26 minutes with Diego Muñoz

Diego, you recently touched down in Australia to help out with a series of OzHarvest events as part of the #ThinkEatSave campaign. Peru isn’t a short plane ride away, what inspired the trip? I got an invitation from Ronni Kahn (founder of food rescue organisation OzHarvest) when she came to Lima in January for an environmental conference. OzHarvest were doing a lunch with rescue food and they contacted me to help with the promotion. I thought it was a brilliant idea, so when I was offered an invitation to come to Australia I said yes.

Astrid y Gastón ranked No. 2 of S. Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants in Latin America for the second year running, and No. 14 worldwide. What are you striving for? When I went back to Peru at the beginning of 2012, I started with the structural planning. We were moving a 20-year-old restaurant to a brand new venue – well it’s a 300-year old house, but all the equipment is new. My main goal was to produce the most professional kitchen in Peru, one that could take the chefs’ careers to the next level. I wanted everybody be more professional in terms of communication, skills, to respect each other and the produce, to create less wastage and – if we have any – to use it wisely. That was my mission... And, of course, to create an amazing restaurant with great food and very good performance!

Peruvian food is certainly under the spotlight at the moment. What makes it so unique? Peruvian gastronomy is ruled by two different lines: one is biodiversity. The country is blessed with so many different microclimates, offering so much amazing produce. We also have a big coastline with beautiful fish. Multiculturalism is the other line. We have a little bit of African, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, of course, Italians, Arabs and the very powerful Peruvian culture. It’s all mixed up.

You’ve worked at some of the world’s top restaurants, including Mugaritz and El Bulli. Did those experiences affect your understanding of food? Working with Ferran Adrià at Bulli in 2007 was amazing. I had the chance to do the whole season with them. One thing I learnt was that the economic value of produce doesn’t really matter. You can make an amazing dish with very fresh anchovy or a lobster – in gastronomic value it’s the same. It’s not always the fancy ingredients that will give you the best dishes. That is something I always do with my cooking. For example, in the menu at Astrid y Gastón we use really simple ingredients, but they have to be treated as heroes so we can make magic dishes. I always try to get second-choice fish, not commercial types, and the hard cuts of beef. I think that’s the challenge: to make nice dishes with simple ingredients.

You came to Australia in 2010 and helped transform Bilson’s Restaurant in Sydney. What did you learn from your time Down Under? Peru has a lot of beautiful produce, but I don’t think we’re actually appreciating the value of it. We’re not giving respect to those who grow and take care of it. That’s something I learnt a lot here in Australia – that farming is just as respectful as any other profession. It’s an important part of the community and that’s something we need to understand in Peru.

Farming culture is a bedrock of your society though... I think we’ve been taking it for granted. In Peru agriculture is about survival. It’s a day-by-day career. I’m trying to discover more farmers, fishermen and growers in the Lima region so we can feature their produce in the restaurant.

Astrid y Gastón is the most famous element of your house, but you also run La Barra… Yes, in the house we have two restaurants. At Astrid y Gastón we only do a degustation menu with 30 different small courses. It’s a 2.5 hour experience. Then we have the gastro bar La Barra which is more casual, but with a really nice ambience. We serve modern food with an interesting cocktail program and wine by the glass.

You’ve previously said you’d love to start a casual eatery. Is that still on the cards? Yes! If I ever open my own business in Lima or come back to Australia, it will be for a small shop. It doesn’t matter what kind of business. Even if it’s a food truck, I’ll try to be the most professional chef that I can be.

To find out more about OzHarvest and their #ThinkEatSave campaign, head here.