Gastón Acurio began his career with a relatively modest ambition: open a restaurant with his wife, Astrid Gutsche, and cook for people who shared their passion for food. More than three decades later, the Peruvian chef has become one of the most recognizable figures in Latin American gastronomy and one of the people most closely associated with Peru’s transformation into a global culinary destination.
Acurio and Gutsche met while studying culinary arts in Paris. After returning to Lima, they opened Astrid & Gastón in 1994. The restaurant initially drew heavily from European — particularly French — culinary traditions. Over time, however, Acurio increasingly turned toward the ingredients, recipes and cultural influences of Peru itself.
That shift helped define the rest of his career.
Astrid & Gastón remains in operation at Casa Moreyra in Lima’s San Isidro district, where its contemporary menu continues to explore Peruvian ingredients and traditions through a modern approach.
FROM RESTAURANT CHEF TO AMBASSADOR OF PERUVIAN CUISINE
Acurio’s influence extended well beyond his flagship restaurant. During the rise of modern Peruvian gastronomy, he became one of the most visible advocates for treating food as part of Peru’s cultural identity and as an economic opportunity for farmers, fishermen, cooks, restaurant workers and entrepreneurs.
His central argument was simple: Peruvian cuisine did not need to imitate Europe to earn international recognition.
That philosophy accompanied the expansion of a culinary movement that placed ingredients such as native potatoes, corn, ají peppers, quinoa, seafood and Amazonian products at the center of increasingly ambitious restaurant concepts.
It also coincided with an important change in the way Peruvians viewed their own food. Ceviche, anticuchos, causa, tiradito, regional stews and the country’s Chinese, Japanese, African and Indigenous culinary influences became part of a broader narrative about national identity.
Acurio was hardly the only chef responsible for that transformation. But his restaurants, books, television appearances and international projects gave him unusual visibility at a moment when Peruvian gastronomy was building a global audience.
A GASTRONOMIC GROUP THAT CONTINUES TO EVOLVE
The business that grew around Acurio eventually expanded far beyond Astrid & Gastón.
Acurio Restaurantes has developed concepts including Tanta, La Mar, Panchita, Barra Chalaca, Papacho’s, Chicha and El Bodegón, among others. Their formats range from fine dining and cevicherías to casual restaurants built around everyday Peruvian food.
By March 2025, Tanta had become the group’s largest brand, with 25 restaurants across Peru, Chile, Argentina and the United States, according to Acurio Restaurantes CEO Nani Garrués. Thirteen of those locations were in Peru. The company also operated 24 restaurants in Chile across several of its brands and maintained operations in Argentina and Colombia.
The strategy has changed from the aggressive international expansion associated with earlier stages of the company. Rather than simply opening more restaurants abroad, the group has focused on strengthening existing brands and adapting concepts to different markets. Garrués said the company does not follow a single franchise model and often works with local partners.
That approach illustrates how Acurio’s original idea has matured. Selling Peruvian cuisine internationally now involves much more than exporting the same menu from Lima.
GASTÓN ACURIO’S NEW PHASE
The new Jorge Chávez International Airport became an important showcase for the group’s latest strategy. Acurio Restaurantes planned seven concepts there, including Tanta, Papacho’s, El Bodegón, Habla Broster, Sakamoto and Tanta To Go.
In June of this year, the company took another step by opening the first urban Tanta To Go at Lima’s Jockey Plaza. The smaller format focuses on breakfasts, lunches, bakery items, coffee, snacks, desserts and takeaway options, reflecting an effort to adapt one of Acurio’s best-known brands to faster consumption habits. The company said additional locations were being considered in Lima.
That development says much about Acurio’s current position in Peruvian gastronomy. His influence is no longer measured only through tasting menus or prestigious dining rooms. The group is also exploring airports, shopping centers and more flexible restaurant formats.
Meanwhile, a new generation is beginning to enter the story. In 2026, Ivalú Acurio, daughter of Gastón Acurio and Astrid Gutsche, brought Sando — the Japanese-inspired street-food project she founded in Geneva — to Lima through a collaboration with Papacho’s.
PERUVIAN CUISINE AS CULTURE AND BUSINESS
Acurio’s most lasting contribution may be the connection he helped reinforce between gastronomy, culture and economic development.
Peru now treats culinary training as part of its tourism and hospitality strategy. CENFOTUR, the country’s public tourism training institution, describes gastronomy as a field linked to cultural identity, entrepreneurship, sustainability and Peru’s positioning as an international destination.
The restaurant industry itself continues to expand. Peru’s restaurant sector grew 4.56% year-on-year in April 2026, according to figures reported from the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics.
For Acurio, however, the project has always been broader than the success of a restaurant company. His career helped popularize the idea that a country could use its food to tell its story, strengthen pride in local ingredients and create opportunities around culture.
More than 30 years after Astrid & Gastón first opened its doors, the restaurant remains part of Lima’s culinary landscape, while the business built around it continues adapting to new consumers and markets.
The chef who once returned from Europe intending to cook French food ultimately became one of the strongest advocates for looking inward — toward Peru’s markets, regions, producers and culinary memory. That decision helped change both his career and the international perception of Peruvian cuisine.
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