Chef Chat: Diego Munoz Talks Miami, Peru, and Honest Kitchens

Chef Diego Munoz is making moves in Miami. Following two months of kitchen collaborations with renowned chefs throughout Europe, the Peruvian phenom, until now best known as the architect of Astrid y Gastón’s consistent appearances on San Pellegrino’s annual “World’s 50 Best Restaurants,” opened a spot of his own in upscale Brickell in March.

We chatted with Munoz and asked him about the secret to Peruvian food’s success, what he thinks of Ferran Adria and Gaston Acurio, and what diners at 1111 Peruvian bistro can expect. Here’s what he had to say.

Since leaving Astrid y Gaston in January, you’ve been both an ambassador and a student, collaborating with fellow chefs in the world’s best kitchens. What’s been your favorite lesson in working with other international chefs?

Yes, I left Astrid & Gaston at the end of January and started a gastronomic exploration with the help of BonVivant by Kristian Brask Thomsen, collaborating with different kitchens around the world. We just finished our European tour and are preparing some dates in North, Central, and South America, and then Asia at the end of the year.

This is not like a stage or apprenticeship. What we do is we agree with another restaurant to do a presentation together or give a lecture at a food festival or just present our gastronomy in a set place. Along the way, there is so much to learn and get inspiration from, which is great. It is a very good way to finish such an intense job, including leading the kitchen at Astrid & Gaston for the last four years and move over from the old to the new house.

My favorite lesson is to cook with very professional people that are always there to teach and nourish you. But the most important thing is to walk into a strange kitchen two days before the function with no more than some Peruvian chili pastes and do an amazing job by creating a very nice dish. This sounds very normal to a traveling chef, but we do a lot of that, nonstop, for seven weeks. It’s a great victory for us and the restaurant that has chosen to support us. [pagebreak]

What do you think of the trendiness of Peruvian food? Why has it caught on where other Latin American cuisines have not?

Peruvian cuisine is a mixture of the spirit of diversity in the country and the multicultural influences that have nourished it over a long period of time. These two factors have created many traditions and cultural expressions, which have built up what Peruvian gastronomy is today, and it’s supported by ancient Peruvian cultures and their technical developments, always in harmony with nature.

Peruvians all of a sudden started to feel proud of their culture and started acting as ambassadors in order to share these feelings of nationalism with the world. This combined with the many great chefs developing new Peruvian gastronomy has recently put Peru on the map. And there are, for sure, many more things to come.

Latin food represents 16 of the recently announced World’s 50 Best Restaurants, with Peru, Mexico, and Spain appearing most frequently. What, in your prediction, will be the next regional or national Latin cuisine to captivate the world and why?

There is a lot of work being done in Colombia, Venezuela and, of course, Brazil. I think there is more to come on those countries. Additionally, there is lot of innovation and development taking place in Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

All of these countries share a very deep cultural heritage and people today are now seeking this out. People are looking to ancient cultures, which have inspired people to be more grounded and look for the true essence of things. This can be a very strong resource for a cuisine’s development. [pagebreak]

Your Astrid y Gaston menu was based on memories of childhood and the foods associated with growing up in Peru. What is the menu at 1111 Peruvian Bistro based on?

Yes, one of the menus at Astrid & Gaston was based on my memories. In fact, while I helmed the kitchen, there were six menus, all with different themes about Peruvian culture.

1111 Peruvian Bistro is very different from Astrid & Gaston. 1111 is a very casual restaurant, which serves dishes large enough for sharing. A lot of the items on the menu are inspired by traditional Peruvian recipes and making Peruvian food easy to comprehend in Miami. The key is always using the best ingredients while implementing modern techniques and maintaining a steady price point for the guests.

How are Miami diners different than Peruvian diners?

Diners are different everywhere. Miami restaurant-goers already have a taste for Peruvian cuisine, as there is already a general liking for the type of food and a food scene which has grown greatly in the past few years. Miami diners are also very adventurous, with a big gastronomical knowledge. That’s essential for the state of Peruvian cuisine to really evolve and get more wide-known and respected.

As a Peruvian chef, you are both a cook and an educator because you teach your guests about Peruvian food every night that you are in the kitchen. Do you feel pressure to cook in a particular way or present certain dishes or be more serious or more adventurous than you want to be?

I love to cook in different formats. I have done fine dining for a long time now but this year startied to look into different formats, beginning with being a Nomad Chef. I have also had a very simple bistro, very soon a sandwich bar, a food truck, and will eventually get into cheese production. I want to do a little bit of everything.

There is always pressure in cooking. To even make the most “simple” preparation you need to be very concentrated and aware of what you are doing. Ultimately, I love that pressure and it is something that helps drive me. [pagebreak]

You’ve spoken openly about your respect for Ferran Adria (of El Bulli fame). What are the personal and professional traits you admire in him and do you implement them in your kitchen?

El Bulli opened in 2007 and almost 10 years later, has changed the way I see things in the kitchen. It has taught me to question everything and to work with many different products – and treat even the most humble ones with the same care. That is something I love to replicate; giving humble ingredients that sense of magic and importance even if their commercial value is very low.

Their creativity and how they push themselves to reinvent their ways of doing things has always been admirable as well. Their evolution through the years, specifically continuing to push forward even when nobody believes in the project at the beginning and how they still move forward until the world finally turns its head towards them and begins to notice them. These are all great lessons.

You’ve proclaimed 1111 Peruvian Bistro an “Honest Kitchen.” Can you define and explain the “honest kitchen” concept?

We like to cook with passion. It’s something that a lot of people do not keep top of mind or commit to when cooking. It is vital, no matter what kind of restaurant. Whether you are cooking fine dining or in a food stall in the streets, passion is important in every level of food production because that is what makes a concept innovative and strong. Passion is the beginning of being honest in the kitchen, which comes by following strong ethics. Everything from the produce that you serve to what you call the dishes matters to your relationship with the client. Reinforcing ethnical techniques and bringing in the best and freshest ingredients are all parts of what makes 1111 an Honest Kitchen.