Is this the Most Important Restaurant IN THE WORLD : Central (Lima, Peru)

Is this the Most Important Restaurant IN THE WORLD : Central (Lima, Peru)

In the Barranco neighborhood of Lima, 
Peru, art spills from every wall and corner and the greatest masterpiece is one 
of the world’s best restaurants. Central isn’t just a restaurant. It’s a living 
gallery of Peru’s landscapes, flavors, and history. From the depths of the ocean to 
the peaks of the Andes. Known worldwide for its groundbreaking research in native ingredients 
and ecosystems. Central transforms science into art and art into food. And we cannot wait to taste 
Peru in the most creative way. Let’s madventure. I cannot believe we’re about to do it again. We 
are eating at the best restaurant in the world. And you might be thinking, if you caught our Maido 
video, I thought the number one restaurant in the   world is Maido. And you’re right. Currently, Maido 
is ranked the number one restaurant in the world because this place is already in its own category 
of the best restaurants in the entire world. It has already won the number one best restaurant in 
the world and now it has. transcended. transcended to the category of the best of the best, the best 
restaurants in the entire world. Not only does the chef of Central have his own Netflix Chef’s Table 
special. So you know that he is a huge deal doing incredible interesting impressive things. 
He also has his own documentary on Netflix.   I just can’t believe we’re getting to try this 
out. I’ve wanted to come here for so so long. I am so ready to try all the local, unique, 
hard to find ingredients that this chef has put together. Central is known for its laboratory 
and its exploration. They have truly gone out throughout all of Peru and dug deep literally 
into all of the ingredients that this country has to offer from sea level all the way up to 
the highest altitude of the country. And so to my understanding tonight our tasting menu is 
going to be exactly that. Starting from sea   level and progressing our way up to the highest 
heights of Peru through cuisine. My kind of hike. I’ve got a hike for you coming up in Cusco, 
so, I’m letting you enjoy this now. Let’s go. This table is the biodiversity 
registered by Mater, our research center, going from 15 m below sea level 
up to 4,200 m above sea level. Here we have purple corn whiskey with 
their take on a classic cocktail with bitters and vermouth. Really tasty. Those 
bitters are excellent. I feel like it’s pulled some of the sweetness out of the 
corn. I’m getting almost a chocolate note   out of it. The cocktail was very tasty. 
We’ve had the the purple corn before, but this is definitely the best rendition of it. 
My favorite for sure. But as I was enjoying this, we got our first course, and that is way more 
important. So, we’re going to jump right into   that. This is the black rocks course. Right now, 
we are under the ocean. seaweed, sea lettuce, sargassum, also known as kelp. We’re starting 
at 10 m below sea level. And this whole spread, the unifying element on it is the different 
types of seaweed. first with the squid ink donut. You know, like when your mouth just kind of closes 
on itself, like it’s almost like you’re you’re chewing your own cheek because of how much savory 
flavor you’re getting. That’s what that that squid ink makes you do. Next, this is the clams. It’s 
almost so beautiful. I don’t want to fork into it. Mmmm. It’s like a creme fresh but citrus bringing 
the the brightness back up. A nice crisp from the the seaweed and then a nice oceany finish with the 
the clam. I’m already excited to be able to have my squid ink donut with this beautiful creamy 
dipping sauce. Because like we say every time, what’s cool about a restaurant like this is 
that they told us how to eat it, because you   definitely look at dishes like these and you’re 
like, I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. He said we start off tasting each 
of these a little bit and then try them all together. Play with the flavors as you see fit. 
In a crab shell on a nice chilled rock, salt Rock I’ve said before when I can pull out 
sweetness from such a savory dish like this and that’s just coming from like the 
beautifully fresh crab. Just so so nice. It is delicate. That nice crisp coming off of the 
seaweed. Oh man, this one takes the crab shell. Things are happening fast here. We didn’t 
even have time to tell you how in awe we   are of coming into this incredible space because 
we were too busy being treated to an incredible first course. Now we are on the second course 
which once again has three dishes. We have made it to 900 meters above sea level. And we have 
a loche squash with shrimp inside of it. Then we have a little crispy cracker that looks like 
it has more shrimp inside as well. Looks like a   piece of artwork. Is this avocado? I just got 
to dig in. Oh my gosh. It’s like a souffle. I’m going to be licking this 
clean. This is so good. Creamy, savory squash flavor with 
the amazing shrimp taste. Actually got a shrimp in that one, too. This 
is fantastic. This is like the best shrimp I’ve   ever eaten in my life. So fresh, so sweet, so 
delicious. paired with the squash. Like this is a perfect combination served inside of a squash as 
well. And then on top is, the ashes of the squash, like toasted pieces of squash adding in a 
perfect toasted flavor. And then there’s just a combination of a thicker soupy base that’s more 
of a seafood thick base and then this creamy top layer and you’re just digging in. I just love a 
meal like this that’s just all about discovery. you have no idea what you’re even going to 
be scooping into until you scoop into it. And it’s just so heavenly. And also we 
have a work of art. Stunning. Like I think this is better than some 
things I’ve seen in a museum. Such a delicious crispy texture. the savory   umami shrimp flavor and then the amazing 
herbs here. This is so good. And then lastly, look, it’s like this little avocado just cut so 
perfectly coated in this delicious leaf. Wow, this is so good. This place is amazing. You walk 
in and you instantly feel at ease. They’re playing spa music. They give you a wet eucalyptus towel to 
clean your hands. You’re feeling immersed in this peace and relaxation. And then now within that 
we’re having the freedom to play as we eat this food, eat with our fingers, try new textures, 
play with the palette, play with the textures. this is just such a special experience. 
Already we’re only on the second course. We’ve entered the Amazonian Savannas. We’ve 
already encountered our first word unlock of   the day. An ingredient we’ve never heard of 
before. Aguajea. Aguaje. It is this dragon egg looking armadillo looking fruit that 
grows in the Savannas of Peru and they’ve prepared it for us two different ways. Fritters 
here with the pulp. These are prepared with the skin and these have an Amazonian fish in 
them as well. Doncella fish and hibiscus on the top and we got yacon syrup and all these 
fun little dots and he told us just make a mess with it. My favorite words. I’m just going to 
Oh man. I’m in Barranco so now I’m an artist. AguaYAY. really tasty fritter. These 
sauces are absolutely delicious. There’s like a a cheesiness almost like a creamy 
cheesiness. And I think that is literally the aguaje fruit. I don’t think there’s any cheese 
component whatsoever in there. It’s like a fried dough with this really creamy, delicate, 
very savory. Actually, I was thinking fruit, sweet, very savory. Now, I’m going to go for the 
skin dusted with hibiscus with fish underneath this one the hibiscus actually taking it more 
in the sweet direction, giving it this nice floral notes. They’re messing with us. I think 
that’s what they intended. They’re like, “Oh,   they’re going to try the one that kind of looks 
like chocolate drizzled donut and like, oh, that’s sweet.” It’s actually the fish dish that 
has a little nice sweetness in it. And the sauce blends just as well with either of those dishes, 
which is awesome. Nice delicate white fish, very soft. The hibiscus is what shifts what 
would otherwise just be a lightly fried breaded fish and takes it into the sweet 
floral direction. Very versatile fruit. And also, we completely forgot to even mention 
there’s another dish in front of us. This one, I believe, is shrimp, and this one is like a 
special type of wild cilantro here in Peru. It’s like cotton candy. All of these dishes coming to 
us again from the savanna, 380 m above sea level. The moment it hits your palette, not even, 
before, like as it’s like hitting your your   spoon even starts to starts to dissolve and 
it actually becomes this like really creamy, buttery substance and that like 
and then back on your palette, it spreads all over and just fills it with 
the essence of shrimp and cilantro. Mmmm we’re getting to eat incredible food. We’re 
also getting to learn so much about the nation and about the food that can be found here. And 
it’s like a performance as well. Like getting   to see how they serve us. Like literally, 
we got show and tell here right now. Like look at this. Five different colors and types of 
corn. They all have names. I could not memorize all of them as she said them. Your food can 
be so beautiful. I feel like it’s something   that we forget sometimes. And then here before 
us, we have sweet potato in here. We have all the different types of corn are in here. These 
leaves, this is broth made with the husk that’s on the outside of corn. And we have made it to 
extreme altitude. We are high up in the Andes, almost 14,000 ft. 4,200 m above sea level. This 
is literally called the extreme altitude course. Oh yes. It has this like thick delicious 
heartiness to it. Has this inherent sweetness to the leaf itself. And I absolutely love when 
chefs do this when they give you something that’s like kind of almost like just like a byproduct 
of what you’re going to be eating. Next time you   guys are cooking corn, save some husks and try 
to make it into a tea because this is fantastic. They do have very incredible corn here, though. I 
don’t know if it’ll work with the corn we can get   at home. But then the key ingredient that I forgot 
to talk about in here is we also have this algae, which we saw when we were watching the 
chef’s table episode. It was just like mindblowing because a lot of chefs, you know, 
like we love chef Jose Andres. He is known for   his spherification techniques. You don’t need 
them if you have access to this. This is just you go in to a lake and you scoop out this algae 
that is already in this perfect spherified form. That is amazing. And it’s just a taste of like the 
richest corn flavor that you could ever imagine. That is so so good. And just a combination of so 
many textures. It’s custardy. It’s got some kind of like dried corn bits as well. It has like the 
crunch of the chips. Delicious savory paradise. There is like spearified corn 
in here. they didn’t have to, but they did still do some amazing spearification. The leaf is especially good in here, too. It’s 
so flavorful, adding this like herbaceious, delicious taste to it. I’m going try 
a little bit of the algae by itself. Mmmm. It’s not providing quite as much flavor 
as you would expect, but not in a bad way. Like, it’s giving just the right amount. This 
nice mild flavor and this amazing fun texture. This is insane. Like nature’s tapioca 
balls. Like so so good. This is so fantastic. This is like the greatest corn experience 
I’ve ever had. We’re going to high altitude   when we’re in Cusco and I was a little 
nervous about what we were going to eat when we were doing the Salkantay Pass, 
but if we’re eating like this. I’m going   to be quite happy. Even Ivan will be 
happy. And he does not love hiking. Now, from the last dish at extreme 
altitudes, we have plunged 15 m below sea level to the lowest dish we’ll be 
enjoying today. And we have found lobster, razor clams, and grouper. Ooh, the color on this 
lobster, grilled on the barbecue, of course. Excellent. Excellent piece of lobster. I got this 
beautiful meaty chunk. And of course, lobster always delicious. Indulgent protein, you know, 
like you don’t get it very often when it’s fresh like this, absolutely good by itself. But the 
highlight of that dish is actually the seasoning that they put on the lobster. Usually, you know 
what seasoning? Just put in butter and you’re good to go. Yes, I do love lobster that way. But 
they’ve gone like a the closest parallel I can give you from like things I’ve tasted before is 
like a kebab actually like a like a Middle Eastern or or Pakistani kebab is the flavor that that’s 
coming off of that. Really letting the savorier notes of the lobster come out. Really, really 
nice. This is a razor clam that has been infused with the colors from a sea lettuce. Beautiful. 
Again, like honestly, half the things we’re eating here look like pieces of art. So sometimes 
you feel bad just biting into it, but we must. that signature texture. So, so nice. Again, 
seasoned very, very well with salt, bringing out, coaxing out those nice seafood flavors. When 
I say seafood flavors, I’m not talking like a fishy flavor. I’m talking like the light hint 
of like a sea mist, you know, like the foam that comes off of the the ocean. Just absolutely 
excellent. beautiful snap I think is what what you call like the kind of the snap that you that 
you get from it. And finally, a grouper in in this shell dusted on the top again with the the sea 
lettuce presented to us in a in a different way. The grouper, so tender. So so 
nice this nice little cream, too. The funnest part of this dish is actually the sea 
lettuce on top. They’ve like created this really fine dust with it and it’s giving you almost like 
the texture of a very fine sand. Just taking you transporting you directly to the ocean. Dissolves 
on your palette. gives it this like nice uh kind of vegetital like a very light um 
nori or seaweed flavor. Very very light, brilliantly balanced dish. Foam on the the 
bottom is just absolutely delicate. Really   more about the texture. Really letting 
the the grouper in this dish shine. I have a seed from an Amazonian fruit. She handed 
us this and told us, “Rub it on your hand. and COLOR” looks like blood. It’s so cool. But this 
like just came straight out of the plant. I tasted it. It kind of tastes peppery. Here at the bottom, 
it has this incredible Amazonian fish. Also red. So it’s very much like the theme. Like we see 
the red tail right there. to the arapaima and then all different parts of the fish in here. 
Crisps from the tail. We got the fish itself and then we have these foams from different like 
roots and vegetables. We’ve gone back to the   rainforest. This is the rainforest connection at 
148 m above sea level. Just looking incredible. Oh yeah. This like rich deep kind of 
potatoey taste to it. And the fish   itself is so nice which is just like 
crazy because you think like literally when we were looking at the fish it looks 
like a crazy fish. Like look this is like   the tail like part of the bones of 
the fish is spiky. It’s scary. Also tastes like kind of sweet and delicate. 
Kind of normal but in a very good way. It’s so good. They just include so many different 
unique elements that every single bite is giving you a different and amazing flavor. Like 
you’re constantly playing with flavors,   playing with textures, not just with every 
dish, but with every individual bite. So good. Back at sea level. Believe it or not, we 
have just made it to our halfway point. We’ve already started exploring the oceans of 
Peru. We’ve had the crab, we’ve had barnacles, we’ve had lobster, and in this dish, we’re 
having three more shellfish, two types of clams, the vole clam, the white clam, and we’re also 
having scallops. In addition to that, my favorite, we have sea urchin. Looking at the dish, I 
couldn’t really recognize like one of like,   am I missing a clam? I see this like blue thing. 
Is that like a flower or some decorative thing? No, those are clams that have been infused with 
a type of algae that makes it blue. A scallop foam and a green seaweed foam. We also have 
a broth that’s also been infused with those three types of clams. So, he said kind 
of alternate. Take a sip of the broth. I got one of the blue clams. Wow. Now, start off 
with that broth. So much flavor. Just intense. Like I just had like 10 clams that were condensed 
into one. There’s so much flavor in that. And then these like nice foams. Now the foam is 
really letting like the Peruvian style shine. Not only is it like this nice creamy 
texture, but it’s packing a lot of   citrus in there that’s like it’s almost like 
a like a ceviche deconstructed where you’re having these raw pieces of seafood and 
fish on top and the the citrus instead of being the marinade is already in the the 
base of cream underneath. It’s really nice. Oh my goodness. Do you see this octopus here? This 
is a dried octopus. That’s just incredible. We have had a decent amount of octopus before between 
Spain and Mexico, but never dried octopus. Dried octopus here on top of fresh octopus tentacles 
that have been cooked in this broth, the broth of dried octopus. And it was dried for 7 days. 
And then this is your little pieces of the dried octopus tentacles as well. So like all together 
just three different ways of tasting the dried octopus plus some fresh octopus at the bottom. 
This broth is almost more like gravy. It’s just so packed with umami. So full of flavor. Just dense, 
thick, incredible, delicious octopus flavor. I mean, rich beyond belief. This is so fantastic. 
Oh my gosh. Then I got to get this octopus with dried octopus on top plus the octopus broth 
of the dried octopus. A little messy bite. Mmmmm. Fantastic. Perfectly cooked 
octopus, perfect texture. You know, it’s so fresh and so perfectly prepared. The 
richness with the broth and just the dried octopus flavor itself is so good. And 
then here we have these little tentacle   crumbles. It looks like bacon bits. Oh, and 
there’s something underneath some green. I kind of stand by my bacon bit comment. 
This is so good. Just like perfect salty, flavorful little bits of octopus here on 
top of this herby green deliciousness. Dang, this is amazing. I can’t believe, what a 
treat. We love octopus and it’s typically quite expensive and quite hard to find 
in a place that does it right. So to get   to taste it in these three different 
ways like this, absolutely fantastic. This was served with this on top with the dried 
octopus tentacle here on top of the dish itself and we removed it. I was like, “Oh no, is there 
going to be a live octopus in there or something?” There was not. This is much better. Actually, 
we had pretty good live octopus in Korea. I’m not going to lie. But wow, this is just such a 
delicious dish. What a great preparation. The perfect date night. We get a new treat every time. 
So, this was a map of this neighborhood that we’re   in Barranco. not only like different shops and 
restaurants that they recommend to experience the neighborhood, but also recommendations for like 
the actual artists where they get a lot of the art   and the dishwear that we’re getting served tonight 
because everything we’re getting tonight is like, “Wow, this is amazing. These dishes are beyond 
belief. Like, this is so creative. This is so stunning.” And like, this is a guide of where you 
can actually go to these artist galleries and buy   it yourself. Amazing. And they’ve served it in 
a book. So, I think we’re getting another treat. We are going to be swimming through the 
Amazonian waters next trying pacu. Fun name to to say out loud. The pacu fish. It looks 
like a piranha to me. But I’m told they eat Amazonian fruits. They wait under the tree for 
them to drop and then if they start to collect   on the bottom of the riverbed, they’ll like 
gather them. Nuts as well. Diverse diet. Coca leaves. And the fun thing with this dish is that 
they’ve incorporated all of those ingredients, both the fish and the ingredients the fish 
eat into one dish. So, I’m very excited for that. But that comes last because first we 
are starting with the Amazonian duck. Oh, glistening with that beautiful duck fat and a uh 
satcha papa, right? Wild purple potatoes from the Amazon. Peru has I think it was like 3,000 
varieties of potatoes. The reality is that most potatoes you get even in like Lima, like if 
you’re in the big city, you know, you get three, four, five varieties of potatoes, but a place 
like this, you know, they’re actually going out discovering like talking to people who like 
are are natives to to these more desolate areas and like actually discovering and naming and 
classifying all these different types of potatoes. So that’s what I’ll be thinking about when 
when I have that one. first with the duck. Closest thing I can think of that I’ve had to 
that and it’s really high praised in my opinion is jamon iberico. This like rich dark nutty 
really umami flavor coming off of that duck. I’d say a little leaner than than a 
jamon iberico, but like sort of in that that profile. Really really nice. 
The wild purple potato from the Amazon. Mmmm. Wow. Man, that is an excellent potato. 
Earthy sweetness. Maybe more like a taro. It’s really nice. But they’ve done like a mashed 
potato. They’ve pulled it more in the the   savory direction. If you know one thing about, 
you know, Peruvian cuisine is that they know their potatoes and they’re living up to their 
reputation without a doubt. Amazonian riverfish. Wow. Packing a lot of flavor 
into there. The yellow fruit, giving it a a good tart. I’ve mentioned 
it here and there, but Peruvians are not   afraid of their spice, and I love that. All 
of the food has been brilliantly seasoned, especially when it comes to something like fish 
that itself, you know, especially a river fish.   We’re not talking like those big big flakes or 
anything. It is a tender kind of low flavor fish. Also just the fun idea, the fun concept of 
like eating it with the the ingredients the fruits that it eats. Even just the form 
factor for someone to bring you a dish   and say like this is potato and this is 
fish. Like are you sure? Salude. Salude. What? Yeah, that’s good. I really like the 
fermented the carbonation, natural carbonation in it. It’s giving me a kombucha vibe. Yeah, 
for sure. Like a potato kombucha. Like a sweet   potato kombucha. This was just compliments of the 
house as we move between courses. Oh, so good. We’ve got the pork jowl portion of the 
evening. I’m just loving this. We’re deep diving into these different ingredients. 
And this is the high Andes pork jowl, a premium type of pork. Amazing. So, we 
actually got it served in so many different ways. We got here four different ways. We 
got cured, smoked, crisped, like a bacon, and roasted. Amazing. And then in here 
as well, we have some more pork jowl, but also with like mushrooms and tubers and then a 
mushroom net on top. We’re just getting to try so many different components and ingredients. I love 
how we’re trying so many new things today. So, he recommended that we start with these. 
Start with the cured. This looks fantastic. Mmm. It’s tender and it’s fatty, but 
it has this really amazing delicate flavor to it as well. That is so so 
good. Now we’ll go for the smoked. Ivan mentioned jamon iberico already tonight, 
but that has this insane nuttiness because those pigs are eating a lot of nuts. This has a very 
unique bitterness to it. I’m not sure what the diet is of these high altitude Andean pigs. It 
has this really tasty but very unique kind of almost a bitterness and an earthiness to it, 
but it’s unlike anything I’ve ever had before, but it’s so so good. And obviously, I mean, smoked 
meat is going to be amazing anyway. And pork jowl, a very common meat in Italy in Italian food. 
It’s what they’re using in carbonaras and all of the classic pasta dishes of Rome. They’re using 
this cut, the pork jowl. It’s fatty, it’s savory, it’s delicious. And this is such a fun little 
way to try it all out. Pachama because a good harvest season. It’s a way to give back to the 
mother earth. The potatoes, the food that she recently gave to us. It’s a way to say thank you 
for giving us the food to eat this year. potatoes have been cooked with the plants from the same 
environment. It’s just amazing that we’re getting   to learn actual Peruvian culture while having 
this, to learn about this way of giving thanks to Mother Earth while cooking these potatoes 
is so incredible. And the smell of the herbs, oh my gosh, I can’t wait to get into that now. 
Okay, and last on this plate, but now we have this whole other thing to try. First off, look 
at this spoon. Everything we’re having today,   every dish so amazing and unique. Oh 
my gosh. Crack into my mushroom shell. Mmm. There’s a lot of sweetness in 
there. And it’s pairing with the,   you know, the salty pork, the fattiness, the umami from the mushrooms, the earthiness 
from the potatoes, all coming in together. I do think the spoon was made for right-handed 
people. The potatoes and the mushrooms are almost pickled, so there’s this fresh kind 
of sourness coming off of those as well. Absolutely delicious. Such a yummy combination 
of flavors. very indulgent compared to a lot of the other dishes we’ve had tonight, but 
so so tasty. And then to finish it off,   we have these potatoes cooked in all of these 
herbs that were found in the same area as the potato in this method in the clay from the ground 
giving thanks to mother nature. Just so special. Oh my god. I could never eat another potato again 
for the rest of my life. I’ve peaked. so good. So flavorful. And this definitely has that like 
added starchy texture. Then the flavor of all of the herbs and the, I think the method in which 
it was cooked too. Like the earthiness that comes from that. Absolutely fantastic and so special. 
Oh my gosh. Tonight has just been amazing. The dishware itself is artwork. The preparation 
is artwork. The ingredients are artwork. And even, I’ve just realized probably this music 
we’re listening to is all local artists   most likely as well. And we’re getting 
these books full of local art as well. this is not just a restaurant. This is 
literally an art experience, but delicious. We have made it to our first dessert course. 
Two regions in one. We get the sacred valley in the agave fruit here. What a beautiful 
preparation. And then we get MIL Moray in this dish which is an ice cream on the inside 
with a a yacon kind of what I can only describe as a fruit roll-up by the the looks of it. 
Tastes much more elevated than a fruit roll-up. Mmm. Oh, yeah. I really like Yacon. That’s 
absolutely delicious. It’s nice caramelly almost like a chocolatey flavor coming off of 
it. And on the insideon ice cream, they poured what I I believe is like an agave syrup right 
into the center of it. Muña leaf ice cream. Mmm. It’s somewhere between a mint and a basil. 
Like a could also have been in a savory dish sort of flavor coming off of it. The flirting with the 
the sweet savory combo. It’s actually really nice. It might be a unrefined agave syrup. There’s 
almost a a tasty crystally grittiness to it. So much more richness, so much more flavor. 
Now, shifting over to the sacred valley, we have my favorite fruit. I’m not a fruit guy. 
There are very few fruits I like, but this, you give me a custard apple or it’s called 
here a chirimoya, I will eat that every day. On top is a lemon verbana crisp and then the 
other crisp is this black maca root. It’s giving me dip and dots vibes. Man, custard 
apple just from the name it is giving the whole plot away. Custard apple really is so so 
custardy. Like it’s so custardy that you’re like, there’s no way this came out of a fruit. Like 
a dessert just came out of the shell of a an apple. You just peeled the skin of the apple 
and you got custard. That’s what you have here. Absolutely delicious. It’s probably also why it’s 
one of my favorite fruits because it doesn’t taste   much like a fruit at all. Tastes like custard. 
But the maca root and the verbana are are adding this nice crispy texture to the again the very 
custardy very creamy custard apple underneath adding a bitterness that that cuts 
it very well. That’s excellent. We have now made it to our final course. We are at 
1,800 m above sea level. We are in Cusco area and we got the cacao chuncho which actually translates 
to like a shy cacao because the community where this cacao comes from is a little bit shy. So 
they named the cacao after that adjective in their native language. And oh my gosh this is 
just almost mind-blowing the ways that we are about to consume cacao, which is something you’ve 
probably been eating chocolate most of your life   it’s such a classic ingredient that you have all 
the time. Cacao. Have you ever seen it look like any of these before? We are starting with the 
outside shell of the cacao. And then this foam and this are the pulp of the cacao fruit. This 
is purple chocolate. The seeds aren’t roasted at all. It already has a purple color. The seed 
when it comes out. And so this is just your fresh   purple chocolate. Fresh chocolate seeds prepared 
for you. Then we make it here. We have the husk. It’s like these delicate little chips. And then 
these are the cacao nibs. 100% cacao nibs, but a little bit sweetened with the pulp from the cacao. 
So it’s 100% cacao and chocolate. And just like this is so wild. Like we literally got a diagram 
of the different parts of chocolate to help us make our way through this journey. Starting 
just going in the way that it was introduced. That is so delicious. It reminds me of like a fig. It has this yummy 
kind of fruity caramelly flavor. It is so good, but so rich and like nothing like chocolate. That 
is insane. Oh my goodness. We’re on the last dish. And I don’t know how I’m still surprised at being 
surprised, but they continue to wow me. Okay, now just a pulp like this. almost like 
a light fennel flavor to it. And it it has a very like gelatinous texture. What? 
Wait, I did not dig deep. I forgot here at the bottom. I completely forgot is a layer 
of green chocolate that is made from the leaf   of the cacao. Can you see it? It’s like made 
from this the leaf of the cacao. Oh my gosh. I do not understand why we don’t use these 
more. That is insane. Like that is so good. It has like an herbal flavor, but in this 
delicious, filling, amazing way. Oh my gosh, guys. Green chocolate is the way to go. That is so 
good. Okay, now I got to try the purple chocolate. The sheen on that doesn’t look real. You make it to kind of your more 
traditional classic chocolate flavors, but lighter, creamier because they’re not 
roasted. So they, it sounds bizarre to say, but you’re tasting fresh chocolate. Like it 
actually has this freshness which you don’t typically associate with chocolate, but it’s 
here and it’s delicious and it’s beautiful. And then the journey continues. 
We have these chips of the husk. Oh my god. just melts in your mouth. Delicious 
crisps. And then finally this is just cacao nibs with the 
added sweetness from the pulp And that is all. It is very 
simple, but it is very delicious. Guys, this has been such an incredible, 
delicious journey. We have traveled Peru culinarily and it just gets me even more excited 
for the more traveling we’re about to be doing. We’re heading to Cusco next week. cannot 
wait to be exploring there and trying hey, maybe we’re going to get this direct from 
Cusco as well while we’re there. I don’t   know if they’re going to serve it quite like this. 
This is definitely something incredibly special, but this has just been such an amazing meal to 
highlight how incredibly special this country is,   how incredibly special the local ingredients and 
agriculture and culture itself is related to food. I think one of our favorite things about Peru is 
that we are huge foodies and Peru feels very much like a nation of foodies. Food truly is such 
a big part of the culture here and tonight has been such an incredible way of experiencing that. 
I’m so happy. I’ve enjoyed this a Choco-Lot so bad. Sorry. Sorry, guys. We have had the most 
incredible and delicious time here in Lima, and we will definitely be back. But we can’t wait 
to explore more of beautiful Peru. So, please hit those subscribe and like buttons. It truly helps 
us out so so much. We’ll see you on the next   one. And until then, check out one of these 
videos. YouTube picked them out just for you.

Experience the absolute magic of Virgilio Martinez’s Central! World’s Best Restaurant in 2023, now considered the Best of the Best, Central is so much more than just a restaurant, it is art, science and exploration. You travel Peru’s ecosystems through your meal from the depths of the sea to the peaks of the Andes mountains. The restaurant has a research center component discovering the ingredients and history in the most remote areas of the nation. This truly may be the most special dining experience in the world. Let’s madventure! Virgilio Martínez and Pía León have created an out-of-this-world, mind-blowing food experience that instantly soared into the top meals of our life.

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Welcome to madventure, we’re MADison and iVEN (okay it is spelled Ivan, but pronounced like VENture) a husband and wife living the adventure we have been dreaming of, despite the fact that it makes us sound completely mad. For us that looks like traveling full time and starting our own businesses.

For Madison, a former reality TV producer, the dream is the madventure community, connecting people through travel, experiencing new cultures, and trying the best foods from carts, stands and restaurants all over the world. She hopes to encourage others to follow their maddest most adventurous dreams, whatever they may be! For Ivan, a former NASA engineer, it is creating an engineering product that will change the world! Travel and food are two of our biggest passions, so on this channel we will be traveling the world, and staying awhile to experience what life is actually like living other places. We’re excited to have you on board for the delicious, culture filled, madventurous times that will ensue! Let’s madventure! xoxo

00:00 can’t believe we’re here!!!
02:29 arriving
02:49 drinks
03:24 Black Rocks, 10 mbsl Sargassum, Clams & Squid
05:44 Dry Valley, 500 masl, Shrimp, Loche Squash, Avocado
08:45 Savanna, 380 masl, aguaje, doncella fish, hibiscus
12:01 Extreme Altitude, 4200 masl, corn, kiwicha, kunuka leaf
15:54 Warm Sea Current, 15 mbsl, razor clams, lobster, murike grouper
19:20 Rainforest Connection, 148 masl, cecina. arapaima. mishkina
21:05 Blue Green Ocean, 0 masl, scallops. vongole. sea urchin
22:58 Sea Brain Algae, 5 mbsl, octopus. sea lettuce. codium
26:28 Amazonian Water, 180 masl, pacu. bahuaja nut . duck
30:00 Potato Kombucha
30:22 Andean Forest 2700 masl, pork jowl. oca. callampa
32:41 Pachamaa
35:30 MIL Moray, 3600 masl, cabuya. muña leaf. yacon
37:04 Sacred Valley, 2800 masl, chirimoya. andean verbena. black maca root
38:29 Cacao Chuncho, 1800 masl, mucilage, nibs. seed husk
43:20 we love Peru, please subscribe 🙂