CHEF PÍA LEÓN AT MAUKA

Born in December 1986 in Peru, Pia León knew at a young age that she would dedicate her whole life to cooking. From her most distant memories, she remembers making cakes and selling them at school, as well as the intense days of travelling to visit chefs and friends all over the world with the purpose of showing the different nuances of the Peruvian biodiversity in which her cooking lives.

Her career offcially began in 2008 at the world renowned Central, a restaurant that proposes a journey through the ecosystem that Pia has been studying for years. Dynamic and intuitive, supported by her strength and willingness, at the age of 21, she started working at Central and met Virgilio Martinez, with whom she would later create new concepts and projects. Pia worked her way up from assistant to section manager and then area manager, and in the course of ten years she became head of the kitchen, gathering the necessary experience to take an important step forward. Pia felt a need for independent expression, which materialised in her restaurant, Kjolle which she opened in 2018. At Kjolle, named after an Andean tree, Pia expresses her ideas through an open, creative, pure, modern Peruvian cuisine. Only a year after its opening, Pía won the Latin American Best Female Chef Award and the following year, in 2021 the World’s Best Female Chef Award. Kjolle won Best Signature Cuisine in 2022 at the Summum awards.

At Kjolle, the cuisine is based on four key pillars: using all parts of the product without manipulating it too much to preserve the flavours; playing with colours and contrasts; giving an unconventional use of the products that ends up surprising those who try them; and finally, creating multiple material objects such as pieces of sustainable wood, ceramics with local clays; and elements shaped with threads and natural fibres as a result of working directly with local artists and artisans from different communities in Peru.

Today, Pia and her partner, Chef Virgilio Marinez, co-own Central in Lima, Mil in Cusco and Maz in Tokyo. Pia was approached by Belmond in 2022 and is very excited to join the family, introducing Mauka to the world.

Named after an endangered Incan root vegetable, Mauka is an ode to the bounty of Cusquenian cuisine and its diverse produce, from the Andean mountains to the Amazon rainforest. At its core Pía’s vision is to preserve Peruvian culture, transcending local gastronomy and curating moments to learn and experience the true root and origin of Andean cuisine.

“Through my work, I aim to preserve and showcase the megadiversity of my country. I am thrilled to share my vision in Cusco at the Palacio Nazarenas. Each region has its own ingredients, with different tones and nuances, providing a clear identity and history. Mauka continues in the same vein, representing the natural meeting of Peruvian art, biodiversity, and cuisine.” says chef Pía León.