Juan Luis Martínez

Chef at Mérito (Lima, Peru)

With a cuisine that combines the best culinary traditions from Venezuela and Peru, Mártinez has carved a place for himself in the Latin American food world.

Juan Luis Martínez studied at La Casserole du Chef and at the Centro de Estudios Gastronómicos Amecameca (CEGA) in his native Venezuela, and from the moment he graduated his aim was to open his own restaurant. But before doing that, Mártinez delved into the world of cooking with stints at Le Gourmet (Venezuela), Martín Berasategui and at David Muñoz’s Diverxo. He also took advantage of his time in Europe to take a cooking course at the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts: armed with all this experience he arrived in Lima to work under Virgilio Martínez at Central.

Finally, in 2018, Juan Luis fulfilled his dream and was able to open, together with his partner José Luis Saume – who is no longer involved in the project – his own restaurant: Mérito. A place where this Venezuelan chef has successfully managed to fuse the flavours of his native land with those of his host country, Peru. A gastronomic style that led him to be ranked 37 out of the 50 best restaurants on the continent, on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list.