Striking Out On Her Own

The Story of Chef Pía León and Kjolle Restaur

by: Cary Wong

Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Vinicunca Rainbow Mountains—these breathtaking landmarks are probably the first things that come to mind for someone who does not live in the amazing country of Peru.

The culinary scene there, however, is fast catching up to its natural beauty. And in the pantheon of great Peruvian chefs, a number of females share the spotlight with their male counterparts. Chef Pía León at Kjolle is certainly one of those greats.

She had a very early professional start. She studied at Cordon Bleu in Lima, interned at El Celler de Can Roca in Spain and the Ritz in Naples, worked at the New York Ritz, then at Astrid y Gastón back in Peru—all before she was 21.

“I was always very curious about gastronomy, I knew… at an early age that I wanted to be a cook, so I studied gastronomy.” Chef León said. “And I started looking for restaurants where I could learn about good products and techniques.”

“I always thought that haute cuisine could satisfy my curiosities about techniques, professional development, and of course seeking for a clear work philosophy,” she continued. “That is why I worked for some important restaurants.”

But her stint at Central Restaurant after the aforementioned experiences was arguably the biggest turning point in her life. There, she worked with the legendary Chef Virgilio Martínez Véliz and took charge of the kitchen operations.

They also fell in love, got married, and grew their family all while building the restaurant into the fourth-best in the world and the best in Latin America according to World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

“I met Virgilio the first time I went to Central and I knew little about what he was like. I met him as a cook, and when we started dating and got married we already knew each other a lot,” Chef León said.

“We respect our spaces and there is good communication. We always knew that working in the kitchen is complicated and there are always difficulties but we have always been cautious about respecting certain spaces and creating (them) where we can work being ourselves and being together.”

She ran the Central kitchen for 10 years and played an integral part of Mater Iniciativa, the scientific and social research center of the couple’s organization. They have also opened up numerous establishments in the world including Mayo Bar, Lima (a brand with locations in London and Dubai), Ichu Peru (a spot in Hong Kong), and MIL (a destination restaurant outside of the Sacred Valley in Cusco, Peru).

In 2018, as Central and Mater moved into the new location in Lima’s Casa Tupac, she felt it was the right time for her own place. And so Kjolle opened its doors in August 2018.

Like the bright orange flower that gave the restaurant its name, the decision proved to be a brilliant one. Not only did it become an instant hit among foodies, but it also debuted on the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list at No.21, as well as winning the Highest New Entry Award of 2019. Chef León now leads the creative direction of the new restaurant, which shares the Casa Tupac location with Central, Mayo Bar, and Mater.

“I always felt that I was good at managing Virgilio’s ideas… with Kjolle, I had to manage my own ideas, make my way, find my kitchen; that’s why after having a good time working for Central… at first it was difficult,” she said. “Today I consider that Central, Kjolle, the entire Casa Tupac, Mater Iniciativa, MIL—we all work for a common good.”

A new restaurant also means defining a new relationship with the team. Everyone is involved with food development with a lot of team competitions and outings.

“We used to see the kitchen as a hierarchy, now we have changed that a bit,” Chef León said. “I met people who know about things that I did not know and I gave myself space to listen, understand and see things perhaps from a slightly more horizontal perspective.”

“The team always has ideas and interesting things to contribute,” she continued. “That is why we make sure that they always have a voice in the execution of the menu and the experience.”

On the topic of team-building, the Kjolle team is split roughly 50-50 between men and women.

“To be honest this was not (the) plan, it was not premeditated,” Chef León explained. “We have seen that in recent years more female chefs have come looking to work in Kjolle and have passed through the kitchen here and through Central.”

She runs her kitchen by pure meritocracy. “I only see the ability and merit… I see that compared to 10 years ago, there are more women in the kitchen and I see no difference when it comes to people with commitment and passion.”

“That is the ultimate guide. When we try or pressure to have more women in the kitchen I think we made a mistake. (However,) when we stop thinking like that, I think it is when we have really become 50/50 without any plan.”

As mentioned earlier, Kjolle has a close relationship with Mater Iniciativa—which, in addition to researching and investigating for menus, also has a team of academics who travel across Peru gathering and studying indigenous ingredients.

Do not be fooled by the lessstructured and more-casual menu than the one served at Central. There exists an immense amount of creativity in Chef León’s food and her menu concepts can be driven from either the research-side or the restaurant-side.

“In the case of Kjolle, there is a relationship of product, information, and knowledge and we search Mater for issues (around) products, producers, seasons, landscapes, and ecosystems. Mater also comes up with stories, anecdotes, examples, and people (for) Kjolle,” she said. “There is a relationship of sharing and from there we come up with ideas. There is no plan ever drawn.”

Even though Peruvian cuisine has started to pick up popularity around the world with things like quinoa and ceviche becoming household names, there are still a lot of things unknown to outsiders. Chef León shared one such example with us.

“There is one (tradition) that is very close to me because we practice it at MIL. It is called Huatia,” she said. “It is the cooking of the natives potatoes in an oven made from the earth that is built after they are harvested. It is (a way) to celebrate—it is full of tradition and it is natural. (It is also) an example of community, of caring for each other and for the earth—celebrate a harvest with love and respect.”

In order to continually improve as a chef, she really enjoys learning about Amazon. It provides an abundant amount of fruits and vegetables that she did not know as well as techniques that she might not yet understand. “I feel that each time I visit there I learn more,” she said. When she visits the area with “all this enthusiasm, good vibes, and curiosity, (it) helps you to see (everything) with greatness,” she marveled.

Discover the rare talents of creatives, brands, products, projects and the entrepreneurs that bring them to life. Read more features like this raremagazine.com - subscribe to one of our packages to receive special offers!