that has inspired an estimated 80,000 young Peruvians to enter culinary schools, Pesaque became interested in cooking at an early age. He began cooking as a child, helping Epifania, a woman who cooked at his parent’s house, in the kitchen. He landed his first kitchen job at 17 at Alfresco, a Peruvian seafood restaurant in Lima, where he began learning about ceviches and tiraditos. “I worked there for a summer season, after that I started studying full time at the Cordon Bleu,” he says.

He claims that two chefs influenced him the most. First there was Jack Benoit, who is French, but lived in Lima for 15 years and was one of Pesaque’s instructors. “I learned basic techniques from him, and how to treat and appreciate the products we worked with.”

Then, in Spain, there’s Joan Roca from El Celler de Can Roca, a three Michelin star restaurant where Pesaque worked in 2008. He learned about modern techniques, the importance of using organic products and what products are the best in the markets. “It really opened my mind to being more creative,” he says.

He met chef and restaurateur Sandoval when he was looking for a Peruvian chef for his restaurant Toro Toro in Dubai. Pesaque, busy at the time, recommended a friend of his, but he and Sandoval stayed in touch and became good friends. 

“We both believe in Latin cuisine and want to share our passion with others,” says Pesaque. “That’s why we have such good chemistry.” 

Before opening Raymi, Pesaque gave Sandoval a tour of Lima’s food scene, hitting spots like La Red, La Preferida, Astrid y Gastón, Malabar and the Surquillo Market.

“I immersed him in cebiche, served both hot and cold, with arroz con pato, and he definitely fell in love with pisco,” he said.

The lack of high quality Peruvian ingredients in New York, a frequent complaint among Peruvian chefs in the city, doesn’t seem to be an issue for Pesaque and Raymi.

“You can find the important ones, the ones that make up the DNA of Peruvian cuisine like ají amarillo, ají panca, chicha de jora, choclo, pisco and some potatoes," he says. “We work with a farmer in Florida who is growing fresh ají amarillo for us. We can make 80% of the dishes in New York, and those are the most representative and tasty ones.”

In addition to establishing Raymi as one of New York’s upscale ceviche bars, he is also working to make it a go-to destination for Peruvian pisco. Raymi’s bar offers every pisco available in the United States and has more than 30 infusions. The infusions make for an almost limitless range of cocktails and flavors, particularly with his favorite, the Chilcano, which he brought to prominence as one of Peru’s premier mixed drinks at Mayta.

He has high hopes for the future of Peruvian food and spirits in the United States.

"I think we are just starting, there is a lot to show the world, a great cuisine, a fascinating culture, and we have the most diverse variety of products in the world," he says.