Chef Diego Muñoz: Running The Show At Astrid Y Gaston, Part 2

This is the second installment in a three-part interview with chef Diego Muñoz. You can find the first installment here and the third installment here.

The Daily Meal: Unbeknownst to most, you have actually been running the show at Astrid y Gaston since 2012. Does Gaston Acurio cast a long shadow, and is it challenging for you to be recognized for your work?
Chef Diego Muñoz: It is hard to erase that image and I think it is going to be pretty much impossible to change people's perception. Even customers who come to the restaurant here believe that Gaston is still cooking. Even those who heard the news of his retirement last year still don't believe it. The funny thing is when sometimes guests visit the kitchen they think I am Gaston!

They will notice a picture in the kitchen and ask how is your wife Astrid? So I just say, "Oh she is fine." I think I am never going to come out of that shadow and it's going to stick with the name of the restaurant. Gaston did a promotion of my work here but it still didn't work. My own friends who know of my work here don't believe it either.

When chefs become well-known, usually their egos expand, their personalities change, and sometimes even their food changes. You are always very down to earth. How do you keep that in check and maintain your stability and focus?
Last year I was very sick and took some time off and had an opportunity to think about my position and how I work. I try to lead my team by example. I am very hands on at work and work a lot, but I am always discussing things and we all listen to each other and work as a team. Naturally, I am a really shy person and not prone to focusing attention on myself.

I don't feel very comfortable visiting every table or to walk around the tables in the restaurant and prefer to stay in the background. I love it when people come in the kitchen to say hello before the meal. We start the guest's experience on the terrace and then they walk into the kitchen before being seated at the table. The director here at the restaurant actually takes care of the guests and I take of the kitchen. There are some chefs who like that attention and some like me who don't. Some like to do TV shows while other don't, and that's the way I am. I am happier busy working than showing off!

Do you think that the idea of Peruvian cuisine as a contender in the world of gastronomy is something that has already happened or is it going to happen in the future?
I think it has already started happening and it is a huge opportunity for us here in Peru to take advantage of this and develop further. It is not only beneficial personally or for the restaurant industry but for our country. Peru is a country that has suffered a lot and with this attention we can give something back and motivate people to keep growing. The fact that Peru has three restaurants in the top 50 in the world is very significant. It is an opportunity for us to show off our culture and encourage people to come and visit our country so that restaurant and hospitality industries, even the taxi drivers or shop keepers and market vendors will benefit. The common man will get a piece of that action and feel responsible to work hard and keep the momentum. This attention is not going to last forever and we have to keep that in mind.

You were at the OzHarvest event in Australia that uses surplus food to feed the less fortunate people in society. Is there a similar program in existence in Peru?
It is beginning to happen here. When OzHarvest came over in January for the United Nations event a small group here was beginning a similar project, which is really great. It was really cool to see the amazing work they are doing in Australia, sharing their time and resources with the needy. In Peru we have a lot of wastage while there are people who need food so after seeing what they were doing in Australia I connected with the project here to see if we can work together. It is hard and delicate work and difficult to keep it nonpolitical and draw boundaries so that it doesn't lose its main idea. You need a strong energy and to be resourceful to reach people as Ronni Kahn, the founder of OzHarvest, is doing.

The new Astrid y Gaston restaurant is much grander and more luxe. Has the food changed as a reflection of the ambience?
We always change it anyway but it has changed here now, though we just have 12 tables. We have three different rooms and as at the old location the tables are widely spaced and very private. Our menu now has 30 elaborations and takes about two and a half hours. The service is excellent and the rooms with lofty ceilings, wood floors are full of high-end art contributing to the experience. Our kitchens are in view of the guests so they can see what is going on. We have worked hard to develop an amazing wine list which, according to our guests, is the best of the region. Just in the past one month we have served a thousand elaborations and our evolution has been appreciated and is beautiful. [pullquote:right]

There is always a story behind the tasting menus at Astrid, but how many of those stories are your own now?
Actually we are done with the stories. The last one was called Memories of My Life and was influenced by memories of the lives of many people and played with those concepts. I put a compilation of these stories and memories in a menu with 29 elaborations. We did six stories over the years and it placed us with the same menu for six months at a time, it was also a big and expensive production for each menu with artists, books, etc. As a result I decided to stop that and start with menus that focus on regions like the one we began in April called the Lima region. Now we want to investigate regions, the farmers, and the produce and make them partners in our work. We now print our menus in house allowing us more flexibility. Our menu has 30 dishes but we have already include over 42 variations on our menus.

So there is more spontaneity in your menus now?
Exactly — we can change depending on availability or inspiration. It is more interesting creatively, more free and that was the main reason I decided to do this. Our test kitchen is where Bianca is constantly working on new ideas and energies.

You have a big garden on the premises. Is it functioning well?
It's doing great, and this week we are launching within our garden a little garden just for children. Every Wednesday we have school kids visit us to see how we grow things, and we give them a small cooking lesson using produce from the garden, they eat a meal, and take a plant home to plant their own garden.

This is the second installment in a three-part interview with chef Diego Muñoz. You can find the first installment here and the third installment here.