Elite Traveler Summer 2019

INSPIRE TOP 100 RESTAURANTS

93-100 TheModern New York, USA Head Chef: Abram Bissell Contact Tony Carson, general manager, info@themodernnyc.com, +1 212 333 1220, themodernnyc.com 2018/90 ▼ Atelier Munich, Germany Head chef: Jan Hartwig Contact +49 892 120 900 bayerischerhof.de NEW ENTRY Quince San Francisco, USA Head chef: Michael Tusk Contact Matt Cirne, general manager, info@quincerestaurant.com, +1 415 775 8500, quincerestaurant.com 2018/91 ▼ La Dame de Pic London London, UK Head chef: Anne-Sophie Pic Contact diningreservations.tri@ fourseasons.com, +44 203 297 9700, ladamedepiclondon.co.uk 2018/100 ▲ Brae Birregurra, Australia Head chef: Dan Hunter Contact enquire@braerestaurant.com, +61 3 5236 2226, braerestaurant.com 2018/95 ▼ Smyth&The Loyalist Chicago, USA Head chefs: John B Shields and Karen Urie Shields Contact +1 773 913 3773, smythandtheloyalist.com 2018/96 ▼ Central Lima, Peru Head chef: Virgilio Martínez Contact reservas@ centralrestaurante.com.pe, +511 242 8515, centralrestaurante.com.pe/en/ NEW ENTRY Joël Robuchon Las Vegas, USA Head chef: Christophe De Lellis Contact +1 702 891 7925, mgmgrand.com 2018/98 ▼

Atelier Munich, Germany Head chef: Jan Hartwig

Central Lima, Peru Head chef: Virgilio Martínez

FOOD FOR THOUGHT WITH JAN HARTWIG By Lauren Jade Hill

Jan Hartwig has made quite an impression on Munich's burgeoning fine-dining scene. The Helmstedt, Germany-born chef arrived at Hotel Bayerischer Hof’s restaurant Atelier in 2014, and was soon awarded a Michelin star, then earned a

second star in 2015. The restaurant jumped from two to three stars in the Michelin Guide to Germany 2018 . This year, Atelier made its debut in our Top 100 Restaurants. “This is our work. It feels great to be included,” he says. Hartwig puts much of his success down to his individuality and quest to hunt down the best ingredients. “I have my own style and get the finest produce I can buy,” he explains. “I am creative but never forget the most important thing, which is to create tasty food.” In his pursuit for exceptional ingredients, Hartwig sets his sights far and wide, from the produce of local farmers, fishermen and artisans to specialist ingredients sourced from farther afield. “I use regional products, like freshwater fish from Bavaria, but I also like Asian ingredients, like the miso you get in Japan,” he elaborates. “For me, it’s just important to get the best product.” Hartwig uses these ingredients in produce-led dishes designed according to the seasons. “In spring, I serve the local asparagus, peas, chanterelles and herbs with glazed duck,” he says. “It’s fresh and light, so perfect for the season.” The one dish that’s a mainstay of the menu, though, is his signature pork belly with smoked hollandaise. “It’s a really nice dish that gets a lot of positive response. It looks simple but it has a really deep, flavorful sauce.” Hartwig serves this hearty dish throughout fall and winter. Hartwig found his love for cooking through his father, and he now fuses this base of family cooking with inspiration taken from trips to the market and his travels: “For me, everything can be an inspiration. My father, who was a chef, likes to be in the kitchen, so it’s inspiring to talk to him and cook for the family when we’re together. I get a lot of inspiration when I walk over to the market, and when I go to other countries, I like to see what they’re doing.” Now, Hartwig injects subtle hints from his travels into the food he creates, harboring a particular interest in Asian cuisine. Of course, it’s delivering on the full dining experience that earns a restaurant three Michelin stars. “It’s important that the service team transports my ideas to the guests,” Hartwig finishes. “My aim is to have happy customers who love the

FOOD FOR THOUGHT WITH VIRGILIO MARTÍNEZ By Lauren Jade Hill In recent years, Peru has established what is now one of the world’s most talked about cuisines. Lima is at the heart of this culinary movement, and Virgilio Martínez is one of the chefs responsible for its global prominence. This year marks Central’s entry into our Top 100 Restaurants. “It feels good to be included, and in such good company,” Martínez says on hearing the news. “We work hard to be a restaurant that produces change in people, so it’s an honor to be a part of this list.” Martínez rose to international acclaim by seeking out unknown ingredients from Peru’s many different ecosystems and elevations. He then presents these finds in extraordinarily creative ways. “At Central we are committed to nature and culture,” he explains. “We take the experience beyond gastronomy, connecting you to the land and people through produce that might have never been used before.” “I was brought up to have an appreciation for Peru’s diverse environment, culture and traditions,” he continues. “So as a chef, I wanted to explore Peru

and see what was going on gastronomically in the different places. The diversity in culture and environment means what we eat changes a lot between regions, from the rich sea and high Andes mountains to the different altitudes within the Amazon rainforest. We try to see what’s happening in these different places with unknown ingredients and their unique stories.” The tasting menu at Central consists of a series of dishes highlighting ingredients you’ve probably never heard of from each microclimate. Begin with the Red Rocks course made with piure (a type of sea squirt), percebes (goose barnacle) and razor clams, and finish up with the Mil Medicinals plate of congona (a digestive herb), cushuro (freshwater alga) and qolle (a Peruvian plant) from 12,073 ft. “If you put all of them together, we’re talking about 16 altitudes in 16 different plates,” explains Martínez. This graduation in elevations provides the narrative that in other parts of the world is told by the changing seasons. “At Central, we are always working on the evolution of our idea,” the chef says in summary. “We push ourselves to the limits, and changes happen every day.”

Photos Gustavo Vivanco, Lukas Kirchgasser Fotografie