Virgilio Martínez y Jorge Vallejo: “We must rescue the origin to save the future”

By César Marcos

Madrid Fusion gastronomic often point to the forefront with a radius of global action. But also it returns to the past, especially when the support is the culinary legacy of future generations. The chefs Virgilio Martinez and Jorge Vallejo’s role Dock and Marty McFly donned, rescuing the roots of food and cooking techniques forgotten in Latin America, with Argentine Mauro Colagreco, for the present of that charge remains, today, intact . It is a coherent project that unites kitchen with territory and marked social character.

e-Comercio Agrario: Before going into detail, it is worth you rescue us who and what is behind your kitchens.

Jorge Vallejo: I come from Mexico City restaurant pigweed. The kitchen we do is just a look into the products that have been segregated, relegated by themes of racism and classism in Mexico. We try to put these ingredients in perspective and in a context value, not in monetary terms but in qualitative and proximity key, logic and organic way of working the preparations.
The human side of this kitchen is also very valuable, that belongs in the link between the farmer and the farm, the craftsman who manufactures the dishes or the element in which we grind our moles. so we diners, in a kind way, that this is the essence of a cook.

Virgilio Martinez: I have a restaurant, Central, in Lima (Peru). We make a kitchen trying to communicate everything that happens throughout our biodiversity, from the coast of the Pacific Ocean, the deserts, the Andes and the Amazon. The approach is to transform the biodiversity in experiences that can be exciting.
Then we have restaurants in London, with very open proposals, but communicating what is happening in Peru from a culinary point of view.

ECA: How did the idea for the project “Rescuing the origins”?

VM: It all started with a friendship. We wanted to have fun researching cooking techniques ancient and almost extinct products Peru, Mexico and Argentina. But evolution was another as we went along with the search, as fascinating and inspiring ideas emerged on our holiday. With producer, we knew how the community lived and were their purely gastronomic activities.
Then, we realized we had to turn and say something totally unknown in Latin America. Therefore, we encourage people to participate, because for products originating kitchens and sustainable. It’s not about a work of three cooks in three countries.

ECA: On what raw materials have placed the spotlight to put them in value in the kitchen?

JV: While there is much land to be made in Latin America, there is a direct link to products, a common thread between our so extensive geographies, such as corn, potatoes, chilies or peppers. We found consistencies between our cultures, but we wanted to explore them, go deeper, learn, which is the key word that would define “Rescuing the origins”. The project is a transverse movement, in which we want people to join. It is not something that is ours. Not only it belongs to chefs, but the final consumer. We propose to introduce a seed in people to raise awareness and light the fuse to take in value to give us identity, which are our regions and cultures. Through food you want to reintegrate into society. We must rescue the origin to save the future. So we decided to start the project.

ECA: “Origins”, are you going to continue immersed in this trip?

VM: You have a very long then. We are programmed to work fast and with very specific deadlines. The project will continue with other countries, with other regions of Latin America, that it has been registered in the project platform information gastronomic techniques and products originating rescued to share together. This will help a lot to recognize our products, seasonality, gaps or opportunities in a complex continent. We could adapt other models, but we opted to peek into nature, uniting little wills and efforts, a tiny step to change the world.