A culinary voyage with an intrepid celebrity chef

Varieties of potatoes used in Martinez's restaurant Central in Lima. [Photo/AFP]

The science of culinary art

In Peru, home of the potato and quinoa, he wants to give other native ingredients a place of honor.

His favorite Peruvian ingredients include ocas, mashua and ollucos - all varieties of tubers - and choclo, or giant corn.

"The food's transformation does not need to be so significant. The connection to the producer is the most important, the quality, and everything behind the produce," Martinez says.

Now he wants to develop his art into a science.

"Our obligation is to discover and research, to have cuisine that is always evolving and innovating," the chef adds.

"I think we're on the way to developing (culinary) laboratories and research departments in Peru."

Elite dining in a poor nation

At the heart of Central is the Mater Initiative, a gastronomic research group led by Martinez.

It partners with local producers, many of them living in poverty, which affects 22 percent of Peru's population.

"We cook for elites, people who reserve a table three months in advance, but the people who come have a duty to know the importance of a potato, a pepper, a fish" to poorer communities, Martinez says.

"How can a country have so-called 'cuisine' when there is malnutrition and hunger? One way to change this is to promote our own produce - what we use is 100 percent Peruvian."