Gaston Acurio

Infobox Chef
name = Gastón Acurio


caption = Gastón Acurio at Madrid Fusion 2006
birthdate = birth date and age|1967|10|30
birthplace = Lima, Peru
deathdate =
deathplace =
style = Peruvian
education = Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, "Sol de Madrid"
restaurants = "Astrid & Gastón", "Café del Museo", "T'anta", "La Mar", "Pasquale Hnos."
television = "La Aventura Culinaria"

Gastón Acurio Jaramillo (born October 30, 1967) is a Peruvian chef and ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. He is owner of international restaurants and author of several books. In Peru he's the host of his own television program and contributes to several magazines.

Life

Gastón Acurio Jaramillo was born the only son of Gastón Acurio Velarde and Jesús Jaramillo Razuri. He has four older sisters.

After dropping his law studies in Lima, he studied cooking at the hotel trade school "Sol de Madrid" in Spain and the " Le Cordon Bleu" in Paris, where he met his future wife Astrid Gutsche, originally from Germany.

In 1994, he returned to Peru with new knowledge of international cuisine and applied it in a Gourmet level to Peruvian cuisine, contributing to the development of the so-called "Cocina Novoandina". Acurio is currently recognized as one of the most important chefs in Latin America.

He has two daughters with his wife Astrid: Ivalú and Kiara.

Peruvian restaurant franchises

Gastón Acurio is a true culinary visionary who has put all his effort into rediscovering Peruvian cuisine and offering typical Peruvian meals in a modern and attractive way. He has turned his vision into reality by creating various successful restaurant franchises that focus on a specific category of Peruvian cuisine.

Together with his wife Astrid, he manages since 1994 the restaurant franchise "Astrid & Gastón" which opened originally in the district of Miraflores in Lima. This franchise has expanded over the years in Latin America and recently in Europe, opening restaurants in Santiago de Chile, Bogotá, Quito, Caracas, Panamá and Madrid.

"The Cafe del Museo" lies in the art-historical museum Rafael Larco Herrera in Lima. The Café was arranged by the architect Jordi Puig.

The confectionery and pralinerie "T'anta" was opened in 2003. "T'anta" comes from Quechua and it means bread.

"La Mar" is a Cevichería in Lima specializing in Peruvian seafood. This restaurant also opened in Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile and San Francisco.

The latest and most comercially successful franchise Pasquale Hnos. opened in late 2006 in Lima. It's a fast food restaurant which specialty are Peruvian sandwiches, traditionally known as "sanguches".

Also, the following franchises will be launched in the near future:
* "Panchita", a Peruvian "anticuchería" which will open soon in Miraflores, Lima.
* "Madam Tusan", a "chifa" (Chinese-Peruvian fusion cuisine).
* "Astrid y Gastón Café", a casual version of "Astrid y Gastón" which will open in Cuzco and Trujillo.
* "La Pepa", a juice store which will focus on the custumer's comfort and experience.
* "La Pollada & Company", a Peruvian "pollería" in fast-food format which will attempt to promote worldwide the Peruvian " pollo a la brasa " (roasted chicken). He will open La Mar Cevicheria Peruana on San Francisco's Embarcadero in September, 2008.

Other franchises to be launched by Gastón Acurio are:
* "La Corralada", a Peruvian premium "polleria".
* "Los Bachiche", a Peruvian-Italian restaurant.
* "Nativa", a boutique hotel chain which will focus on Peruvian culture and will be based on Acurio's franchises.
* "Papas & Salsas", a Peruvian "papas rellenas"(potatoes with fillings) restaurant.
* "Barrio", a Peruvian "criolla" cuisine restaurant.
* "Cegal", a gastronomic university in Lima.

In development:
* "Pecano", a Peruvian "dulceria" and deluxe café, based on the "Havanna" concept.
* "Yoshi", a "nikkei" (Peruvian-Japanese) restaurant.
* "Yoshi & Ricci", an Italian-Japanese restaurant.
* "Pochita", a Peruvian fast-food "anticucheria", based on "Panchita".
* "Chilca", a Peruvian ice-cream store.
* "Malandro Bar", a concept bar.
* "Diverxo", a supermarket based on the "Wong" concept, with the addition of a gastronomy school, own products, and a food court designed by chefs.

Side projects

In parallel with the Peruvian franchises, Gastón Acurio is involved in numerous projects which include:

* A cooking television program, "La Aventura Culinaria", which is broadcast on cable television by "PlusTV". It features Gastón Acurio visiting various places in Lima and other regions of Peru in search of restaurants and specific types of meal or ingredients. Two episodes include "La Aventura del Ceviche", in which Gastón visited his top list of "Cevicherias", and "La Aventura del Queso", when Gastón enjoyed the best cheese based meals in various locations in Lima.

* Top cuisine events worldwide, in which he promotes Peruvian cuisine to a wider audience, task which he accomplished at Madrid Fusion 2006, where he finally internationalized the Peruvian ceviche.

* Cooking books, with a nice collection released recently by Peruvian newspaper El Comercio.

References

*
*
* cite news | last=Castro | first=Roberto | title=En cinco años podría cumplirse la meta de operar 24 marcas | date=October 15, 2007 | publisher=APOYO — Semana Economica | url=http://www.apoyo.com/entorno-3649-1-0.html

External links

* [http://www.astridygaston.com/ Astrid & Gastón Official site]
* [http://www.pasqualehnos.com.pe/ Pasquale Hnos. Official site]