Kjolle: A Culinary Exploration of Peru
Flowers, eh? They’ve been muses for poets, botanists, and shamans alike. But if you ask Pía León, she’ll tell you that the kjolle flower isn’t just another pretty petal; it’s the perfect metaphor for her culinary adventures at Kjolle. Since opening its doors in 2018, this restaurant has blossomed into a vibrant exploration of Peru’s culinary tapestry, delighting not just the palate but the senses as a whole. It’s like showing up to a party and finding out it’s a rave—there’s just so much color and excitement!
Kjolle: The Dream Team with Central and Mater
Located in Casa Túpac, Kjolle doesn’t just exist in a vacuum. It shares the stage with Central, the crown jewel that was named the best restaurant in the world by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2023. How’s that for dining room envy? And let’s not forget about Mater—Latin America’s gastronomic lab. These two may share the ingredients, but trust me; what goes down at Kjolle is a whole new game. With Pía garnering the title of best female chef in the world in 2021, the buzz around the dining scene is palpable. Everyone wants in on this biodiversity buffet, and who could blame them?
Flavors that Keep You Guessing
Let’s talk about memories—everyone’s got them, and they often sneak up on you. Take a bite of some maca bread, slather it in cabuya butter (which, by the way, has edible clay sprinkled on top—good luck explaining that at your next dinner party), and suddenly you’re transported back to your grandmother’s kitchen. Okay, maybe not exactly, but it’s close! Pía’s tasting menu is like a time machine for your taste buds.
One standout dish was aptly named “Many Tubers.” As you might guess, it gave me a proper reason to play with my food. This dish has evolved from a simple cake of oyucos and Andean cañihua to a full-blown flavor symphony. Imagine a palette of various tubers on your plate, enhanced with a cream of sachapapa—extravagant much? And remember, there are no rules; just let your palate guide you. If only life were always this flexible!
And then there’s the lobster! But not just any old lobster—this one comes drizzled with crab sauce, coconut, cushuros, and jerky broth. Let’s just say, your taste buds won’t know what hit them. The moment that broth meets the plate, it transforms into foam, and suddenly your dining experience is part food, part science experiment! The kind of transformative magic that would put most wizards to shame!
Drinks to Make You Sing
Now, let’s talk libations. Diego Vásquez has crafted drink pairings so exquisite that they almost steal the limelight. His concoctions complement the dishes as if they were made to be dance partners. My personal favorite? A drink served in a small bowl that boasts a pisco base and a duck fatwash. I mean, ‘duck fatwash’—can you even? Add a few drops of annatto, and you’re left with a liquid that feels like it should come with its own theme music. Tom Cruise might want to take notes here!
Geography and Gastronomy: A Love Story
Pía’s culinary creations remind us that food isn’t just about what’s on the plate; it’s about connection. Ecuador and Peru share the magnificent spine of the Andes and a stunning edge along the Pacific Ocean. Like old friends reminiscing about the good ol’ days of shared trips to the Amazon, it brings a tear to my eye. While Ecuador boasts its quishuares, Peru has its kjolle, reminding us that we’re all part of the same grand tapestry, albeit with slightly different threads.
So there you have it—Kjolle isn’t merely a restaurant; it’s an experience, a celebration, a cheeky little rendezvous between play and respect for the region. Pía León has managed to craft a menu that is as colorful as her namesake flower—one that pays homage to the land, the tradition, and perhaps most importantly, our taste buds. If you have the opportunity to visit, don’t just go for a meal—embark on an adventure!
Flowers have been muses for actors as diverse as poets, botanists and shamans. For Pía León, the kjolle flower is more than a flower: it is the perfect metaphor for what her cuisine represents. Since its opening in 2018, Kjolle has flourished as a culinary proposal that explores the universes of the sea, the mountains and the Peruvian Amazon through the colors of that territory, which are not limited to the visual, but rather a complex experience for the senses. Pía’s cooking illuminates, delights, excites, surprises, and shows us how it has taken on “color” with time and experience.
Kjolle, Central and Mater
Located in Casa Túpac, Kjolle shares space with Central, the restaurant that, in 2023, was named the best in the world by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and Mater, one of the most important gastronomic research and development laboratories in Latin America. Although both restaurants share ingredients and Mater’s support, what they do with those ingredients is different. Pía, who was named the best female chef in the world in 2021, has designed a menu that follows her path and that focuses on Peruvian biodiversity.
Photo Camila Novoa / LA MAGAZINE
Flavors that surprise
When we eat, memory plays a fundamental role in assimilating new experiences. Flavors, aromas and textures often evoke memories, conscious or subconscious. When trying something new, our brain looks for previous references or associations. Therefore, when maca bread, Peruvian ginseng, arrives at the table, accompanied by cabuya butter sprinkled with chaco, a type of edible clay, the diner cannot help but be surprised. I spread the butter on the bread, taste them, and immediately add a new memory to my gastronomic memory. The tasting menu brought many moments full of flavor, and among my favorite dishes was “Many tubers,” which shows Pía’s evolution as a cook.
It is the cake of laminated oyucos and Andean cañihua that was served in 2018, but has evolved to the current version, accompanied by a plate with a ring of several tubers. At the table, they add a cream of sachapapa, a purple potato that is part of the catalog of the 3,000 varieties of potatoes that exist in Peru. This dish invites you to try and play without a pre-established order. It is the diner who decides how to explore the flavors, and that freedom feels good.
Another standout dish was the lobster with crab sauce, coconut, cushuros and jerky broth. It’s another example of how Kjolle plays with textures and flavors.
Upon contact with the plate, the broth transforms into foam, which allows us to think of food not only as food, but as science and art.
Kjolle is the result of what happens when play and research meet in a deep respect for the territory. The drink proposal, led by Diego Vásquez, is worked in close collaboration with sommeliers, bar and kitchen teams to create options that complement each dish, using ingredients as unique as those on the menu. My favorite was a drink served in a small bowl, with a pisco base and a duck fatwash, to which a few drops of annatto were added. The drinks not only accompany the dishes; They dialogue with them, completing and elevating the experience.
Our connection
I like to think that Ecuador and Peru share the spine of the Andes, the same edge of the Pacific, the Amazon basin. This geography, which once had no limits, makes us heirs of certain cultural traits, products and ancestral preparations.
In Ecuador we do not have kjolles, but we have quishuares, both trees from the same family, with orange flowers that paint our Andean landscapes and remind us that we are closely connected. That little flower that Pía León chose to name her restaurant is the common thread of a story told by a great cook who has found her place in Kjolle. (EITHER)
