Interview with the chef, Gastón Acurio
Eat well seated
“The kitchen, the service, and the ambiance are the three most important pillars in a restaurant. To create a good atmosphere, design is crucial, and the chair must be up to the task.”
Gastón Acurio is one of the magnificent chefs who have participated in one of the publications made by Andreu World: Eat well seated. This book includes profiles of 25 restaurants from all around the world and also considers the importance of design in dining rooms, including interviews with Michelin starred chefs.
What importance is given to the design and furnishings of your restaurant?
The kitchen, the service, and the ambiance are the three most important pillars in a restaurant. To create a good atmosphere design is crucial. Obviously, it must be consistent with the culinary proposal. That is why we spend much time thinking about the right atmosphere for each concept, space, and location.
What importance is given to the design and furnishings of your restaurant?
The kitchen, the service, and the ambiance are the three most important pillars in a restaurant. To create a good atmosphere design is crucial. Obviously, it must be consistent with the culinary proposal. That is why we spend much time thinking about the right atmosphere for each concept, space, and location.
How do you combine design with gastronomy?
Each kitchen gives life to a different culinary experience. It can be casual, popular, haute cuisine, regional, day, night ... One must be consistent. I see many times that places with delicious cuisine end up failing because they did not find a way to communicate it correctly. The service and the atmosphere are your most important allies to shine. Designing the culinary experience from the beginning to the end is vital in this world where so many new things are offered all the time.
What is the relationship between your cuisine, the design and the chairs in your space?
Everything has a reason. In this case, for example, the location of La Mar, overlooking the water, in a vibrant city like Miami and inside a luxury hotel, is decisive. So is the type of cuisine. Our fresh, different, fun dishes ... are reflected in the chosen decoration.
Why did you choose the model of chair you have in your restaurant?
In a restaurant, one has to be comfortable. With what you taste, with who accompanies you, with what you eat and drink. Obviously, the chair in which one stays during an enjoyable evening must be up to the circumstances.
La Mar is a concept of Peruvian cuisine created by the acclaimed chef Gastón Acurio. Its dishes create a true journey through a country full of contrasts and climates that create a unique cuisine in the world. From the sophisticated nova-Andean cuisine to the Asian-Peruvian fusion Nikkei (Japan) and Chifa (China), the traditional seafood ceviche of the Peruvian capital or the ingredients and dishes from its extensive coast or the immense ecosystem of the Amazon.
The contemporary design of the premises was created by Vivianne Nathan and Verónica Pereira (Nathan Pereira Arquitectura & Diseño). The dining room is decorated with Peruvian-inspired textiles, teak furniture, bronze, terracotta, and turquoise pieces, along with elegant high wooden and communal tables. In Yaku by La Mar, these ingredients and multicultural origins are mixed with an extensive menu of Peruvian-inspired cocktails in a cozy and modern meeting place facing the sea so that locals, guests, and visitors can relax to the music of resident and guest DJs.
