Pia León
Peruvian chef
Biography
Pía León (Lima, 7 December 1986) is a Peruvian chef known for her work in Peruvian contemporary cuisine and as one of the most recognised women in Latin American gastronomy. Her name is linked to Central, MIL and Kjolle, projects that have placed Peruvian cooking on the international lists of reference.
She trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Lima. After spells at the Ritz in New York and at Astrid y Gastón, she joined the team of Central, led by Virgilio Martínez, in 2008, working on the cold section. Within a few weeks she was in charge of that station and, three years later, she became head chef. She combined this role with launching new projects alongside Martínez, whom she has been married to since 2014. Together with Malena Martínez of Mater Iniciativa, they co-founded MIL, a field research centre beside the archaeological terraces of Moray, in Cusco.
Her most personal project is Kjolle, in the Lima district of Barranco, a fine-dining restaurant that sources its produce from Mater Iniciativa. While she led the kitchen at Central, that restaurant reached first place on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2023. In 2022 she opened Mauka, at the Belmond Palacio Nazarenas in Cusco. Her legacy lies in pairing high cuisine with research into ingredients and territory, and she continues to lead Kjolle today.
Key contributions
- Leadership of the kitchen at Central, which reached first place on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2023.
- Co-founding of MIL, a field research centre in Moray, Cusco, linking cooking with the study of ingredients and landscapes.
- Creation of Kjolle, a Barranco restaurant focused on produce from Mater Iniciativa.
- Opening of Mauka at the Belmond Palacio Nazarenas in Cusco, in 2022.
- Recognition as Best Female Chef in the World at The World's 50 Best in 2021.