May 16, 2024 / 12:30-14:00

Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University

No registration required / In person only

In less than a couple of years, MAZ has positioned itself as one of the favorite fine-dining restaurants in Tokyo and the only Latin American restaurant with two Michelin stars in the city. MAZ and its menu Vertical World embodies the efforts of Virgilio Martínez, the renowned chef and director of restaurant Central in Peru, to showcase Peruvian biodiversity and highlight the interplay between the social and ecological environments of the South American country. 

Chef Santiago Fernández, who leads the operation at MAZ, will provide an in-depth exposition of the culinary journey behind the menu Vertical World and the process of setting up the restaurant in Tokyo, focusing on the challenges and solutions encountered along the way, including the innovative use of Japanese ingredients to showcase Peruvian flavors. The talk will also present the project Mater Iniciativa, which investigates and aims to help preserve the mega diversity of food, nature, and culture in Peru, and the challenges and opportunities faced in establishing Mater Iniciativa's ideas in the dynamic culinary landscape of Tokyo. 

Santiago Fernandez is one of the top young chefs working in Tokyo. He heads the kitchen Maz, a Michelin two-star restaurant. Maz is a project of Central in Peru, now ranked #1 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Before heading the kitchen at Maz, Fernandez was in charge of the creative program of Central in Peru for the past five years. He began working with Virgilio Martínez, the director of Central, after completing a Gastronomy and Culinary Arts degree from the renowned Basque Culinary Center in Spain. He has participated in several international gastronomic events worldwide as Virgilio's right hand and has been selected by Forbes Magazine as one of "Japan's 30 under 30." 

(Flyer (PDF) Download from HERE.)

Photos  Top: Course "Sea Coral" from the tasting menu Vertical World and restaurant MAZ, Tokyo / Bottom: Santiago Fernandez ©︎Akiko Sato