Gastón Acurio, Astrid y Gastón

Gastón Álvaro Acurio Jaramillo (Lima, October 30, 1967) is a chef, writer, businessman, and promoter of Peruvian cuisine. Since the opening of his Astrid & Gastón restaurant in 1994 in Lima, Acurio has opened 34 restaurants dedicated to different specialties of Peruvian food, in 11 countries around the world. In 2007 Acurio founded the Pachacutec Cooking School, dedicated to training low-income youth as cooks and waiters. He also announced a joint project with the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in gastronomic education during 2015. Today Acurio leads a company with more than 3,000 employees, present in 13 different cities with 11 different concepts and brands.