Pía León

Pía León is a Peruvian chef born in Lima in December 1986, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Lima and worked at El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, the Ritz in New York, and Astrid y Gastón in Lima before joining Central in 2008 or 2009, rising to head chef within five years. At Central, owned by her husband Virgilio Martínez, she helped develop its ecosystem-based Peruvian cuisine, contributing to its recognition as The Best Restaurant in Latin America from 2014-2016 and high rankings in The World's 50 Best Restaurants. In 2018, she opened her own restaurant Kjolle in Lima's Barranco district, focusing on Peru's diverse ecosystems from Amazon fruits to Andean tubers and coastal seafood. She was named The World's Best Female Chef in 2021 by The World's 50 Best Restaurants.