Virgilio Martínez is a chef from Peru who received yesterday theAndorra Taste Award 2026 for the innovation in the creation of high mountain gastronomy dishes. The chef highlighted the geographical, meteorological and agricultural similarities shared by the Peru with the principality In this sense, the chef defended a gastronomy that takes advantage of the natural products offered by the territory. The Peruvian chef explained that for years he had seen Peru as a territory with many shortcomings, but that discovering the possibilities offered by the land and the ancestral knowledge of the region of Cusco it opened the door for him to understand a new high-mountain gastronomy of great value. “We were focused on just one thing and we didn’t see the forest of possibilities that a country with such diverse landscapes gives us.” In this sense, he defended that “innovation is in the ancestral”, he emphasized. Martinez he emphasized the launch of the Masi projectwhich transfers the gastronomic innovation of the restaurant Mater to a sensory experience for customers. One of the products he experiments with is cocoa, which he considers useful far beyond chocolate. The chef has investigated the gastronomic possibilities of different parts of the plant, such as the fruit, the seeds, the bark, the leaves, the vein of the leaf, as well as the medicinal uses it offers. Upon receiving the award, Martinez he was “very honored” by the recognition. The cook, who was traveling for the first time in the principalityrated the local gastronomy very positively and described Andorra as a “magical” territory.
Virgilio Martínez, at the inauguration of the Andorra Taste.
“We didn’t see the forest of possibilities that a country with such diverse landscapes gives us”
The Minister of Tourism and Commerce, Jordi Torresgave a positive reading of theAndorra Taste. “It is a seed that we planted five years ago, it is growing very well and has a future”, he explained. Torres pointed out that the event “poses Andorra on the international map of high mountain gastronomy”. “International chefs of repute are settling in the country”, he emphasized. He also defended the need to preserve a gastronomic identity of his own in the face of the rise of food chains. He also placed climate change as one of the challenges of the sector, as it conditions production and the availability of products and forces to adapt to the seasons. TheAndorra Taste this year will have 17 chefs and twentyMichelin starswith France as guest territory. Among the novelties this year is the return of the day Territory en viu, which tomorrow will move the activity of the Prat del Roure at Col de la Botella. Although there is no official figure for the total number of attendees, the minister explained that it is at similar levels to last year, when nearly 1,000 participants participated, both in person and online.
“International renowned chefs are settling in our country”
