Ándre Chiang (far left) and Virgilio Martinez (centre) at the night market in Taipei, Oct 2016

Virgilio and André Chiang hit the night market

The great Peruvian chef met up with his Asian counterpart for street-food fun on his haute cuisine world tour

Where does one of Asia’s greatest chefs take the King of the Latin American restaurant scene? Well, when the Central chef Virgilio Martinez came to Taipei, as part of his seven-city Asia-Pacific book tour, local legend and fellow Phaidon author André Chiang, knew just where to go: the city’s famous night market. There the pair enjoyed local delicacies including tapioca-crusted fried chicken and potato-leek dumplings, in an enjoyable street-food break on an haute-cuisine tour.

A few days earlier, Virgilio had completed the Philippines leg of his tour, speaking at a talk hosted by Asia’s Best Female Chef Margarita Forés, and cooking a joint dinner with Margarita at the Shangri-La hotel in Manila. Virgilio also met with leading media outlets, conducting an in-depth feature interview for CNN Philippines' morning show.

 

Margarita Forés and Virgilio Martinez in Manila, October 2016
Margarita Forés and Virgilio Martinez in Manila, October 2016

Then it was on to Taipei, to meet with André Chiang and his team at RAW Taipei. Virgilio also hosted a book-as-ticket lunch and dinner event, and undertook interviews for television shows, print outlets and online networks.

 

Virgilio signing copies of his book Central
Virgilio signing copies of his book Central

Virgilio is currently heading on to Singapore, where he will stop in at the Peruvian restaurant OLA to host a gathering for 40 influential gastronomes, food writers and chefs; and André and Virgilio will also meet up again, to oversee a joint dinner at Chiang’s own Restaurant André in the city. Check back soon on this world famous chef’s world tour, and for more on Virgilio’s life, outlook and cookery, order a copy of Central here. Meanwhile, to understand and recreate some of André Chiang's cuisine, order a copy of Octaphilosophy here.