Peruvian Pía León, chosen the best chef in the world by The World's 50 Best Restaurants

His name and his work have long resonated in the gastronomic world.

This Wednesday, the Peruvian Pía León has become the best female chef in the world, according to the prestigious list The World's 50 Best Restaurants.

The 34-year-old cook, in charge of Kjolle, in the Barranco district of Lima, was for 10 years head of the kitchen of Central, located in the same building and of which she is co-owner together with Virgilio Martínez, her partner, with whom He also runs Mil, a project in the Andes at an altitude of 3,680 meters.

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"Now, León is ready to go up on the world stage and obtain the recognition it deserves," said the organization of the contest when the award failed, highlighting that with León and Martínez at the helm, Central - where she arrived after passing through the Ritz hotel in New York and Astrid y Gastón, also in Lima, by the renowned Gastón Acurio— became the best restaurant in Latin America for three consecutive years. In 2015, León decided to start his own establishment to express his “own ideas” and have his “own voice”, as revealed in a video posted on Twitter on the occasion of the award. Kjolle opened its doors in 2018 and, the following year, it managed to sneak in at number 21 of the 50 best restaurants in the region. While the common thread of Central,in which the figure of León was magnified, is based on Peruvian gastronomy according to different altitudes, Kjolle's personal proposal - whose name refers to a tree that grows in extreme heights - values ​​ingredients from all over the country such as loche (a type of pumpkin) and the cocona (an Amazonian plant) through a tasting menu of seven preparations and the possibility of eating à la carte.

Get to know Pía León, The World's Best Female Chef 2021, sponsored by @NudeGlass.

# Worlds50Best #Lima #Peruhttps: //t.co/Kj4VfqgXeD

- The World's 50 Best (@ TheWorlds50Best) August 4, 2021

León, who was already named in 2018 the best chef in Latin America by the same list, has assured to feel "surprised" by the vote in a video broadcast on the Twitter account of The World's 50 Best and has affirmed to be happy because his work and your team's are recognized.

For the chef, who was attracted to gastronomy from a very young age and sees in her profession a way to offer happiness to others, her goal at the helm of Kjolle is that diners "can learn about Peruvian biodiversity."

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The category in which León has been awarded and in which other professionals such as Elena Arzak and Daniela Soto Inés were distinguished is not without controversy, since some cooks question whether there should be specific recognition for women.

A position shared, for example, by the Catalan chef Carme Ruscalleda, who rejected the title.

“I did not feel that I was rejecting an award, I did it because I believed that I was defending that they did not have to laugh in our faces.

I wrote to them a lot, I wanted to make them understand that it hurt us women.

What will be next?

The best colored chef? ”, He explained in 2019 in an interview in

El País Semanal

.

A statement with which María José San Román, promoter of the Women in gastronomy association in 2018, agreed to give visibility to female talent.