Gastón Acurio biography: the chef who exported Peru

There is one figure that sums up Gastón Acurio's career better than any award: today there are some 72 restaurants from his group spread across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and South America. None of them sells international food. They all sell Peru. This 58-year-old chef from Lima dropped the law degree his father expected of him, went to learn cooking in Paris and ended up turning ceviche into an ambassador with a passport. Here you will find his story: how he went from a French restaurant in Miraflores to a group with brands on four continents, who has cooked at his side since day one and what he is up to in 2026.

Who is Gastón Acurio?

Gastón Acurio is a Peruvian chef and food entrepreneur, born on October 30, 1967 in Lima. He is known for founding Astrid & Gastón in 1994 and for being the main driver of international recognition for Peruvian cuisine. In 2026 he runs a group of some 72 restaurants and keeps expanding inside and outside Peru.

Gastón Acurio's personal details

Gastón Acurio's childhood and early years

Gastón Acurio Jaramillo grew up in a house where politics was in the air every day. His father, Gastón Acurio Velarde, was a senator and a minister; his mother, Jesusa Jaramillo Rázuri, ran the home. He studied at Colegio Santa María Marianistas in Lima, a school where the children of families like his were expected to end up in law or politics.

And that is where he headed. In 1987 he travelled to Madrid to study Law at Universidad Complutense, following the script his father had written. The problem is that Gastón spent more time in kitchens than in classrooms.

In 1989 he made the decision that changed his life: he dropped out. He did not tell his father right away. He enrolled in a hospitality school in Madrid, where he studied until 1991, and then made the leap to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. There he met Astrid Gutsche, a young woman of German origin who had also abandoned her studies —in Medicine— to devote herself to pastry.

Gastón Acurio's professional career

When the couple returned to Peru in the nineties, the country was not exactly a gastronomic destination. Even so, on July 14, 1994 they opened Astrid & Gastón on Cantuarias street in Miraflores, Lima. The menu was classic French cuisine, which was what they had learned.

The turn came little by little. Acurio began introducing Peruvian products and ideas into a menu designed for European palates, and discovered that the real material was there. That reconversion —stopping the imitation of Europe to look at his own pantry— is what ended up defining his cooking and, along the way, that of a whole generation.

The change ran deeper than it seems. In the nineties, a fine dining restaurant in Lima serving causa, ají amarillo or raw fish read as an oddity, almost as a lack of ambition. Acurio did the opposite of what was expected: instead of translating Peru into the French language, he used the technique learned in Paris to showcase what already existed in Peruvian markets. That move opened the door for international recognition to arrive later, and for younger cooks to be able to consider a career without leaving the country.

From then on, the project multiplied into brands with different audiences:

• 1994: opens Astrid & Gastón, the restaurant that launches him
• 2003: Tanta is born, his Peruvian bistro format
• 2005: founds La Mar, the cevichería that exports ceviche to the world
• 2009: Panchita, devoted to criollo cooking, and Chicha in Cusco and Arequipa arrive
• 2011: opens Madam Tusan, his bet on chifa
• 2014: receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants

Along the way he added other concepts such as Papacho’s, Los Bachiche, Barra Chalaca and Melate Chocolate. International recognition also came, such as the Prince Claus Award (2009) and the Eckart Witzigmann Prize (2018), the latter one of the most respected gastronomic awards in Europe.

Gastón Acurio's standout restaurants and brands

Gastón Acurio's personal life

His personal and professional life have been the same thing for more than thirty years. Astrid Gutsche is not just his wife: she is the pastry chef who gives her name to half of the restaurant that launched them both. They met while studying cooking in Europe and have worked together ever since.

The couple have two daughters, Ivalú and Kiara. The elder, Ivalú, followed the family path and today runs seven venues in Geneva, Switzerland, among them Sando, her first bet on Japanese-inspired burgers, as well as Saoko and Lulu’s Fried Chicken. A heavy surname, but with cooking of her own.

Acurio has also been a constant public voice in favour of gastronomy as an economic and social engine for Peru, a message he has taken to international forums and to several books. His argument, repeated for years, is simple: cooking creates jobs, supports farmers and fishers, and projects an image of the country that no advertisement could buy.

That approach has earned him recognition beyond the strictly culinary. The Prince Claus Award he received in 2009 honours contributions to culture and development, not recipes; and the 2018 Eckart Witzigmann placed him among the most influential cooks as seen from Europe.

Gastón Acurio trivia

• He was headed for law: he actually enrolled in Law at the Complutense in Madrid and lasted two years before admitting that his thing was the stove.
• His first restaurant was French: Astrid & Gastón opened in 1994 with a French menu; the Peruvian side came later, almost by discovery.
• His wife also walked away from a degree: Astrid Gutsche left Medicine to devote herself to pastry.
• The surname comes from politics: his father was a senator and a minister, and expected his son to follow that route.
• La Mar crossed borders before he did: the cevichería brand became the group's international spearhead.
• He won an award designed for artists: the Prince Claus (2009) honours contributions to culture, not just to cooking.
• His daughter cooks in Switzerland: Ivalú Acurio runs seven venues in Geneva, far from the family umbrella.

Gastón Acurio in 2026

2026 finds Grupo Acurio in full expansion, and in a not very glamorous but very profitable place: the airport. With the opening of Lima's new Jorge Chávez terminal, the group landed with several concepts at once, among them a food hall in the domestic terminal with El Bodegón and Papacho’s, plus two new brands —Habla Broster and Sakamoto— and takeaway formats such as Tanta To Go.

Outside Peru, the big bet has been the return to Spain: La Mar opened opposite the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, in Madrid, the same city where Acurio studied Law without much enthusiasm almost forty years earlier.

At Famosix we believe his greatest achievement is not the number of venues, but having changed the perception of an entire country through its food. Before Acurio, Peruvian cuisine was a domestic matter; after him, it is an industry. If you are interested in that generation of cooks, also check out the biography of Virgilio Martínez.

Conclusion

Gastón Acurio is proof that one uncomfortable decision at 22 can redefine the career of a whole industry. He left law, bet on his own pantry and turned ceviche into a global product. At Famosix we follow his journey and that of the cooks who opened the way after him. You can explore more profiles in our ranking of Peruvian celebrities.

Sources consulted

• El Comercio: Ivalú Acurio, la hija de Gastón y Astrid Gutsche, dirige un mini imperio gastronómico desde Suiza
• Gestión: Grupo Acurio perfila su siguiente movimiento en Perú y Sudamérica
• Prince Claus Fund: Gastón Acurio, premiado en 2009